Overview
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed only 58 years. Historically speaking, that wasn't long enough to be a thing of "history" or say "it's no longer applicable today." We still have people who have first-hand experience of that time period, and some of us are denied of our basic rights in some form.
Since we mostly and only know the world from our viewpoint , we often misunderstand others or plainly don't know the world others live in. This week's Discussion assignment is to correct some of that misunderstanding or better know the world of others. As a Christian, we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. It didn't say "love our neighbor who have the same political view" or "love our neighbor who act like us."
I want you to share a personal experience on any one of the following:
- where you were denied of your civil liberties due to your race, skin color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation. (Be sure to understand civil rights and civil liberties from chapter readings.) a) Identify which one of the civil liberties you were denied and b) a briefly summarize the incident. c) How did you handle it?
- where one of your close family members have been denied of their civil liberties. a) Include the civil liberty and b) a brief summary of the incident. c) How did they handle it?
- If you have never experienced either of the two above, share a time where you have been blatantly mistreated due to your race, skin color, religion, sex, national original, disability, sexual orientation, or physical look. This option is not a denial of your civil liberties, but sharing an incident where you experienced discrimination or prejudice due to your physical attributes. We all experience some form of "outcasting" because of how we look. While this is not a denial of civil liberties, discriminatory or prejudice behavior can lead to something more serious things like denial of one's civil liberties. a) Identify the potential civil liberties that could be denied b) How did you handle it?
This is only one initial post assignment. NO two responses to classmate needed. However, do read all your classmates' posts. READ your chapter reading first. This assignment is in the context of academic, and this is NOT a platform to talk bad about people, complaining rant post, or "holier than thou" editorial remark. Be prayerful before you post and be educational in sharing your experience. Post that are not shared as described above will be taken down.
Let me reemphasize that experiencing discrimination or prejudice does not necessarily mean you've been denied of your civil liberties. (Those behavior can lead to something more serious like denial of civil liberties.) We live in a sinful world. Everyone (whether intentionally or unconsciously) at some point in their lives discriminate (discriminated) or have prejudice thoughts. If we lived in a perfect world, we wouldn't. But we don't. Therefore, we shouldn't also expect "perfect" treatment from strangers either. That's not going to happen. Our self-worth and identity should come from our God and not from some random person who doesn't know you.