A Few Life Lessons on Stereotypes

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Recommended: The importance of respect

In word and deed, today’s society wanes in respect. Respecting your elders and honoring your father and mother are no longer a given. We talk back, miss curfews, overlook presidential addresses and the states comprising this union are divided. In previous generations, respect for one’s neighbors, family, country and values was ingrained in the daily fold. One may counteract this stance with the example of discrimination; however, while prejudice extends from society to the armed forces all are not prejudice. Conditioned to the view the world through one lens restrains the landscape. Stereotypes are meant to act as scripts to protect us, but to what extent do they hinder our horizons? As many of the previous generation exemplify, there is always a sense of hope; never get below the horizon such that you lose sight of the coming brighter days. With the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 6, 1941, the United States became involved in World War II. As a nine year old girl in Paterson, New Jersey, my great Aunt Gladys recalls the period’s widespread nationalism as her community rallied around the nation’s war efforts. This sentiment likens to that support following the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Abiding by rationing laws, searching their household for metals, collecting newspapers and stripping the aluminum lining of cigarette packages for scrap metal drives, the nation banded together. My great-grandfather even organized people to donate blood to the Red Cross and took these out for ‘steak dinners’ to “build their blood up.” All were invested. Outside of school air raid practices and blackout strategies, Aunt Gladys felt the war did not directly encroach upon her young life but she vividly recalls the period’s sense of... ... middle of paper ... ...and his fellow bunkmates kept a calendar of the daily bombings; they wanted to monitor when efforts were escalating and subsiding. These men refused to accept the given circumstance and devised a strategy to check it. In conclusion, from conversing with my mother’s family, I’ve gleaned lessons for application to our daily lives. These include respecting others, cautionary use of stereotypes and perseverance for a better tomorrow. Each has merit as we traverse life’s paths. However, I’ve reserved the most useful for last: do not be afraid to admit when you are scared or unsure. For fear of ridicule and inadequacy we refrain from posing questions. Questioning is the greatest tool of understanding. Through inquiry we gauge our level of knowledge and the comparative views of those around us. Inquiry is the greatest impetus to learning, a venture to be pursued by all.

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