What America Means to Me

What America Means to Me

On February 15, 1493 Christopher Columbus wrote a letter to Luis de Santangel. In the letter Columbus described what he had found on his journey, by this you can gather what he thought of America. My thoughts of America are in some ways agreeable with Columbus and in other ways are not. To me America is a place of opportunity, a place where we have freedom and a place of beauty.
When Columbus came to America I believe that he came here looking for gold and a form of wealth. I believe that America is a place that gives everyone equal opportunity to accomplish as much as they would like. In the days of Christopher Columbus every person had to be for themselves, so he acted like everything was about him. In the letter he said, “I sent two men inland to learn if there were a king or great cities. They traveled three days’ journey and found infinity of small hamlets and people without number, but nothing of importance.” He felt the need to send other people to go on a journey rather than go see for himself. And then he quotes that there were people there but none of importance. In America at this day in time we try to make people feel important but sometimes this is hard because there are stereotypes and classes that people go by and I feel that is the wrong thing to do. Columbus was trying to make everything all about him and not giving everyone equal opportunity. In America now we have numerous opportunities that many countries do not have. For example; we have great schools to attend, the government has money set aside for the less fortunate and unemployed, even though that America is losing some of its jobs to overseas countries we have more job opportunities that a lot of other places. I feel that Christopher Columbus wanted to be of importance but did not want to do any of the work or let other people have better opportunities.
To me America is a symbol of an idea, an idea that people can come together under a common goal to achieve a state where everyone can live free of fear and tyranny and can prosper for generations. By reading Christopher Columbus’s letter I have the impression that he did not believe the same thing. He said;” And there I found very many islands filled with people innumerable, and of them all I have taken possession for the highnesses, by proclamation made and with the royal standard unfurled, and no opposition was offered to me.” The people in those days had to be obedient to their leaders or there would be consequences to follow. Even though that rule implies to us today it is much different. We have the freedom to speak our minds and the freedom to make our own religious choices and they did not. We have freedom of equality in men and women. In those days women were nothing they did housework and that was all they could do. That is much different in this day and time, women are allowed to do just as much as men. Christopher Columbus did not know the meaning of freedom because he had slaves to do things for him.
There are many things in Columbus’s letter that I do not agree with but there is also one major thing that I can agree with him about. And that is the beauty of America. He wrote to Luis de Santangel saying;”All are most beautiful, of a thousand shapes, and all are accessible and filled with trees of a thousand kinds and tall, and they seem to touch the sky. And I am told that they never lose their foliage, as I can understand, for I saw them as green and lovely as they are in Spain in May, and some of them flowering, some bearing fruit, and some in another stage, according to their nature.” This is so true in so many ways. I can see where America would have been more beautiful in that day because there were no buildings and no pollution like there is today. But there are so many places you can go and see the beauty. In America I see beauty not just in scenery but in animals and people. I see beauty in the red, white and blue of our flag; on the feathers of a bald eagle; and on the face of a young child. There are so many ways you can see beauty in your everyday life and I wonder to this day if Christopher Columbus every figured this out.
In the letter written by Christopher Columbus I feel that Columbus was very selfish and did not know how to treat other people because he was too worried about himself. I feel that this is not a way that a true American should act. Americans should be proud to know that they live in a place of opportunity, freedom and a place that is beautiful.

Teen Marriage

I think that teen marriage is a bad idea because most likely it is not going to last. Statistics show that teenage marriages do not tend to endure. Teenage weddings are one of the most consistent, and preventable, mistakes made in marriage today. Getting married is something that will change your whole entire life forever. Are teenagers too young to make that decision on their own?

Statistics show that teenage marriages do not tend to endure. It was found in a study that forty eight percent of teens that marry before the age of eighteen are more likely to be divorced within ten years, compared with twenty four percent of those who marry after age twenty five. “Most young women don’t fare very well when it comes to raising a family as a teenager, and those precious few who get married, the marriages are very short-lived,” said Bill Albert, chief program officer for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. I agree with Mr. Albert that most sixteen and seventeen year olds are not ready to take on grown up responsibilities. “They may not know quite what they want in a lifetime partner,” Dr. Popenoe said. “They still often have years of education to complete, as well as getting settled in the work world, and those two things may change their outlook on life considerably.” I believe that people need to wait to get married until they are fully aware of what they are getting their selves into. Both partners need to be financially stable and ready to support a family. To live in the real world you have to have the means of support needed to live, if not you are going to end up in trouble and you are going to have to find someone to bail you out. The teen marriage issue highlights another debate, about the meaning of being a teenager in the modern age. Experts say that teenagers from two or three generations ago expected to take on more responsibility at a younger age, and that parents and others today too often assume they cannot. “We have this complicated idea of what it means to be a teenager,” said Karen Sternheimer, a lecturer in sociology at the University of Southern California. “We’ve redefined adolescence as an extension of childhood, whereas it used to be a precursor to adulthood.” The debate over whether teenagers are prepared for marriage was being framed through the lens of a middle-class, well-educated demographic, for whom marrying before being able to legally drink now may look alien or redneck.

Teenage weddings are one of the most consistent, and preventable, mistakes made in marriage today. Getting married involves a lot more than falling in love and becomes a life-changing experience for many teenagers. According to Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, the rabbi of the Beit El settlement and head of the Ateret Kohanim yeshiva, mental maturity cannot be acquired through reading instruction booklets, but only through life experiences. "Without financial independence, mental independence cannot exist," he wrote, and called on the youths to experience an independent lifestyle in national service, the army and as students, before they choose to tie the knot. "A wise man learns a trade, then builds a house and then he is ready for marriage," determined Aviner according to the teachings of Maimonides. "A foolish man weds first and only then realizes he has no home, and when he is hungry remembers that he has no means to support himself." Sudden transition from bachelorhood to marriage, parenting and work can put an enormous strain on young couples. "It's not enough to get married; you must stay married and married happily," Aviner said. "Building a household is no game, this is an act that determines a man's fate for many years," wrote Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, rabbi of Alon Moreh. A man is obligated to work and mature for several years until he is strong enough to command his own life, and only then can he establish a genuine relationship with a woman. Teenagers need to prepare for life as a couple and dedicate time to learn what they will do in a time of crisis, what their individual roles will be in the household and how to relate to each other with honesty. Early marriage, without the necessary preparation, will never allow the partners to realize the full potential of their relationship.

In conclusion I believe that teen marriage is not always a good idea. Some teens do not understand what marriage really is when making their decision. To me, marriage is a lifetime commitment. Getting married means sharing everything, and it involves being with the same person for long periods of time. When a marriage works it is a source of infinite peace and joy. However, when things are not working marriage tends to amplify things in a negative direction. One of the biggest decisions that people have in their life is who they are going to marry. This decision changes your whole life forever.

Kershaw, Sarah. "The Fading Attraction of Teen Marriage." September 3,2008/November 3,2008 www.nytimes.com

Nashoni, Kobi. "Rabbis Against Teen Marriage." April 16,2007/November 3,2008 www.ynetnews.com