Who are we really?

According to the psychologist Phillip Meilman the term  Defusion status is defined as, "Identity status characterizing individuals who have not questioned who they are and have not committed themselves to an identity,"(Developmental psych text book). This definition brings up many questions for me. I ask myself, "What defines who I am today?" Are we all defined by our accomplishments and what society tells us we "should" be proud of accomplishing? Are we defined by the type of music we listen to or the type of people we hang out with? After pondering these brain rattling questions I have come up with a couple of answers regarding myself, but I am sure that what defines me will be ever changing. I am not defined by who I surround myself with or what mistakes I have made. I am defined by what drives me to wake up in the morning. Social justice is what motivates me. Before going on the civil rights tour I never could grasp how many atrocities there are in the world today. One giant issue in America is immigration. Some believe that we should close the borders and isolate. However, many immigrants are looking for a "better life" or the so called "American dream." When immigrants come to America what they find is far from the "American dream." The meta-narritive that once consisted of "equal opportunity" and attainable dreams has vanished for immigrants today, and it has vanished for many Americans. There any many reasons for the lack of job opportunities, but what I am outraged about is how illegal have no rights. I know what you may be thinking, "Why don't they just become citizens?" Have you tried to pass the citizenship test? The questions on this exam are preposterous. I live in this country and I do not know the answers to many of these questions. Illegal immigrants are faced with horrible wages, poverty, and harsh working conditions every day. How do we fix this problem? Should we make citizenship easier to obtain? The answer to me is unknown. 

Chivalry is Dead

The term chivalry originated from the Middle ages. This term was referring to how Knights were expected by society during that time to act; Individual training and service to others. Throughout American society women have fought for rights. However, one thing women lost was chivalry. Men today do not treat women how they used to. What happened to courting women and opening the door for women? Today our entertainment shows men how to mistreat women. For example the song "Bitches Ain't Shit" by Dr Dre degrades women and shows young me that women are know as "bitches." This song also makes it look cool to think of women as disposable. When I went overseas I observed that men generally treated women a lot better then men here. What is the cause of this? Our media?

Underestimating Lupe Fiasco

Until I listened to Lupe Fiasco's song "Everything Black," I underestimated his musical talent and political value. This song broke down all of my preconceived notions about Lupe Fiasco. Lupe addressed everything America was built on. He states, "Stayed in Africa/We ain’t never leave/So there were no slaves in our history/Were no slave ships, were no misery." American was built on slavery even if we don't want to admit it. Lupe throws issues in our society straight in every Americans' face, and this is why you do not hear "Everything Black" on the radio very often. 

Another example of Lupe releasing his political thoughts is in his song "Words I Never Said." He calls out many politicians and society as a whole. He states,"I really think the war on terror is a bunch of bullshit/ Just a poor excuse for you to use up your bullets/ How much money does it take to really make a full clip?" Why are more artists not coming out against out the issues in society? Lupe states the problem of apathy and science by stating, "I think that all the silence is worse than all the violence/Fear is such a weak emotion thats why I despise it/We scared of almost everything, afraid to even tell the truth." He called out each and every one of us who are appalled by what we see in the world, but yet we go on with our lives without saying a word. Why are more people not outraged about Washington DC shutting down "unnecessary" federal programs. People are out of jobs, losing money, and many more problems will come from this shutdown. Why are people not more outraged about our public education system? We are people not more outraged?