Taking A Stand

We strongly believe that you should go out on a limb.
We implore you to cleverly oppose society.
To challenge with determination the manner that has somehow tragically infected our generation.
We have walked with conviction, yet nothing has happened.
By actually talking we have noticed that somehow
the challenge of wisdom has aggressively frightened society
and disguised conviction.

By Rachel McKinley and Georgina Irvine

What is Worth Fighting?

Abolish Slavery.

Throughout history many brave notables have stood up against slavery. However, today I will only be telling of two. The first being Abraham Lincoln, who abolished slavery in America. Next I will be talking about is Harriet Tubman, who helped over 300 slaves escape from the United States to Canada. Noth of these people helped abolish slavery around the world.

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, who served from 1861 to 1865, when John Wilkes Booth assassinated him. In 1863 Lincoln abolished slavery. He once said ‘I have always thought that all men should be free; but if any should be slaves, it should be first those who desire it for themselves, and secondly, those who desire it for others.’ I think this quote implies that nobody should be forced to become a slave against his or her will. Those slaves should be given the chance to live freely among all other people, no matter what nationality, religion, rich or poor, skin colour, and others, everyone should be treated equally and have the same opportunities. However, if, for some reason, there had to be slaves, Lincoln believes that the slaves should be those who want the slaves purely for self-desire or for desire of others. They should have to go through what millions of other human beings suffered and worked hard for, just so people around the world can have appliances and products. People shouldn’t be able to use and control others for their own selfish reasons, and if they really need someone to work hard for them, they can either find someone who actually wants to work for them or they could just do it them self because it is unfair for others to have to do the tasks that you should be able to do yourself. Abraham Lincoln was a fair man and he died for trying to help all those poor slaves who were starving, tired, and poor because of others who treated them like animals, but people should all be given the same opportunities and chances, not just be working unnecessarily all their life for some other person who gets to relax and get paid for when the hard working people are basically getting nothing for all the work that they do.

Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman is recognised as the ‘Moses of her people’ because of her brave act against slavery. She was named this because from 1850 to 1858 she lead over 300 slaves from America into freedom. Harriet Tubman was born into a life of slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland, in 1820. In 1848 Tubman decided to runaway from her plantation, leaving her husband and the rest of her family behind. Later she decided to return to Maryland to free her family and friends. Tubman would free the slaves by transporting them through the underground railways. She would take them to St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada. This was the perfect place to take black slaves because in St. Catherines white and black people lived equally in comfortable houses. 
“If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there's shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.” This inspirational quote was said by Harriet Tubman. She believed that however hard things get, however difficult things may seem, don’t stop trying. Keep going. Tubman never gave in, she had so many chances to stop and live a comfortable life, to live in peace. She had hundred of chances to surrender, to let the people who enslaved her kind win. But she never let them. She stood firm in her convictions and went on to freeing hundreds of slaves in America.

  Harriet Tubman and Abraham Lincoln’s actions inspire us to fight for what we believe in. They stood firm in their beliefs and went on to bring change in their society. Because of Tubman and Lincoln many people have fought for what they think is or isn’t right, or what they think should or should not be happening. The actions that these significant and brave men/women have done has had an enormous impact on our world today. They have stood up against slavery and have inspired others to fight for what they believe in.

I believe in abolishing slavery because people should not be forced to work against their will for little pay. They should at least get a chance to be free and live normal lives. I think that it is wrong for people to be treated the way that slaves are being treated because they are ones doing the actual work, but they are ones being payed less and treated worse, when it should be the other way round. The slaves should be payed at a higher rate, they should be treated as equals and not as animals.

Picture URL's: 1) http://gonzoreality.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/slavery.jpg

                      2) http://thestudentreview.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Abraham-Lincoln.jpg

                      3) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Harriet_Tubman_cropped.jpg

The Utopian Society

  Maurice Strong once said ‘After all, sustainability means running the global environment - Earth Inc. - like a corporation: with depreciation, amortization and maintenance accounts. In other words, keeping the asset whole, rather than undermining your natural capital. ’ I believe  that this quote by, Maurice Strong, means that in order for us to have a sustainable society we must value our resources, instead of trying to defy them. The Oxford Dictionaries describe the word sustainability as ‘conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources.’ If I were to create a new world I would hope that it would be environmentally sustainable.  

 Sustainability is important for it allows for growth and development because it gives the new civilizations and generations a reliable future, allowing them to thrive in their natural habitat. In this day and age, the human race is multiplying at an alarming rate, and we are consuming more and more of our natural habitat. This may not seem as a problem to many, however, while the human population grows our natural resources are lessening. If we are to keep consuming at this rate, then in the future our supplies will be limited. What we do now has a huge effect on how our future will turn out to be.  

In my ideal world, everyone will value and encourage their children to sustain the environment and their natural habitat. People in this society will work towards reducing their carbon footprint. They will also seek to increase their positive impact on the environment, as well as decreasing their negative impact. Many societies have endeavored to achieve this characteristic, and unfortunately have failed. However, this does not mean that we should give up hope, sustainability is worth the effort.          

IMAGE URL: http://goldschmidt.info/2008/sustainability.jpg