He Does Not...Or Does He?

Our roots. They are found in our families. They are found in our ties. They are found in our beliefs and faiths. Religion makes up most of our beliefs, and though its constantly put in the spotlight, it may have some insight.

Divine providence has been debated time and time again but the fact is, we can't see it, feel it, or even find it. Of course there are some ways to explain heaven and the fact that our everyday lives are governed by some supernatural force but they usually leave out a factor like truth or reliability. 

Once I heard a Emergency Room story, where a victim was rushed into ICU with a fatal wound from a car accident. She reported being conscious during the entire ordeal, although staff kept saying that her eyes were closed and she wouldn't respond. She went into surgery to come out alive (Thank God), but said that she was able to look down on her body as a "floating figure." This was also seen in multiple cases across the nation. Surprisingly, there was a surge to test this. When people went into near death surgeries the staff would write or hide something up on a high shelf- something that could only be seen from above. No one even reported any of these things. Doesn't this really disprove the fact that there is a higher dimension out there?  

Or are there?

String theory is a complex way of dealing with the estranged idea of providence. String theory basically brings together all the factors of science and accounts for a dimension where a substance (or in this case divine figure) could be standing about a centimeter away from us. So essentially science may have proved why we can't see God, but then again its just a theory. Unproved and so far still debated, just like religion. 

Currently, we were learning about early American literature. It was highly influenced by the idea that God does certain things for a reason, such as giving corn and supply to the Plymouth colonists and such ideas that the natives were helping them only because God saw it fit. This idea of providence really shows that some believe that life is governed by a divine force. 

I'm not trying to disprove anything. I  think there are possible scenarios that God could be in. Who knows he could be standing right over my shoulder. 

Stereotyping in the Melting Pot

Smug, happy, and quite oblivious as to what is going on in the rest of the world, Americans enjoy the American dream. Many from around the world seek to enjoy the same American dream. The immigration of Europeans has been acceptable, but a different attitude has developed when it comes to people of color. The "melting pot" is in fact quite unreal. From its onset, it has been struggling with the idea of keeping America white. It is a fact that humans are, and no matter how hard they try not to, still hold prejudices. A majority of Americans, with all good intentions are in denial that racism is alive and kicking. Last weekend, the melting pot simmered violently after the crowning of the Miss America, who happened, to not only be of color, but also of Indian decent. Although born and brought up in America, and being a part of the so called melting pot, her crowning was unacceptable to many white Americans. The tweets proved an unspoken sentiment that a large percentage of predominately white Americans are fearful of losing the privilege that they are reluctant to admit they possess. Even the world notices the behavior of the many in the melting pot. "In a flaming demonstration that an egalitarian, non-discriminatory United States,...bigotry and bias kept popping up on a social media for hours after the event," the Times fumed. "Mindless racist stereotyping raced ahead of the ideals professed by many Americans."

While reading The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven, my mind, inadvertently popped back to this recent event. While Alexie comically fights prejudice in his novel, Miss America was subjected to an on slaughter of vicious remarks and comments on her race. Alexie explored the relationship between racial categorization and explained why people think they way they do about Native Americans. Prejudices exist everywhere; from a small 7-11 business to the stage set for Miss America.

Prejudices can lead to hurtful and derogatory allegations. Over and over again Americans prove that they have prejudices against non-white races. Once one factors in the fear of becoming a white minority and the ongoing struggle of whites to keep America white, the term "melting pot" is most definitely a myth.

Power in the Palms of Everyone's Hands

How much power does an individual person wield? I know a person wields 312 million units of energy per year, yet that is different from wielding it. Power is different in certain instances. I could say people wield a lot of power. President Obama wields a lot of power. He's in control of an entire nation. Yet, I could say the common man wields as much or more power than him, being able to vote, recall, and referendum these powerful politicians. I could say the wife of the common man is powerful, being able to swing his decision. I could say the children of the family wield power over the man and wife, being able to kick up a storm in order to get their way. I could say this cycle is endless. Power is different to everyone. So how can you measure how much one has?

People are all different; they use power differently. An individual uses power as they see it fit. It varies at different times. Huckleberry Finn uses power to show his struggle and at that time he uses a lot of power to do what is right and help Jim - he changes his mindset. He doesn't stay with his original way of thinking. Thinking that taught him that African Americans were not people. Yet the power that he and Jim wield lead him to question himself - question his basic understanding of the world and how it works. He changes his mind. By changing his mind he shows that not only does he wield a lot of power, but that the amount of power that he does wield can change someone's mind. Individuals can wield as much power as they want to. 

I believe people can wield as much power as they see fit. One can try and measure the amount of power an individual uses but it changes to quickly for it to matter.An individual shows compassion, criticism, and other elements that have the power to change a person's outlook on life, just as Huck Finn did. How much power can someone wield? Well, they can wield enough power to change your mind, your perception, your everything, and your all. That is how much power just one person can actually wield.