In class, we learned about various movements in the 60's and how they changed the United States. Many of these movements are still active today; the gay rights movement has grown considerably since the 60's, and there are still active movements for civil rights, the environment, women's rights, and other things.
While there have been many changes in all of these movements, many people want to continue them, and say that there's still lots of work that still has to be done. Other people, however, say that these movements have gone too far, and want to get rid of some of what these movements have accomplished. Both of these sentiments mirror what people thought about these movements in the 60's. Do you think these movements will continue to make progress like they have between the 60's and today, or are we starting to reach a status quo?
I believe that, considering recent events, these movements will continue to grow because there is a lot of work that still needs to be done. If people in these movements don't do anything about what's happening as soon as they can, it's on us (high schoolers) to do something about it. Although the Women's Marches (clearly) outnumbered the crowd that showed up to our country's new president's inauguration, I have to say that it's definitely empowered a lot of people but the current movements still need to take DIRECT action against abusive and prejudiced policies that have been passed or on their way to being passed.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do believe that there is definitely potential for movements like the Women's Rights Movement and the LGBT Rights Movement to continue fighting for certain legal and social protections for promoting equality, I don't believe that they will make significant process like they did during the 1960s for a few reasons. The first reason why I don't think these movements will be able to make as much progress towards promoting specific civil rights is because a lot of people don't necessarily care for or support these issues. Even though there is definitely a significant amount of political and social support for issues such as gender equality (which can be seen through activist demonstrations like the Women's Marches or even on online articles and debates), there is still a sizable amount of people who don't want women or people part of the LGBT to have the same rights as others whether it's because of their religious beliefs, influences from their backgrounds, etc. Now, although such prejudices didn't prevent movements like the Women's Rights Movement from creating change and challenging the status quo at the time, I think another factor that could prevent this change is the fact that a lot of people already believe that we have reached an acceptable status quo for equal rights. Because these movements already influenced the creation of federal legislation theoretically guaranteeing the equal rights of individuals based upon race and gender decades ago, a good portion of Americans just don't think that there even needs to be more political change promoting the rights of these groups and that enough change has been made to help these movements. Even though this isn't inherently true (as there is definitely a lot that needs to be done in terms of guaranteeing equal rights for all Americans), people don't believe that it's necessary to try and continue furthering these movements throughout the future, which is why I think it will be difficult to try and create this needed change soon, especially considering how most people argue about their opinions online rather than choosing to contribute to direct action towards certain movements.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe that these movements that made so much headway in the 60's and continue now will not get much larger. These movements already have a large percent of the population supporting them such as the LGBT. If they get much larger i'm sure that the public view on these issues will change. This will lead to these communities gaining widespread acceptance throughout the U.S.
ReplyDeleteI believe that society changes overtime and within the years since those movements started we have changed. Depending on what side of the political spectrum you're on, one may believe a few of those movements don't need to continue occurring while some believe all those should still happen if not more movements should be created. Personally I believe some of those movements made a difference thus not needing to continue on with them anymore. While other movements created back then haven't gained enough power to make change should still be around.
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