Rights in the U.S.A.

After living with a Danish roommate for the past semester, I feel as though I’ve been able to gain another grasp on what it means to be American.

This time, it deals with women’s rights.  The essay focusing on women of color who are child-bearing and their reproductive rights led me on the path to thinking of how we in America treat other Americans.

Let’s say, for instance, your classmate gets pregnant.  She happens to be a girl of color, had an unplanned pregnancy, and wishes to keep her child.  Her partner leaves the scene, forcing her to be entirely responsible at a young age to raise a child.  If she has no other resources, such as parents with economic means or willingness, what are her options? Besides her limited number of options, why is it that this is the case?

I have come to realize Americans in general are highly lacking the skill of sociological imagination.  Most lawmakers are older white men from a Christian background and, frankly, don’t take the time to understand the situations other people could end up in.  

My roommate, from Copenhagen, openly discusses with me her lifestyle back home.  She explains to me the passion people her age have for politics, eating healthy, caring for other citizens.  This is completely different from the US.  In some ways Denmark may be a bit xenophobic; they do have stringent policies for citizen naturalization.  But I believe the key point here is that these European citizens have enacted their capability to engage their sociological imaginations and provide help, care, and sympathy for their fellow people.  Can we please vote for politicians who think similarly and stray from being so selfish and close-minded?  Our classmates, friends, families, strangers…they need us. And we need them!

So, all in all, I believe we need to enact more rights for women, especially those in need during difficult times, such as pregnancy or under drug influence, etc.