Social Issues Through the Works of Past Authors

In recent years, the stereotypes of people based on their social rank, economical status, gender, and age have been nearly destroyed by the individual in the past and present that have spoken out against these assumptions. (1) The most prominent reasons behind this is because of the lasting negative effects or, as referred to by Mary Wollstonecraft, the pernicious effects left behind by this treatment and stereotyping. Some of these pernicious effects can cause people to lose faith in themselves and continue on as they are and not trying to rise above their current situation to better things by ethical means. (2) In her essay, Mary Wollstonecraft, states her strong distaste in regards to comparing women as property; however, in her time, many women were regarded as this in society by men of all classes. Despite the efforts of many women of the past, some women of high and lower classes alike would not stand up in order to help the gender stereotyping end. (3) Wollstonecraft states in her work that when people are comfortable financially, they tend to become idle and numb to the morality of things occurring in the surrounding world. This is why Wollstonecraft stated that women of higher means are not bound to the same stereotypes as women of less economical comfort. This causes most of them to sit idly by as the less fortunate women are tasked with changing stereotypes for those that will not rise with them and share their means. Therefore, the cause takes longer to reach resolution than if everyone were to help. This tends to make some of the working people bitter toward those that do no work and still reap the benefits. I feel as thought this cause-and-effect relationship is true and those that work do have a rights to be bitter.

There are other portions of society that have changed significantly in the past 60 years. The most notable part of the changing society is diversity. (4) Diversity, as described by Jonathan Kozol, is not its true definition, but it is just a word used by the educational system to cover the past and current indiscretions on the bases of gender and race. While the educational system is publicly integrated, modern segregation still runs rampant through school event today. I agree with Jonathan Kozol; however, there is more than just the negative definition. While the word is used to cover up past wrongs, the word also means hope for a better future where diversity is everywhere without and discrimination. (5) However, as pointed out by Carter G. Woodson, African Americans are often mis-educated on the past. By this, Woodson means that African Americans are taught the inferior African Americans instead of the self-educated and successful men and women. Many educational systems of the past would only teach the history they wanted students to know and not the entire truth. History should be taught with all of the good and bad of the past.