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'American Flag Stands For Tolerance'

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Nayef Al-Rodhan once said, “Divisive leaders emphasize our differences, but speak little of the dangers of isolationism.” Connections suffer immensely when isolation moves in. Sometimes we pay so much attention to each other’s differences that we forget about overcoming them. By focusing on what makes us different and not on what makes us the same, we allow isolationism to take over. Therefore, the connections we have are greatly influenced by the efforts we make in understanding ourselves and others. This idea is present in three resources I discovered in Sophomore English, including the majority opinion “Texas vs. Johnson”, the newspaper editorial “American Flag Stands for Tolerance”, and the TED talk “The Danger of a Single Story”. When …show more content…
Ronald J. Allen wrote an editorial addressing the Supreme Court ruling about Gregory Lee Johnson’s protest. He identified the fact that everyone is entitled to having their own opinion and that the First Amendment reaffirms our right in doing so. But, Allen also touched on the dissension caused by the protest. He says, “The controversy will rage precisely because burning the flag is such a powerful form of communication” (19). For most Americans, feelings of pride are associated with our nation’s flag. It is a symbol of the virtues we hold in our hearts and stand for everyday. Naturally, citizens will have strong beliefs about how it should be treated. But, controversy can arise when there is a lack of respectful acknowledgement for opposing viewpoints. The reason behind any protest is the notion of disagreement. Due to the importance of the matter behind that specific protest in 1984 and the repercussions following, it is a perfect example of differences tearing people apart. The take away from it is that by strongly expressing our views, without taking into account the views of others, we prevent ourselves from forming polite …show more content…
In her speech, Adichie explains the risks of having a single story. She states, “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story” (Adichie). A single story of someone can blind us to who they really are, and sometimes push us away from the desire to get to know them in the first place. Imbalance can arise when there is only one side to a story. What people may think about a person and the truth can be vastly different. Consequently, this can taint our perceptions of others, and hold us back from connecting with them. Adichie provides an example of this in her talk. One of her college roommates, who was American, held a single story of the African race and therefore made assumptions about Adichie based on that story. She says, “My roomate had a single story of Africa: a single story of catastrophe. In this single story there was no possibility of Africans being similar to her in any way, no possibility of feelings more complex than pity, no possibility of a connection as human equals” (Adichie). The American roommate’s idea of Adichie’s culture conflicted her ability to connect with her. This experience emphasizes the idea that our connections with others can be influenced by our ability to understand

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