"If there's anything that I've discovered out of this whole thing, it's that people take for granted being a citizen of this country. They don't see the importance of having a privilege like that."
I think this is very true. I came to the United States from South America when I was little and pretty much grew up American just like Rasha, but I was just a resident of the USA due the fact that I wasn't born here. Therefore, I became a citizen just last year with my whole family. It was a long process and of course expensive as well, but we made it. Becoming a citizen made me realize that I should exercise my citizen rights such as voting because every single vote counts. I didn't really understand this concept until this election year because I know that by vote will count and voting is such an important thing that we, as citizens, should not take for granted. There is so much apathy among Americans that we need to somehow wake up and realize that voting is very important and should not be taken lightly. People take this and so much more for granted when they don't realize that many of the countries immigrants come from don't allow their own citizens' words to be heard and their choices to be communicated and valued. Rasha and her human-rights advocacy will help her voice be heard and will help others see what she saw.
Had Rasha's story been your story, what would you have done? Would you succumb to depression and keep looking to the past, or would you become and activist as well and fight for your race and ethnicity and help people as others helped you?
Also: Do you think you take your citizenship for granted. Are you active in your community as well as an active voter, especially with the presidential elections coming up in November? Do you have apathy towards your country or do you believe your voice can be heard?
I was on the same page with you when I read this, though I didn't think I was in denial about people being incarcerated just because of their race...I honestly didn't know about it. I know that every time Muslims or anyone who looked like they were from the Middle East came around the air seemed to shift and there became a discomfort in the environment. However, I had no idea that this was happening in the U.S (maybe because I was only like ten and I didn't understand the whole thing anyway). But I like your point about how so many people would give anything to be American citizens and then there are some of us that were just born into it and we don't appreciate it. I feel like right now when the country is doing poorly is when a lot of natural-born Americans are ready to give up and throw up their hands at the economic situation we're in. On the other hand, a lot of immigrants and people who have fought for their citizenship are still ready to fight to get the country to the way we know it can be. I don't have any specific examples and I'm honestly not sure what makes me feel that way but I do. That is not to say that all natural-born Americans have given up hope but I feel like there are far more natural-born Americans that feel hopeless than immigrants that feel hopeless about our current economic situation.
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