Learning to Understand Our Nation by Amanda

Learning to Understand Our Nation by Amanda - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

I feel that the book that all high school students should read is "A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America" by Ronald Takaki. I was assigned this book as a part of my reading during a diversity course which I took at a local college, through my state's Dual-Credit program. While I had been raised to have an open mind and understanding of the history of why things are the way they are in America, the book opened my mind further and showed me the true history of the United States. It showed the history that you don't learn in public schools; the history of how White people in our nation have always come, conquered, and have repeatedly put other groups down; starting from the vikings coming to the American continent and ending in present day America. This book showed how racism and bigotry developed in our country and turned into a vile, rotten thing which can pull a community apart. "A Different Mirror" also shows how plain ignorance due to the lack of teaching of this full history can cause so much disconnect and pain for the people of our country.

I chose this book because I feel that people my age aren't taught enough about the history of the United States to know how it affects us; leaving us free to be ignorant and spew out racist remarks that we don't understand the history of. This book is meant to help open the eyes of those who don't know why the South is more racist, or why it's so wrong that we profile Arab people as terrorists on site. Truly, this book is a treasure trove of education which can lead to a more peaceful and unified country. One filled with understanding and tolerance of those around us.