10 Things Every American Should Know

1. Mindfulness

The Webster dictionary defines mindfulness as “1: the quality or state of being mindful

2: the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one's thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis; also :such a state of awareness.” There are so many ways to access mindfulness today, such as breathing, meditation, and yoga. I chose this as something every American should know because the world is becoming increasingly busy and distracted because of the rapid influx of information we are receiving on a daily basis through different forms of media. This is leaving many of us yearning for mindfulness without even necessarily realizing it. We can use media to empower people to practice mindfulness across the globe. When I think about how education could benefit from adopting mindfulness techniques, the possibilities are endless. When I think about America’s future leaders adopting mindfulness techniques, I think optimistically about more positive changes!

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For more information:

https://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-meditation-guided-practices/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3uCJs9vt1gIVgh6GCh1SdQKvEAAYAiAAEgKOA_D_BwE

2. Climate Change

NASA’s website describes climate change as a change in the typical or average weather of a region or city. This could be a change in a region's average annual rainfall or a city's average temperature for a season. Climate change is also a change in Earth's overall climate such as the average temperature or precipitation (NASA). Now more than ever we are seeing weather-related catastrophes hitting different regions of the world. The Sierra Club has a media platform that increases awareness about climate change to combat the Trump administration’s denial of Earth’s rising temperatures. We can use social media to post some of their publications and to increase awareness.

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For more information:

http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/how-can-we-talk-about-global-warming

3. I Have A Dream

Martin Luther King was an American civil rights activist who delivered a speech on August 28th, 1963. His speech expressed his urgent concern to end racism in the United States. With the rise of injustice and current racism in our country, in many ways brought on by the Trump administration, it is important be vigilant about King’s urge to end racism. We may not be able to change the way social media can, in many ways, produce hatred, but we can use it to our advantage to make sure King’s legacy lives on. I think this his speech is something important every American should know about because we simply cannot go backwards.

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For more information:

https://www.newyorker.com/books/double-take/listening-to-i-have-a-dream

4. Institutional Racism

Chegg’s website defines institutional racism as follows: “Institutional racism is a pattern of social institutions — such as governmental organizations, schools, banks, and courts of law — giving negative treatment to a group of people based on their race. Institutional racism leads to inequality; sociologists use the concept to explain why some people face unequal treatment or occupy unequal statuses.” In the past, the world may not have known about people of color being racially profiled by police officers, but because of smart phones ability to capture videos, we can no longer ignore it and its time to take a stand and media is one of those many ways we can make it happen.

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5. Perfect Union

“To form a more perfect Union” is a phrase from the Constitution and I think it’s important for every American to know because it emphasizes our duty to the civil rights of everyone, no matter what their story may be. The constitution states, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” This ideal can be directed towards issues over poverty, race, religion, sexual orientation, and disability. Media platforms have been able to raise awareness through scholarly articles such as The Huffington Post on the childhood hunger epidemic.

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For more information:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/gabrielle-posard-/california-food-waste_b_3542688.html

6. Media Literacy

As seen on The Center for Media Literacy’s website: “Media Literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms.” “Definitions, however, evolve over time and a more robust definition is now needed to situate media literacy in the context of its importance for the education of students in a 21st century media culture.” “Media Literacy is a 21st century approach to education. It provides a framework to access, analyze, evaluate, create and participate with messages in a variety of forms — from print to video to the Internet. Media literacy builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy.” It seems ironic to use today’s media platforms to promote positivity across the globe, but it can certainly be done. It is time to make media literacy education essential across the United States if we want the future to reveal the truth. Furthermore, the idea is not to teach media literacy, but to teach critical media literacy and allow the connections between social and political issues to be made.

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For more information:

http://www.acmecoalition.org/

7. Freedom of the Press

The Webster Dictionary defines freedom of the press as “the right of newspapers, magazines, etc., to report news without being controlled by the government.” This is something everyone should know about because, the part of The Constitution that references Freedom of The Press, enforces our freedom of speech and in today’s world, media platforms are making it easier than ever before. Although the lack of censorship from the government is absolutely essential to our

freedom, it also provides a world filled with fake news and it is our job to find the right sources.

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For more information:

https://stanford.library.sydney.edu.au/archives/spr2013/entries/freedom-speech/

8. By The People, For The People

“Government of the people, by the people, for the people” is a part of Abraham Lincoln’s speech during the Civil War. He wanted to ensure that democracy would live on. This is important for Americans to know because it enforces the need for democratic thinking. The reality of the world is very different than it was hundreds of years ago and to embrace that idea is to embrace democracy. Media literacy enthusiasts know the democratic nature and connections to democracy and only when we learn to accept this can we start to make a difference.

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9. Make America Great Again

This is a famous slogan made popular by Donald Trump during his presidential campaign. This idea implied that our former president Barrack Obama was not a strong leader. America needs to know what this slogan really means because when people who have not heard of it before, hear about it for the first time, they may think it sounds like a good thing. However, it has created the rise of a nation supporting a president who doesn’t believe in basic human rights or climate change, for example. The phrase would not be as popular as it is without the promotion of the slogan on social media. It was easy for it to become a sensation within many areas of the United States joining in to something they believed was ‘the change they had been waiting for.’ However, voting for our first black president was a better example of change in my opinion.

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For more information:

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/great-again

10. Women’s Rights Are Human Rights

Women’s rights continue to remain an issue in today’s world such as debates about domestic labor, media’s portrayal of women, and even violence against women. It is important for every American to know that women’s rights are human rights because now, more than ever, women are coming together to make sure their voice is heard, such as The Women’s March that took place. It took social media by storm, empowering many women and their families to support each other and rally against the opposing ideals of the Trump administration.

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For more information:

http://thespeechsite.com/en/famous/HillaryRodhamClinton-2.pdf