This speech reminds me of the Martin Luther King Jr. speech. President Lyndon B. Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr. both were willing to put all their time and effort into whatever it would take to make all Americans equal. He used the Declaration of Independence as a reference to explaine the very right all americans have to influence those to take action. The president shows great care and pride in the actions he has taken. He seems very devoted and is more appealing to those he is trying to confince.

"We Shall Overcome"- LBJ; Week 3

A week after racial violence that led to many deaths, on March 15, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke to Congress about the African American’s struggling for equal rights and voting rights.

Insight to what happened: Martin Luther King Jr. planned to march from Selma to Montgomery Alabama to register for African Americas to vote. This was a very unsuccessful march. A second march was blocked by police so Federal intervention was issued. The march began on March 21, 1965 with over 3,000 participants.

What the speech is talking about/main points: Basically, LBJ is composing a bill that states, “This bill will strike down restrictions to voting in all elections, federal, state and local, which have been used to deny Negroes the right to vote.”

One main point of this speech is to bring about the Declaration of Independence and what it means. LBJ says, “‘All men are created equal.’ ‘Government by consent of the governed.’ ‘Give me liberty or give me death.’ And those are not just clever words, and those are not just empty theories. In their name Americans have fought and died for two centuries and tonight around the world they stand there as guardians of our liberty risking their lives. Those words are promised to every citizen that he shall share in the dignity of man. This dignity cannot be found in a man's possessions. It cannot be found in his power or in his position. It really rests on his right to be treated as a man equal in opportunity to all others. It says that he shall share in freedom. He shall choose his leaders, educate his children, provide for his family according to his ability and his merits as a human being.” All in all, the Declaration of Independence was written and signed, but no one was following its rules.

The main idea of this speech was to inform Congress that we, Americans, are all equal and the Declaration of Independence can back it up. Now what we, the people, need to do is give equal rights to all men and women no matter what color, sex, or religion.

Summary

Some did not realize that the Tucson shooting even took place until they read about it for their homework assignment.
The group felt that it was a very immature act. Politics need to be more representable and need to express their beliefs, comments, and any other thoughts in a mature and professional manner.
It was mentioned that though this act was moraly wrong, Jared Lee Loughner, the shooter, had the right to bear arms which is protected by the second Amendment. It was also stated that the first Amendment was abused by this shooting. Her right to freedom of speech nearly killed her.

Two important events + Citizenship

I will start by saying that I had no idea what happened in Tucson on Jan. 8^th, until I read about it. It is definitely a very strange and random at that. For those who don’t know what happened, like me, you can read about it by going here.

I feel that this was a very immature act. Grown-ups should act like grown-ups, not going around shooting each other because someone doesn’t like what someone else has to say. There is a way for politics to be talked about without being any threats or violations to someone.The political debate has just been pushed to an extent that it should not have gotten to. Jared Lee Loughner, took it way out of proportion. However, from a legal stance, Amendment II states : A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. This meaning, Loughner had every right to have a gun, but his intention was a bad one.

As for the newsworthy comments by Paul Lepage on Jan 14, he stated, “Tell ‘em to kiss my butt. If they want to play the race card, come to dinner and my son will talk to them.”

Lepage said the NAACP invited him to meet with black prisoners at a state prison on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but declined. He said he would only go if he could meet with all prisoners there, but that was not ok to them. When the NAACP criticized him about not going, he made his comment. However, apparently this never happened, according to Maine NAACP director Rachel Talbot Ross.

All in all, some people just need to watch what they say, and make smart decisions, not criminal ones.

Last weeks shooting

Last week in Tucson there was an incident of Freedom of speech. Unfortunately it ended in tragedy with the senator being shot. It shows that people just do not agree with others, and he took his matters into his own hands. This may show that we may not have the freedom of speech after all. You can go to the news or reporters and say whatever you want, but you might be taking a big risk in doing so. It just shows how dangerous the freedom of speech really is.

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms

I think that the most important right in the bill of right is the right to keep and bear arms. If people are not allowed to purchase gun and to have them in their possession then we are only keeping guns of our honest peoples hands. Gun are not only used for committing crime, many people only have guns for hunting or personal protection. If we were to take the right to keep and bear arms away then the only people on the street with guns would be the criminals because they do not care about the law.

MIA Mass Meeting at Holt Street Baptist Church

In the article, MIA Mass Meeting at Holt Street Baptist Church, Martin Luther King Junior talks about segregation and equality, the two main points of this article. In 1955, there were a lot of problems with segregation. Whites had their own place and so did the blacks. To MLKJ and more than half of the black population, this wasn’t ok and something needed to be done about it. However, change was just around the corner thanks to Rosa Parks.

Rosa Parks was really the first person to step up and do something about the situation. By making a bold and daring move to not move to the black section of the bus, she raised awareness to the country about segregation. Shortly after this incident, people around the country were trying to integrate and make everything equal for all. The blacks did not fight using weapons, but with determination and togetherness. These people were determined. “And we are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight until justice runs down like water, (Yes) and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Equality in our country now is not a problem. To me, it shouldn’t matter what skin color you have. We are all people and have feelings. Rosa Parks was a strong person, and I like to think of her as a hero to all black people. She had the courage that most people wouldn’t have. She was the starting point to a better country with more freedom and rights. We are all equal, so let’s treat everyone as one.

MIA Mass Meeting

The MIA Mass Meeting at the Holt Street Baptist Church brought together the African American community in a fight for what everyone believes in: Freedom. Rosa Parks helped them realize that they too can stand up to the whites and believe that they too have rights. They talk about getting trampled over and how they will and are getting tired of it. That night they prepared themselves what will lay ahead, and they will stick together, which they did do. God is a big part in this speech, by motivating all of them to believe.

Rosa Parks stood up earlier that day for her rights to sit in the front of the bus. She made African Americans believe that they should too stand up for what they believe in. This example is shown in the sixth paragraph, “Mrs. Parks is a fine Christian person, unassuming, and yet there is integrity and character there. And just because she refused to get up, she was arrested.” They said that no one can doubt her sense of great character, and that she has strong Christian Faith.

They all came together as a community to prepare and pray that good will come ahead and that they were going to stick together no matter what happens.

MIA Mass Meeting at Holt Street Baptist Church:

In the article MIA Mass Meeting at Holt Street Babtist Church there is one main point that sticks out to me. This main point would be the huge display in community. This group of people come together to fight for what they believe in. They are all religious people who are willing to do what it takes to accomplish the goal they desire. They show that through all this they will stick together as the auther says, "let us go out with a grim and bold determination that we are going to stick together." He also says, "Unity is the great need of the hour" and much more indicating how important it is to stick together.
This group of people are religious and in this religion they do not think it is right to hurt or harm people and do what is wrong. The speaker says, "We are not afraid of what we are doing, because we are doing it within the law. And there is never a time in our American democracy that we must ever think we are wrong when we protest. We reserve that right." The speaker makes it very clear that what they are doing is not wroing or against their relion of beliefs but instead it is something they have been given the right to do. He also tells the audience, "If we are wrong, the Constitution of the United States is wrong. If we are wrong, God Almighty is wrong. If we are wrong, Jesus of Nazereth was merely a utopian dreamer that came down to Earth. If we are wrong, justice is a lie, love has no meaning." By saying these words he convinces these people they are doing no wrong, and is incuraging them to pursue their beliefs.

What comes to mind when you hear the word citizenship?

Constitutional, Privilege, Freedom