Kyndra Prietzel

Period 1
2.1

One quote that I specifically liked was on page 345 that stated, “‘No one is born hating
another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must
learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more
naturally to the human heart than its opposite.’” by Nelson Mandela. I liked this quote because I
think it is so true. People nowadays, especially parents, teach their children their point of view
and what they believe in before children can fully comprehend what they mean. So many times
in today society are children taught to hate a certain group of people, or country, or religion.
Also, another quote I loved was on page 345 stated by Audre Lorde, “‘It is not our differences
that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept and celebrate those differences.’” I really
like this quote because it gives a sort of epiphany, and helps me realize that differences between
people is what makes each of us unique and special. If we didn’t have differences then the world
would be full of dull, exact-same beings. I think everyone’s different background, ethnicity, and
even personalities makes the world much more interesting and allows each of us the chance to
learn from others. In today’s world and time I think we should celebrate differences, and
celebrate all human beings and what makes them as equally important as we are.
Through reading the text I learned many new things. The story, “Girl” on page 387 by
Jamaica Kincaid intrigued my interest a lot. I found it very informative of what a girl’s life was
back in the day, and gave me a point of view of how they were expected to behave. One piece in
that writing that I liked was, “this is how you smile to someone you don’t like too much; this is
how you smile to someone you don’t like at all; this is how you smile to someone you like
completely;”. This truly shows the guidelines of a girls life back in the day. You were always
supposed to be kind, not stating that you should be mean, but you shouldn’t speak out or voice
your own point of view. Another piece I found interesting was, “this is how to behave in the
presence of men who don’t know you very well,” (pg. 387). Obviously this shows rules of how a
woman should behave in front of men. I think the quotes above in the previous paragraph go
along with this. People only see the differences between men and women, and can’t learn to
accept them as what they are. We are all equally entitled and should be celebrated for all things
we do. If we are taught to be a certain way, or think of people a certain way nothing will change.
This also goes along with “The Declaration of Sentiments” on page 362. N ear the beginning in
the second paragraph the paper begins, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and
women are created equal;”. I found this very interesting and thought provoking that they
included “women” in this sentence. In the original “Declaration of Independence” on page 127 it
states all of the above except the inclusion of “women”. It really helps you to understand that the
world for a long time has had a one sided perspective on what a women is, and should be.
Throughout “The Declaration of Sentiments” there is a list of what women have endured under
society’s conditions. One that I found interesting was, “He has taken from her all right in
property, even to the wages she earns” (pg. 362). I found this interesting because it was true back
in the day women could not own their land, and that when they got married all their property was
then owned by the husband. It reminded me, forgive me of being oldschool, of an episode on
Little House on the Prairie, where Caroline Ingalls and her husband, Charles Ingalls, have a
hissy fit over a petition that could grant women the chance to own land for themselves.
Throughout the episode there is a turn of events where it comes down to women against men.
Eventually, Charles signs the petition. However, it just reminds me how back in the day, and
even in today’s time, how stubborn and one sided people can be. People are grown and raised a
certain way to think things about certain people. I enjoyed the statement on page 363 that states,
“He has created a false public sentiment by giving to the world a different code of morals for
men and women, by which moral delinquencies which exclude women from society, are not only
tolerated, but deemed of little account in man.” The differences designed between men and
women have excluded them from equality, especially from the opposite sex. I think there are
ways in the world where people are brought to speculations about others, and define them
differently in a negative way. I really liked the first two quotes shared to express how people can
truly, not change those differences, but learn to accept them, honor them, and overall learn to
love. It is through movements such as the one in “The Declaration of Sentiments” that we can
learn to accept others and what they stand for.