Dear President of the United States,
There are many issues the United States faces on a day to day basis that need to be addressed, however, I believe that our country fails to achieve our five ideals including, opportunity, liberty, equality, democracy, and rights. In my ninth grade history class, we focused the history of the country on these ideals, evaluating whether we have gotten closer to achieving them or not, however, this is not the past, this is the future, in which we need to make adjustments to change. Meanwhile, all five of the ideals are essential, I feel as though we slack off on equality the most. Inequality has been present in our country for centuries now. Little has been done to amend our nation's unequal ideals. Every now and then there’s a big leap forward, and then after that achievement, we get side-tracked until a huge issue arises. To try and solve this issue, often universities and employers will use the tactic of affirmative action. It has become common today to dismiss the mistreatment of minorities in our society. However, this is an unjust treatment that is needed to be confronted. I would like you, as the President to devote yourself to this issue, because it is important to ensure the equality our founding fathers had promised the citizens of America under the Declaration of Independence in making sure “all men are created equal”.
Although after many reforms to help African Americans be equal with the rest of society, the United States failed to address all the ideals in doing so. In 1865, slavery was abolished and African-Americans were guaranteed the right to vote with the Voting Right Act of 1965 under the right to vote in the fifteenth amendment. Unfortunately, inequality among African Americans is extremely excessive nowadays. The Guardian’s police killings database records that over 200 of the 855 people who have died as a result of police action were black. Imagine coming home one day and finding out your brother, sister, son, or daughter was shot by a police officer, being completely faultless. Research shows, “Still, in a year when approximately 1,200 people were killed by police, zero officers were convicted of murder or manslaughter, painting the picture that officers involved in killing another person will not be held accountable for their actions”. How terrible of humanity to let the person who killed someone dear to another’s family walk freely in society without punishment? True, there are two sides to every story, and some argue the victim’s behavior and treatment towards the authoritarian warranted the officer to react in a violent way resulting in the death of the African American. However, stories of violent police action are spotlighted more frequently than ever. The government should regulate who is becoming an officer in a more efficient way and discipline those who have committed such a horrendous crime. By regulating the police workforce and disciplining those who have been unjust, I believe the number of deaths in the hands of police will decrease. As a nation, we should reach our goals and our ideals with every chance we receive, and by pushing the equality for the colored, we have a better opportunity of doing so.
Despite many activist movements to try and equalize the genders, women’s role in society and in the workforce are still unjust to men today. Women were granted the right to vote in early 1920. Activist, Alice Paul, made a huge leap forward in women’s history by performing protests including her standing in front of the White House and her hunger strike when she was arrested and put into jail. This was a huge step forward in the equality we strive for in our five ideals, however, women are still not equal as most think. Alice Paul risked her life and reputation to achieve the right to vote, which yes was an amazing achievement, however, there is much more can we achieve. Women are already not being paid equally in the workforce, giving them an immense economic gap between men. These women are spending much more too; not just on clothes and accessories, but especially hygiene and beauty products. Research says, “On average women pay $151 billion in extra fees and markups than men do not have to pay”. No, none of these fees may be required, however, all the hate society sends to the women who do not wear makeup on a daily basis or do not use feminine products for their menstrual cycle. It is often frowned upon in society to not purchase such products which then causes the extra fees to be spent. No one, not you or me enjoy the feeling of being judged and hated on for our actions. Women spend $2,216 on tampons and pads in their lifetime, not including the extra $1,229 spent in a women's average lifetime on painkillers needed for cramps or stomach pains. Females on average are being paid typically 80% of what a male is being paid and with the horrendous cost, it is to be a woman and buy hygiene products, being underpaid can be detrimental to their wallet. Not only do these prices damage their bank account, but the incapability to purchase these products can be harmful to one's health and one's reputation or role in society. If the government were to enforce equal pay for all genders, then women would be able to afford the requirement they need to stay sanitized and clean. Raising their paychecks to be equal with men's would help push the country towards our five ideals we are constantly striving for.
To conclude, we should not just stand around and watch our people be mistreated in everyday society. Watching them be mistreated and not acting on this is only making the situation worse. As the President of the United States, you should improve the wellbeing of the citizens of American, then address this issue before matters get worse. Everyday on the news there is a new story featuring the mistreatment of minorities. We shall join together and conquer the problem. Women should be treated equally with all genders and minorities should seek just treatment in society. When government addresses these issues and improves the equality of minorities, then we will be closer to achieving one of our five ideals.
Addison M. Gale
Calacal, Celisa. "This Is How Many People Police Have Killed so Far in 2016." ThinkProgress. N.p., 05 July 2016. Web. 30 Oct. 2016. <https://thinkprogress.org/this-is-how-many-people-police-have-killed-so-far-in-2016-7f1aec6b7098#.goir1mo9j>.
Kane, Jessica. "Here's How Much A Woman's Period Will Cost Her Over A Lifetime." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/18/period-cost-lifetime_n_7258780.html>.
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