Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Nearly 150 after the civil war has ended, there are still racial differences in America. If you talk to someone from the South about African Americans, there is a good chance that this person will have negative feelings toward the race. Maybe some wounds really never do heal, because there has been plenty of time for people to get over the issue. Many people in the south have stuck to the beliefs of their ancestors. Even worse, they have not rid themselves of the horrible mindset their ancestors possessed.

After the civil war ended, amendments were made to the constitution to bring and end to many causes of conflict in the United States. The thirteenth amendment was added to abolish slavery. The fourteenth amendment extended federal legal protections equally to citizens regardless of race, and the fifthteenth amendment was added to abolish racial restrictions on voting. These amendments greatly improved the life of an African American at the time, but there were still many things wrong with the way they were treated.

An example of the differences that exist today is the current presidential election. Alabama, a southern state that was once part of the confederacy, shows their feelings toward African Americans in the polling numbers. McCain is beating Obama 60 to 30 in Alabama, and it seems like this is more than just a coincidence. Obama has taken many states, and it seems like the main reason that McCain is so far ahead in this southern state is because there are still negative feelings towards African Americans. The racial issues that were present during the civil war still exist today in some forms.

Although African Americans in today's society are supposed to have equal rights, there are many disputes over interracial marriage, transracial adoption, and reparation for slavery. Most of these harsh outlooks come from the minds of people from the south that still disregard African Americans as "people". Some people in America today cannot accept the fact that these differences are supposed to be a thing of the past, and that equal rights are extended to everyone. These people most likely come from families that have had negative feelings about the civil war since it ended.

It is a sad thing that these racial differences and issues still exist in America today. Even after so many people fought to bring an end to discrimination, it is still going on in America today. The many conflicts that surrounded the Civil War cannot seem to die, especially on the losing side. Many political movements have been made to bring an end to this, and over the past 150 years they have brought much change, but there is still much more that needs to come. The many conflicts that existed many years ago have no reason to exist today, and hopefully soon, they will come to and end.