Issue Of The Week XX: 2010 Recipients Of Presidential Medal Of Freedom Demonstrate Our Commonality Across Race And Ethnicity

It is not real clear to me how this article is considered an issue of the week. I am sure most people would agree that recognizing individuals of extraordinary achievement towards freedom will improve perceptions and understanding of each other. Certainly, ignoring important contributors will not foster inspiration for others.

Thank you for your comment. While we are always honoring those with national and international acclaim, the real issue is posed at the end of the article:

Do you think recognitions such as this, in communities and cities all across America with the same level of media coverage afforded to negative personalities, will help improve our perceptions and understanding of each other?

Would it be good to have a "Race and Cultural Enrichment" award given to individuals and communities that promote inclusiveness?

Of course honoring and publicly recognizing persons of differing ethnicities portraying exemplary citizenship and excellence will in some way curb bigotry and ignorance. However, a more effective approach would be to focus on emphasizing and exposing the class differentiation socio-economic inequality that inadvertently bring about perceptions of racism. Meaning a greater understanding of cultural and regional circumstance and the social situation would more effectively negate bigotry.

I think that recognition by the media can be a very powerful tool; giving power to negative symbolic people of society will not encourage positive results in the community. I feel this way because I have seen more watered down situations of this type of situation in which people at my university are given lots of recognition for things I do not consider worthy of praise. I will not go into detail but for the sake of this response I will narrow back in on the world. When negativity receives attention, positive or negative, it promotes more of that type of negative behavior. For example, terrorist attacks that are reported on the news encourage terrorists that if they can make a national attack of some kind they will receive attention and therefore continue their efforts. I do not think that promoting inclusive individuals/communities is good.

I agree with ACU-29, I do not see how this an issue of the week. But, yes it's nice to recognize those who came from a difficult background or any sort of struggle. It is unfortunate that many still don't care that the DNA of all humans is 99.9 the same. So focusing on all of these negative personalities will not improve our perceptions and understanding of each other. No matter how much we want people to change, it won't. People don't care where you came from or what you did, they care about what you're going to do for us. America is selfish and our future is more important than what one has done to help the lives of others. There's always new issues that arise and we want an answer to those instead of worrying about what happened to their lives in the past.

This issue of the week is hard to write about what I think of it. I know it’s some type of recognition to those who demonstrated freedom throughout many different communities, which is a good thing. But it’s unclear to me what the issue is? The article stated that DNA of all humans is 99.9 alike, but society doesn’t happen to see it that way. We still view individuals as white, black, or brown, knowing that it’s been tested that we are clearing alike in DNA. Overall, I think it’s great that these individuals were recognized in this issue of the week. Also thanking them for the achievements they have done throughout the communities

Despite that this is not really an issue I feel its significance is worthy or noting; perhaps more than even the author realizes. When the community focuses on the achievements of racial and gender groups alone and fails to acknowledge that many white males go through challenges, it actually causes more tension than it relieves. But, when one is presented with an article like this in which all the races and both genders are represented for their adversity, it truly brings us all closer. I think the article is great and the event may be able to break even the most concrete boundaries.

Apparently there is a general consensus among students that recognizing the individual achievements of those from many different walks of life will do nothing to combat racism or class-ism. The easiest argument against such a standing is what harm does it do? What is the harm in recognizing the obvious science of the human genome project, that all human's have the same DNA despite how much better you think you are than the next person? What is the harm in recognizing extraordinary achievements from men and women who grew up in minority populations? I am a realist. This is not to be confused with pessimism which refusing to view the good in any situation no matter how obvious or wonderful. Realism dictates that life is nothing more than what it already is. Putting it simply racism is a disease that has always and, in all likelihood, will always exist. So why fight it? Because it is the right thing to do. We need to recognize the achievements of individuals from difficult backgrounds. We need projects like the human genome project that will display for all the equality of human genetics. As I said before, what is the harm?

This topic, while not specifically having anything to do with race or gender, is one that is good to talk about. These individuals have worked hard in their respective fields and have contributed to society and culture not only in the U.S. but in the world as a whole. Their efforts should be recognized and honored. In this way their efforts can be an inspiration for others.

People deserve to be recognized for doing the job they are doing, especially if they have show great progress in it. Psychologically people who get recognized for their good works have more fun continuing and feel more motivated. Achievements such as these should be made known for it may inspire others to do the same. Countries will be able to feel more united as well as the people. It is also important to acknowledge that various countries all over the world have participated in making a difference.

It is not really clear to me what this article is asking. I am glad it was posted because this is a story that I had not seen or heard about. No matter who you are, what race or ethnicity you are, or where you come from, everyone likes to be recognized for the good they have done. I do love the rainbow of people who are recognized, many races, many who are well known and some known only too few. When a ceremony or situation is about a person’s achievements in life and what they have gone through to accomplish those achievements, the story becomes about the individual not their skin color. I think we have a lot to gain from this. At the end of the day, it should never be about whether you are white, black, Hispanic, Jewish or Indian, it should be about the kind of person that you are. Recognition in a positive light has to be earned, no matter where you come from.

I am not really sure what this article is asking but I do think that these kind of awards are only good to the people that receive them. These awards might not affect most communities because some people could never relate to some of the award winners. The people that received this award were hall of fame athletes, former presidents, world class artists, and founders of some of the biggest corporations in the world. Most people can only relate to others if they live in the same neighborhood. Why would a person living in the ghetto, living in a trailer park, living in the inner city, living in a rural town, or living in a crowded home relate to one of these accomplished people? Even though these individuals are very honorable and dedicated people I can't see how this award can bring communities together.

I have a different view on this article. It is a great thing that such a diverse group of people won these awards. I also don't see how this is big news. When I looked at that photo I saw 15 recipients. Before I read this article, I was not looking for X number of Black men, X many women, and X many other minorities. Our society today is so phobic of seeming racism that we highlight everything that has to do with minority sucess. Honestly, if I was a minority recipient, I would be somewhat offended that an article was written saying that the acheivement was that they were a minority. The real acheivement was winning the award.

This article and the article presented in MSNBC personalize the great achievements performed by these Presidential Medal Recipients. This goes to show that we still live in a country where free will give us the choice to help those around us. Each of these medal recipients gave of their hard work and essentially gave their lives breaking social barriers to make America what it is today. We are a “Me” generation and if we continue in this path for to long we will find ourselves without heroes; ordinary people giving of themselves to improve the life of those around us regardless of skin color. We have become too self-center and only look to help our fellow man when it will conveniently benefit us. Thank God for those who still choose to give of themselves by breaking the cords of discontent toward one another and breaking the social barriers that bind us by ultimately bringing us closer together. We definitely need more articles that reflect the positive humanitarian works of others to make us aware of the need that is still out there. We should all be willing to contribute to this humanitarianism, regardless of race or ethnicity, but for the better of mankind.

By looking at the list of the recipients, American citizens are striving to improve their lives and the lives of the people around them. The Medal of Freedom recipients have been given a great honor and I think that it is wonderful that they are being recognized for their work and accomplishments. However, I do not understand how the recognition of these people is supposed to greatly influence our communities. I believe that the real way to improve community is to improve the quality of education and increase the population that is exposed to education. Showing people examples of what others are doing and what they could do does not help them reach their goals, but giving them the education that they need can give them endless possibilities.

In my opinion, this article makes a valid point about recognizing the great accomplishments that people of every ethnicity are achieving. There is so much exposure to the negative aspects of people on the media, that it would be refreshing to have the positive aspects highlighted more. I think it is great to show a wide variety of people with different ethnicities who have achieved so much. Those people may inspire other people of that same ethnicity to work as hard as they did and achieve something memorable of their own. Once the nation starts seeing different ethnic groups succeeding, than they will likely think more positively of them. It is important for the public to know about the good in the world and not just the negative things. I understand it is important for the nation to be aware of the unfortunate events that occur, but it is necessary to also reveal the good things. If these people are praised for the amazing things that they are accomplishing than they are likely to continue working toward great things. That is why it is crucial to support and encourage people when they have success or are working toward success. It is incredibly inspiring to see the list of people who have made such important contributions to America. I think this project serves as an important reminder that we are all the same, despite the differences on the outside. People are given the chance to appreciate the accomplishments no matter what ethnicity of the person who contributed. All of these medal recipients showed the ability to persevere through challenges and accomplish great things. This is inspiring to the nation and it is beneficial for people to hear about. Hearing about bad news constantly will give people the illusion that only bad things are occurring. More exposure to the positive aspects may allow people the opportunity to see the good things instead of being barraged by the bad. In conclusion, I agree with the article pointing out the benefits of highlighting the positive aspects and recognizing the people who accomplish things. It should not matter what ethnicity they are, just that they contributed to the growth of our nation.

There really is much to say about this article besides saying congratulations to them form making a change in the world with the things they did to get the Freedom they deserved. I think recognizing all of the different ethnicities could make a change in the world and stop all the life violence, but then again it won't affect many people out there. I think what this article should have presented was the difference they made to get their freedom or earn the Presidential medal of freedom.

As demonstrated by people of various different races and cultural backgrounds having been recipients of the President's Medal of Freedom it is shown that there is a sense of commonality across race and ethnicity as the article stated. I think that by seeing a various amount of people that we would not ordinarily see as being "like us," whatever race that might be, receiving awards for things that they have done and earning the respect of the president so much as to receive an award then that in turn gains the respect of the overall population more than it normally would have for the person. I do not regard myself as being biased towards any particular race, but I would still say that seeing that a person of another race other than my own getting that prestigious of an award would make me hold them in quite high regards. Although I am sure that this is not the attitude that the entire population would hold in their thinking towards these recipients, I think a lot of people would feel the same way I do about it. For this reason I feel that the significance of recognition is key in helping break down social, racial, and ethnic barriers in our country today.

I think that this is not even an issue, it would be different if the president showed favorites towards a certain race. But he didnt there are a wide range of ethnic groups who recieved the award? And its a good thing that the award is spread out among various groups because it also shows that every body struggles with life and anybody can bounce back from it as well. But there is no issue in this article, just great personal accomplishments are shown in this issue. It may have something to do with the fact the the president is black? I dont know but some of these issues would probably never even come up if it wasn't for the color of the presidents skin.

The article (very subtly) points out that when there is a negative personality or event making itself known, the media is all over it. It's true that the media will cover more negative stories than positive stories. I think if communities all across the nation focused more on the positive things or positive people and spreading the good news around on how these people or things affected society, citizens - as a whole- would start to look at other things on an individual basis in a more positive light. Instead of worrying about day-to-day circumstances or situations that are out of our control, we would be more focused on how we could be more help to society. Can you imagine how less stressful our days would become? People with prevalent health problems due to chronic stress could eventually become alleviated of their symptoms because you're taking away one of our worst enemies--stress. Also, if there were more media coverage on positive people and their contributions to society, I think there would be more people willing to match the standards set by these do-gooders, whether it be from having a naturally competitive spirit or just needing a role model, someone that can show them what they could be worth to society, ultimately, boosting their self-esteem.

I think the fact that all of the individuals that won an award are all different races. This shows that no matter what race you are, anyone can do something to better our country. We should take this into consideration when talking about discrimination and racism. Clearly these awards demonstrate an example of coming together as a society and helping each other out. These people did not have to do what they did, but because of their love for their country, they were willing to help out. If everyone in our country thought like this, maybe racism and discrimination would not be an issue anymore? Having multiple people, most of them differing from each other, win this award gives everyone an opportunity to look up to one of these individuals and strive to be more selfless and willing to help in whatever areas are needed in our society.

I think this article does a good job showing the diversity in our culture in a positive light. However, because this article was not about negative racism or violence, I had heard nothing about it. This shows a clear problem in that the media only brings major attention to the negative aspects in life. If we were shown more positive news, I think people would be pleasantly surprised how it would positively influence our culture.I think schools need to hang on to these good things and stress them as much as possible. Make the kids see the advancement of our country, make them believe that they can get this award too.These men and women need to be heroes to our young people.

I love seeing people being recognized and rewarded for their hard work. I think these people have done a great job at raising awareness of the situation they are in and using the attention gained to continue to impact the world. The problem I see with the article though is that they are all identified as members of a minority group. They won an award based off of that. Being a good person and making a positive impact on the world shouldn’t be big news. It’s encouraging and commendable, but isn’t it everyone’s responsibility to do these things? It’s like because these people are minority members of society it’s extra special that they did these things for the community. I don’t like that. It’s a double standard and it exemplifies the stereotypes even further.

I feel it is great that these people have been awarded a medal for their hard work. It is their hard work and perseverance that should draw the attention and not that of their commonality of race and ethnicity. I feel if people are awarded for race or ethnicity then that is what the media will focus more on and not that is truly the awarded focus. I feel that focusing on negative personalities does not improve our perception.

I am not sure this is an issue of the week. I feel like this is just stating that all of these people have achieved greatness regardless of race or gender. There really is no issue here. I am glad that all are capable of getting this recognition, but why is this article posted as an issue?

These fifteen men and women are doing a fantastic job improving the lives of not only those directly involved with their life, but also touching others all around the world. These fifteen people truly are role models and would be great people to model your life around. In the current age, where bad press and publicity consistently gets the spotlight it's great to hear a story where the "good guys" win. For the most part, these men and women aren't after acclaim and awards but are truly just motivated to help improve the lives of men and women everywhere. To sum up my answer, I believe it is a great idea to award these men and women who consistently do thankless jobs to improve humanity.

I think that this is a great achievement and honor to receive. It is very good to recognize and see what great things people are accomplishing. If the media did cover these awards and achievements I believe that it would help some people understand what is happening in their communities. But, negative news coverage receives more views and people are always way more interested in the bad things happening around them than the good. But in the long run reporting on the good things will help peoples understandings much better.

I find it highly motivating to think that there are still people out there who are willing to take the risks of reaching out to groups to try and create lasting relationships that might affect all of us at some point. It seems like the more I watch the news the more I see news that focuses on the negative things that happen in our country. This is definitely a breath of fresh air amongst the clouds of negative energy that fog up our newsstands and television stations. I can only pray that more people as well as myself will work harder like these people have to make this nation the best it can be. It is rare, even today to see people cross color barriers that have been up for so long. I myself am guilty of this as well, not doing everything I can to make my experiences with people of different ethnicity the best they can be. I feel that if news like this was on television regularly, people then might begin to think and maybe even act differently when it comes to race. And hopefully in a positive manner.

It is so uplifting to see an article like this. We spend some much time talking about the changes we need to make in our culture and society but we forget sometimes to talk about the positive steps we have made to making our society a more culturally diverse environment. Sometimes you have to wonder if we did not talk about the problems with race so much is people still notice them. I think the question at the end of the article brings up a good point. Maybe if we talk about the good things we have all done instead of the shortcomings of our society a little more we will have more respect and understanding of one another instead of continuously pointing out the flaws. We continually reflect on the bad things about our country and society but what if we took a step back to really appreciate and realize the blessings that surround us.

This is a cool thing that they have don here. These are all people that have achieved and done great things in there lives. But when we get right done to it how do you distinguish what is a life time achievement? For some it's getting up in front of a crowd and performing a concerto flawlessly others might simply be just waking up and being alive another day. I think it's a great idea but as many people have already stated it's a little confusing as to why this is an issue. This is simply people getting credit for something special that they did.