Average Life Span in America

The average expected life span for a person in this country decreased by over seven months last year, which follows an even steeper decline from 2020. This is America’s worst two-year decline since 1923. This mainly results from the surges in COVID-19 deaths and opioid overdoses. US life expectancy is now 76.1, compared to almost 79 in 2019. I am somewhat surprised by the continual decline after 2020 because of the availability of the COVID vaccine in 2021, which enabled many other countries to recover the life expectancy they had experienced during the pandemic. Unlike other declines in life expectancy that the US has experienced, this decline seemed to affect all groups in the country. In 2021, life expectancy dropped more among men than women, leading to an almost six-year gap between the two statistics. This fall was particularly prominent among Native Americans and Alaska Natives, as there has been a drop of 6.6 years for these groups in the past two years. American Indian men, in particular, had a lower life expectancy than any other group, averaging 61.5 years. It is worth noting that Native American and Alaska Native populations were the only American groups to experience no increase in life expectancy in the decades preceding the COVID-19 pandemic. These groups have frequently been neglected due to their small population sizes and misclassified death certificates. If anything, the lack of increase in life expectancy for Native Americans over the past two decades, alongside the steep decline in the past two years, should be a call for action for our country to figure out how to lengthen their lives.

Pine Ridge Arrival Story

The Pine Ridge Reservation encloses more than 2.8 million acres and is the home of the Ogala Lakota. With a population of about 20,000, the community is seemingly disconnected from the rest of the country with little government support. Pine Ridge is plagued with some of the highest unemployment, disease, and poverty rates in America. Donald Morrison is a 60-year-old man who has lived on his family’s land on the Reservation all his life. He lives a minimalist lifestyle, mainly due to the poverty levels in his community. Ronald left the reservation for the first time in his life a few months before the article was published because he needed emergency surgery. Now, he can only move with the help of a walker. Ronald claims he never paid attention to the American presidential election because it did not affect him or any of the reservation’s residents, stating that “it doesn’t really make a difference to us here” (Strickland). Most Pine Ridge residents say that they have been forgotten by mainstream society and abandoned by politicians (Strickland). Donald spent years negotiating with the tribal and county governments to provide his community with a viable source of running water and electricity, but his efforts never paid off. Rather than sticking it out, he gave up on this cause, saying that “I eventually just gave up. They just can’t help me, It’s a waste of time” (Strickland). Now, he and his family survive off of food stamps, processed canned food, and scraps that they must go through many troubles to find. Donald cared most about the well-being of his family and community. However, his efforts were misplaced since the local government did not have the funding to support them. He was trying to obtain a bare-minimum source of resources so that surviving and staying healthy was not such a struggle. Donald needed to do many labor-intensive tasks to create supplies for his community. Given his age and health condition, it is risky but necessary. Donald eventually injured himself, which resulted in him being unable to work for an extended period. The situation in his community is still the same because government funding is still lacking. This is the harsh reality for most residents of the reservation.

This narrative relates to arrival in America in that, rather than actually arriving in a place for the first time, Donald helps unpack expectations about a place that assumes difference. He constantly takes risks and goes through struggles to achieve a goal, which he eventually fails to achieve. In addition, the article’s author is arriving in a new place to analyze the lifestyles of people who live in an area that he is unfamiliar with.

The narrative focuses on a resident of the Ogola Lakota community and gives specific comments about their ways of life. Lakota people believe in the perseverance of the Earth, and some of their core values are honesty, humility, and respect. While the narratives are being told in the present day, the root cause of these problems started long ago. The reservation was established in 1889 for indigenous prisoners of war as white colonists moved westward through North America (Strickland). Members of the American Indian Movement have been in a long-term dispute with the U.S government, expressing their complaints about them not respecting their side of multiple treaties. The article’s author asks Ronald about his opinion of the 2016 presidential election that occurred at the time of the interview to show just how disconnected he is from mainstream society. While most of the country was paying close attention to all aspects of the election, he was convinced that the outcome would not affect him, so there was no need to care.

Located in Southwestern South Dakota, the Pine Ridge Reservation occupies most of the Oglala Lakota county. The statistics themselves only represent a small portion of the realities for the communities on Pine Ridge. The average life expectancy is the lowest in the United States, and the reservation has the lowest per capita income($8768) which ranks them as the poorest county in the nation. In addition, some studies ranked the county last for health outcomes and factors in South Dakota. The population number is constantly dependent on the availability of recourses. As of 2005, there was an unemployment rate of almost 90%, with a poverty rate of 53.75% (Re-Member).

Poverty is a consistent condition in most Indian Reservations in the United States; it is even more prevalent in Pine Ridge. However, poverty is not the only factor that troubles the Pine Ridge population. In the collection of documents from Julian Bear Runner, it is stated that additional factors such as geographic isolation, high rates of unemployment or under-employment, lack of housing, high rates of alcohol and drug abuse, poor health factors, overwhelmed and under-planned infrastructure, and lack of future opportunities coupled with poverty create conditions of social discontent and hopelessness in people on the reservation, but especially in the youth (Runner 21). Donald gives a first-hand account of these conditions. He does not give the reader reason to believe that he is affected by crime as much as other citizens. However, his lifestyle and failure to reach a middle ground with tribal and county governments represent the reservation’s poverty and poor health factors.

Many of the Reservation’s issues can be attributed to the federal government not upholding the treaties they created to repay the Ogala community for past injustices. For example, Julian Bear Runner references the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 and the 1868 Sioux Treaty, stating that “Our treaty rights, the United States’ obligations to us, and our unique political relationship with the United States are set forth in a series of treaties through 1868… (which) establish the United States’ obligations to our tribe” (Runner 1). The reservation system was originally created to encourage American Indians to live in clearly designated areas. In exchange for this, the U.S. promised to provide food, money, and primary goods to support their needs. In the 19th century, however, the Natives found themselves confined to smaller, less robust areas, and the federal government failed to maintain its promises.

The sense of isolation from the rest of the country clearly frustrates Donald as he explains his personal problems and opinions about the status of the reservation. Many Native Americans have shown their discontent with the lack of improvement and budget cuts, yet there seems to be little change that has been fostered. According to Strickland, “many Pine Ridge residents say they have been forgotten by mainstream society, abandoned by politicians, and neglected by state institutions” (Strickland).

Since America is so diverse in terms of ethnic, religious, national, and linguistic background, it is difficult to assign it one universal identity. However, we can identify traits and ideals that have been supported throughout American history. A part of the American identity is sharing culture with people with different racial, ethnic, and religious ideas. In essence, the American identity is formed from many backgrounds, given that we aim for Omni-cultural inclusion. The American identity has been built upon a collection of ideals such as individualism, hard work, freedom, and equality. This can be attributed to the motivations of the puritans in the 17th century, as they sought to escape religious prosecution and achieve comfort in their own pursuits. However, the most notable ideals, in relation to Donald Morrison and the Pine Ridge Reservation, are freedom and equality. This narrative helps demonstrate the realities of the problems the Oglala Lakota community faces. It also opposes certain parts of the commonly accepted version of the American identity. The stories themselves show how the Pine Ridge reservation has been almost cut off from the rest of America and abandoned by the government. In addition, we can observe the Pine Ridge residents exhibiting diligence and hard work, given that they are still fighting for their rights despite all of the injustice and disadvantages.

The current disputes between the Pine Ridge community and the U.S government represent a long history between the two groups. The U.S government has continued to break promises regarding funding and land distribution. There is irony in the government’s treatment of the Lakota community because the country was founded upon the idea that all people will have equal opportunity. However, throughout America’s history, this idea had not applied to the Native American communities that occupied the land long before the Europeans encountered it. The American identity is one of equality and justice; generally, this identity is demonstrated throughout the nation. However, along with the positive aspects of the American identity, there are less desirable traits, such as greed and dominance, that come from ideals such as individualism and hard work, which affect certain communities more than others. That is why it is crucial to understand examples of the less-mentioned side of the American Identity, such as this one.

Rather than change my perspective of the American identity, this narrative reinforces my previous ideas about it. This story shows how America demonstrates greed, which is just a byproduct of ideals such as individualism. However, one aspect of the narrative that could potentially contradict my idea of the American Identity is that, by not fully supporting the Ogala Lakota community on the reservation, America is lacking a sense of Omni-cultural inclusion. In that sense, since the American identity is a complex collection of beliefs and ideals, we can say that the arrival narrative supports and refutes different aspects of it.

Walmart Agrees to Pay Over $3 Billion to Resolve Opioid Lawsuits

Walmart announced that they would pay over $3 billion to resolve opioid lawsuits against them. Seventeen states, alongside many Native American tribes, have claimed that Walmart has failed to regulate prescriptions, contributing to the nationwide crisis. Many retailers say that they followed guidelines and the blame should be placed on the doctors for irresponsibly distributing medication. Many painkillers were siphoned from these pharmacies and made their way to the black market. The settlement framework requires Walmart to increase efforts to prevent fraudulent prescriptions and flag those that seem suspicious. This settlement is very similar to those announced by CVS and Walgreens. Arkansas, for one, has already received $200 million and has started distributing portions of that money to local groups fighting the opioid epidemic. Funds will continue to be distributed to state, regional, and indigenous groups for treatment against opioid addiction and recovery. Native American tribes who have joined the agreement plan to receive up to $89 million. This, in addition to other settlements, will make the tribal recoveries almost $1.5 billion, which will significantly impact the communities. Still, the tribes have not received any money yet, and Native Americans continue to be on the worst side of the opioid epidemic. Even though the company has settled and is in the process of paying billions, Walmart is disputing the allegations. The opioid crisis continues to affect Americans, as over 90,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2020, a rapid increase from 2019.

Reinstating of Jim Thorpe’s Gold Medals

Jim Thorpe was a member of the Sac and Fox nation and was the first Native American to win a gold medal in the Olympics. Many sports historians consider Jim Thorpe one of the greatest athletes of all time. In 1912, he won gold in the decathlon and the pentathlon, cementing him as an all-rounded athlete and making him the star of the Olympics. However, his medals were stripped only six months later, as the International Olympic Committee claimed that he violated the amateurism rules that existed at the time. This extremely controversial decision was based on his participation in semi-professional baseball before the Olympics. When this news was revealed, Thorpe’s coach, Pop Warner, the head of the Amateur Athletic Union, James E. Sullivan, and the school superintendent, Moses Friedman, all lied and claimed they did not know about this, even though they all knew what Thorpe got himself into. Hundreds of college athletes played summer baseball under pseudonyms. One of them was Dwight D. Eisenhower, who used the name “Wilson” and would later become the president of the United States. Unlike many of his teammates and players in the league, Thorpe played under his own name and had no idea he was violating any rules. He was essentially thrown under the bus by the white men who surrounded him during that period. These rules have been discarded, which is fitting because the whole idea of the Olympics was that they were open to all people and simply judged on ability. Still, amateurism meant that competing was only an option for those who had achieved independent wealth. For years, Jim and his community continued to fight for his ability to regain the gold. Thorpe himself would go on to play professional baseball and football and offer inspiration to the next generation. It wasn’t until 1983, 30 years after his death, that his medals were partially restored. Despite these setbacks, just a few months ago, the IOC finally reinstated Thorpe as the sole winner for those events. These actions have lifted up Native American youth and provided them with a sense of encouragement for future generations. Jim Thorpe is not just a Native American hero but a national hero.

First Native American Woman to Reach Orbit

SpaceX and NASA have sent a crew with astronauts from around the world to the international space station, who will be stationed there for 150 days. Nicole Mann is one of the astronauts on this mission, making history as the first Native American woman to reach orbit. She has stated that she is very proud to represent the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian tribes in Northern California, mentioning that it is important to recognize the diversity of the astronauts on the station. She has received many public prayers and blessings from her family and tribal community. Her presence in this crew has motivated others with indigenous backgrounds to be interested in NASA. Space exploration contributes a lot to the well-being of humans on Earth, as it allows us to expand, grow, and learn. With the struggles of poverty, atmospheric problems, and the changing world, Nicole Mann and many other international members of the crew show that people of all backgrounds can contribute to space exploration. It is very important that NASA celebrates its diversity and communicates that to the younger generations to show there is hope to break down barriers that confine them. NASA does not focus on gender, race, or religion but on the astronaut’s ability to execute specific tasks. Mann’s situation has caught a lot of attention from news outlets and sources from Native American communities, which Mann claims is an audience that NASA does not get the opportunity to reach out to very often. Mann is a marine colonel with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. She was recruited into NASA in 2013 and finished her candidate training two years later. In addition, she is a former fighter pilot who flew combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, making her a very experienced candidate for a space mission.

Pope Francis Apologizes to Indigenous People

Pope Francis recently offered his direct apologies to Indigenous people for the Catholic church’s involvement with Canadian residential schools. These residential schools were created to help indigenous children assimilate into Canadian culture. For over 100 years, the Canadian government forced hundreds of thousands of indigenous children to leave their homes to attend these schools. The children were forced to adopt European languages, religions, and routines and abandon their own culture. Many traumatic experiences occurred in these schools and still affect the lives of many Indigenous families today. Pope Francis referred to the abuse endured by indigenous people as catastrophic. The Pope’s apology induced many feelings of sadness, pain, and despair as he shed light on the truth and gave validation that these events actually occurred. In addition, many feel anger and resentment towards Pope Francis since he was awarded a headdress, which is a sign of great respect given to a deserving figure who positively impacted the community. It could be argued that this action invalidated the headdress’s symbol, as it is usually reserved only for chiefs. Regardless of the emotions that are being stirred up as a result of these apologies, it can not be denied that this event has brought a lot of attention to the fact that there was severe injustice towards indigenous people. People will be opening their hearts for consolation and healing because the Pope has spoken on the soil of the land where the acts took place. It will continue to make more people aware of the truth that indigenous people have endured in the past. The forbidding legacy of these schools is not unique to Canada, as there were more than 400 of them in the United States at one point, where reports have been issued about the withholding of food, solitary confinement, and beating of Native American children.

Elon Musk’s Acquisition of Twitter

These last few years, Twitter has become a good resource for people to interact over myriad topics – politics, academics, sports, innovations, art and all, and any topic that interests twitter users.

The sheer volume of topics being broadcasted on that platform demands that this public company have some control. While some moderation of issues can be handled by technology, i.e., AI, there are still some topics and users that the company decided to moderate or suspend/ban. That is what opened the company to criticism, some perhaps justified, over the decisions taken these last few years.

Elon Musk has taken it upon himself to steer this platform in a different direction. He started his acquisition discretely by increasing his ownership of public shares, thereby increasing his clout with company executives. He later followed it up with an inflated price for the company, to which the company board readily agreed.

After acquiring the company, Elon Musk changed its work culture. He has changed the remote work policy and reduced the count of employees significantly. He seems to have taken a hands-on approach to manage personnel and company policies. He is trying to figure out how this, now private, company will increase revenue to sustain the operating cost and pay off the debt that was taken to purchase it in the first place. He is trying to focus on individual subscriptions and retain and expand the advertising stream.

His other objective of changing the course for the company will be contentious but interesting. Will he be able to retain the majority of Twitter users? Will he have the discipline not to put up controversial tweets that can damage his brand and derail his other initiatives outside Twitter? How will he live up to his self-proclaimed “free-speech absolutist” role regarding issues involving democratic traditions, foreign policies, business prospects, etc.?

It sure got exciting, and I can’t wait to see this modern genius navigate his way in the coming months and years.

FIFA World Cup in Qatar

Host countries of the FIFA World Cup rely on the economic benefits that come from the tournaments to generate revenue. However, most countries lose money in this process, leading us to wonder what other benefits come from hosting it. Qatar aims to further its infrastructure development and foreign policy desires in this year’s world cup. The government planned to elevate the country’s status, not only in the Middle East but throughout the whole world. However, concerns have been raised about Qatar’s suitability as a host country for such a significant event, making the decision a massive controversy.

To start, the climate in Qatar was a primary concern, given that temperatures during the summer can reach more than 122 degrees F. This would be problematic since the weather affects the player’s health and increases the duration of their recovery process. In addition to concerns about the player’s well-being, the viewing experience would be worse, and the fans would be at risk. However, Qatar executives claimed they came up with a solution by using solar installations to export energy onto the power grid, which would be used during games to cool the stadiums.

Most of the substantial criticism revolved around the violation of human rights in Qatar, specifically their treatment of migrant workers and women and their position on LGBT rights. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and punishable by up to three years in prison. With fans coming to enjoy the tournament worldwide, you can see why this would be problematic.

In an interview, a Qatar World Cup chief stated that an estimated 400-500 migrant-worker deaths resulted in efforts to get the country ready for the world cup. Other sources claim for this statistic to be upwards of 6500 deaths. The working conditions were described as modern slavery in unbearable heat.

Although I am not the biggest soccer/football fan, this situation saddens and frustrates me. Since its beginnings in 1930, the World Cup has become the biggest single-sport competition in the world. It is significant and connects countries worldwide in a beautiful way. That is why it is understandable that so many fans are enraged and claim to have been robbed of the world cup they know and love.

Jul 31, 2021, Police Brutality Against Native Americans and Native Lives Matter

This is a continuation of a post I made a few months ago regarding Native Americans, providing a more statistical approach to understanding their struggles. There is a very scarce amount of data regarding Native Americans in the U.S. criminal justice system. Many activists and reporters wonder why Native populations are often excluded from comparisons with other racial and ethnic groups. Census data and a few other sources provide enough information for us to understand the presence of Native Americans in the criminal justice system.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Native Americans are incarcerated at a rate that is 38% higher than the national average. In 19 states, they are more overrepresented in the prison population compared to any other race and ethnicity. In five years, the number of incarcerated Native Americans in federal prisons increased by 27%. One shocking statistic is that Native youth account for only 1% of the youth population. However, 70% of the youth that is taken into federal prisons are Native Americans. Native American men are admitted to prison at four times the rate of white men, and Native American women are admitted at 6 times the rate of white women.

Police brutality against Native Americans contributes largely to the heavily rising incarceration rates and deaths amongst Native people. Native Americans make up only 1.2% of the total U.S population, but they still experience higher rates of death as a result of police violence than any other racial or ethnic group. Native Americans are about 3 times more likely than white Americans to be killed by police.

Here is a reminder to educate yourselves about the Native Lives Matter movement that I’ve mentioned a few times in my blog posts. The campaign is a grassroots group advocating for awareness and justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women and Native lives killed by police violence. The campaign was established in 2014 by Akicita Sunka-Wakan Ska from the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux Tribes and JR Bobick from St. Paul, Minnesota. This campaign uses social media like Facebook and Twitter to spread awareness about issues affecting the Native population, such as police brutality, high incarceration, and missing murdered indigenous women.

They believe ways to lessen and end police brutality and high incarceration rates include hiring a police force that better represents Native communities. This would allow more cultural understanding and lead to less racial profiling against tribal nations by police enforcement. Native Lives Matter also advocates that cultural healing programs could address and eventually lessen police brutality by fostering an understanding of mental health, addiction, and poverty, contributing to high police presence.

Here is their website: https://lakotalaw.org/resources/native-lives-matter. Please take the time out of your day to show your support for them.

Jul 6, 2021, Update on Keystone XL Situation

This is an update on the Keystone XL Pipeline situation. As a reminder, the pipeline is a 1200-mile system that would be expected to carry over 800,000 barrels of oil per day from the Canadian province of Alberta to Nebraska. On paper, this project seems beneficial to all communities. However, the problem lies with what the pipeline interferes with. It cuts through many Indigenous lands, so many environmentalists and Native American activists have fought against the construction for decades. Former President Trump approved of the pipeline when he was elected in 2016, going against Obama’s order.

President Trump’s main priority was obviously corporate success rather than the well-being of the local citizens and tribes’ in the area. First Nations or Native groups in the area made many attempts to sue the government for damages to oil sands and their rights to hunt, trap, and fish on the traditional lands. Their water sources were used as a waste area with lots of dirty tar and crude. The homelands were in the direct path of the pipeline and many negative effects came immediately after construction started.

President Biden revoked Trump’s permit as soon as he was elected. As of last month, the Keystone XL pipeline project has officially been terminated. The termination of this pipeline will set the tone for other harmful fossil fuel projects being canceled. Now that Trump’s permit has been revoked by Biden, Native tribes will continue to ensure that any proposed Keystone projects follow all laws in place so that the tribal people and ancestral lands are protected.

As expected, the people associated with this project are not happy. The Canadian firm that owned the pipeline announced recently that they will be bringing a claim against the U.S. government seeking $15 billion in damages after Biden’s decision. This TC Energy announcement came directly after Republican senators demanded that the Biden administration accounts for the large number of jobs lost after the president’s decision.

I will continue to give updated information on this situation as we progress. We might see this being handled in court soon, the results of which will be very important. In the meantime, check out the sources below to educate yourself on the matter:

https://www.keystonexl.com/

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/what-keystone-pipeline

Jun 28, 2021, The Importance of Anthropology

I’ve recently introduced myself to the intriguing and thought-provoking subject of anthropology. It’s interesting to me because it requires us to ask questions about life, culture, societies that we don’t normally think about. Anthropology is the study of the full scoped of human diversity and the application of that knowledge to help people of different backgrounds understand one another.

The special part about anthropology is that it forces us to advance away from ethnocentrism, which is the apparent human tendency to believe that one’s own culture or way of life is normal, natural, and superior to the beliefs and practices of other cultures. Anthropologist’s strategies and concepts of research force us to understand, value and respect the diversity of human cultures in our assorted global age. The scope of the field is global and isn’t constrained by any geographical or cultural boundaries. It offers an interpretive view for very general questions about life. Advanced anthropologists confront every major philosophical inquiry about life, and don’t answer them from normal logic, but they dive deep into truth.

Although the whole world is a field of research for anthropologists, they are committed to understanding people’s local, everyday lives. A major priority is to consistently bring frequently ignored voices into global conversations. Communities are filled with people and different social statuses. Anthropology prioritizes studying the people in communities and the larger systems of power that surround them. This can include systems of government, families, educational institutions, the military, etc.

Anthropologists believe that all humans share biological, cultural, economic, and ecological connections. Despite the assumptions of the discovery of isolated tribes of stone-age people, anthropologists explain that there are no fully isolated people in the world today, and there were few if any in the past.

It’s important to understand the importance of anthropologists in solving real-world problems. They assisted the government in making decisions during the ebola epidemic, the coronavirus pandemic, and many other major issues. The need for this profession has never been more evident, considering many country’s immediate responses to COVID-19.

May 23, 2021, Issues of Mass Incarceration and Policing in Native American Communities

In the past year, there has been a rapidly growing increase in Americans’ interest in addressing excess incarceration and policing problems. This is mainly due to the increasing awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement, which has demanded a sense of equality for the African-American community. While this motion has gained national headlines and attention, similar discrimination against Native Americans has been unnoticed amongst most Americans.

To put it into perspective, Native Americans account for less than 1% of the nation’s population, but makeup almost 2% of total police killings. In states with large Native populations, Native Americans are overrepresented in the prison system. In South Dakota, they make up about 9% of the state population and 29% of the state prison population. In Alaska, they make up 15% of the state population and 38% of the state prison population. In Hawaii, they make up 10% of the state population and 39% of the state prison population.

This issue is quite confusing because if someone within a Native community is accused of a crime, it’s not clear which agency is going to be in charge of the prosecution, which leads to skews in the data. There are many complex factors that affect the agency, such as the severity of the crime and the races of those involved in the crime. Possible overlapping jurisdictions meant that some Natives can be charged twice for the same crime by the tribal court and federal court. Suspects in all felony cases are prosecuted by federal jurisdiction rather than tribal courts, which tends to lead to more severe sentencing.

Off of the strength of the BLM movement, the Lakota Peoples’ Law Project released the Native Lives Matter report, which addresses and gives an overview of all the injustices faced by Native people in the criminal justice system. The effects of this report have been very underwhelming. It seems to have essentially been ignored in the conversation of criminal justice along with the voices of Native people in general.

May 15, 2021, SAT: Good or Bad?

Over the past few years, discussions have been conducted across the nation about the importance of the SAT. Many believe that they are biased in that they benefit the wealthy and the pandemic has weakened its validity.

This product of the College Board has been a standard for most college admissions for decades. However, even with its history of helping admission officers make decisions, it doesn’t truly tell them how ready or smart a student is. The purpose of this standardized test is to evaluate how prepared they are for college requirements and to collect data to compare applicants. This is the main argument for the anti-test controversy and the data for both sides are varied.

Regarding the argument that the SAT favors privileged students, a large objective for many institutions is to increase diversity. Many studies have shown that implementing optional tests does seem to help diversify the class. Many have concerns that optional tests might harm academic performance, but student performances don’t depend on SAT scores.

The original design of the SAT was an aptitude test; hence, the acronym: Scholastic Aptitude Test. However, a dissenting argument has been that the SAT doesn’t necessarily measure intelligence or aptitude, it just measures how good you are at taking tests. This leads to the point that the SAT leads to unneeded stress and time taken away from more important tasks. Students are encouraged to prepare for months to increase their chances of getting a good score. There is a closer correlation between SAT scores and time spent preparing than SAT scores and intelligence levels. Also, there is a near-linear correlation between household income and SAT scores. Test preppers are very expensive, top tutors tend to charge hundreds of dollars an hour, and some wealthy parents are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars to maximize their scores.

A less prominent argument, but certainly worth considering, is cheating and inconsistency in these exams. Regardless of the very strict procedures, since the tests are given on such a large scale, there are bound to be people who find a way to break the system and cheat their way to a good score. Since stakes are so high, some students feel the need to do this.

In my opinion, having a high stake optional standardized test is important for colleges because grades can’t be the only thing to measure and display a student’s intelligence. However, I think the SAT should either improve the test themselves or be replaced by another exam with a better system and scoring format. I think these tests should lead to harder problems at the end of each section so that scores do a better job of reflecting the student’s advanced problem-solving skills and intelligence rather than their ability to complete exams effectively.

May 2, 2021, India’s Catastrophic Pandemic Situation

A detrimental second wave of the Coronavirus has popped up in India, leaving millions of people suffering, and damaging the flawed health care system. According to the official statistics, by the end of April around 20 million people had been confirmed infections and 200,000 people were dead, however, the real numbers are most likely much higher than that. India gained hundreds of thousands of new cases every day for months, and it hasn’t slowed down at all.

Before these past few months, India seemed to be effectively silencing the pandemic. The initial lockdown was quite successful, in terms of new cases, compared to other countries. However, after the limitations were taken away, many Indians stopped taking precautions and gathered in large numbers for rallies and festivals. These gatherings would have millions of people all in a confined area. As a result of this, the country saw an immense jump in new cases at the beginning of spring.

Many Indians assume that the new COVID variant is to blame for the second wave of cases. As of right now, evidence and data are inconclusive, there could be many factors responsible for the outbreaks of new strands.

Indian hospitals have been overwhelmed with new cases, there just isn’t enough space and supplies to tend to all the needs of those infected. Doctors across the country have reported a need for more medicines, equipment, hospital beds, and oxygen. Many people have delivered reports of oxygen cylinders being stolen from hospitals. Many Indians are being forced to show acts of desperation to take care of their loved ones, but have to abandon them because there is nothing they can do.

Although India has manufactured more vaccines than most other countries, they have struggled to get them through their citizens. As of right now, less than 10% have received at least one dose. Although their plan was to ship out millions of doses, not everything went as planned when it came to exporting to other countries.

Prime Minister Modi has divided the country, pursued religious majoritarianism, and handled the COVID pandemic horribly. He promoted large religious festivals which led to thousands of new cases, regardless of his understanding of the risk of major gatherings like these. He has turned this situation into his own political campaign to gain admiration from his citizens, but it has backfired in a catastrophic way and the whole country has been negatively affected because of it.

Apr 24, 2021, Possibilities of Violent Protests After Derick Chauvin’s Trial

This week, a jury in Minneapolis has found Derek Chauvin, a former police officer accused of murdering George Floyd, guilty. His actions last year drew millions of Americans to the streets to protest against racial injustice. He was convicted on all three charges against him.

“Justice has been served,” was the quote that came from millions of Americans this week. And they’re right. By no means should he be found not guilty for his actions. One thing that surprised me, however, was many people’s willingness to do unnecessary things if he wasn’t convicted. It seemed as though the city of Minneapolis was getting ready to explode before the trial as many protesters were ready to “burn the city down.” The saddening part is that many Americans know that regardless of the verdict, many cities will crumble and burn if Chauvin wasn’t convicted. I understand that people are mad at Chauvin, as they have every right to be, and wish that he gets everything coming to him, but they don’t have the right to disrupt the lives of normal citizens who most likely sympathize with them, by smashing cars and lighting stores and restaurants on fire.

By normalizing actions like these, Americans could possibly be setting themselves up for more crimes in the future, possibly with even worse severity than the current racial injustice-related ones. Similar to the BLM riots last year, burning down cities and causing havoc may grab the attention of people, but the negative effects will clearly outweigh the positives. Innocent people had to prepare for the worst by putting up barricades and calling in reinforcements for the possibility of protests following the trial. Many protesters were ok with applying “Street justice” to Chauvin if he wasn’t found guilty, which is certainly a scary sign for the future.

I want to emphasize that I do sympathize with BLM protesters and encourage them to continue fighting for what is right. However, I think it’s important for everyone to understand that by rioting and causing havoc, they are most likely negatively affecting many innocent people’s lives, and are probably creating more problems than they think. Destruction is never the solution.

Apr 18, 2021, NFL In-Person Practices

With the new NFL season starting in just a few months, we are starting to see conflicts between the league and its players due to a clash over pandemic practices. Players on 15 different teams have recently announced that they would not off-season events due to concerns about the pandemic. As a result of this, the players may have to give up their financial bonuses in the process. Tom Brady was one of those players that spoke out to the media about the situation. In summary, he believes that there is no football without healthy players, and people should figure out a better system rather than trying to rush things into the usual.

Last season, the NFL shifted all of its offseason practice routines to virtual other than the occasional in-person training camps. While many people requested a similar system for this year, the league declined, and although a nationwide vaccine is slowly moving its way through all the players, many people still believe that risk is still high. Last season, despite covid outbreaks and multiple schedule changes, a full season was run with all 256 games being played. Many players, such as J.C. Tretter, center for the Cleveland Browns, are encouraging other players to not attend in-person practices.

Players should not feel the need to risk their health for workouts that, for the record, are optional, unlike the mandatory mid-season practices. Off-season workouts are not essential for success during the regular season. In my opinion, they should not be punished in any way for not attending these unnecessary in-practices.

Sorry for the short post.

Apr 11, 2021, Recent Georgia Voting Laws

Last month, state lawmakers in Georgia remodeled their existing election protocol. They formed a law that is being compared to those during the Jim Crow era. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp assured that by changing the election laws, “Georgia will take another step toward ensuring our elections are secure, accessible, and fair.” The new law does a few new things. It imposes new voter identification requirements for absentee ballots, allows state officials to take over local election boards, limits the use of ballot drop boxes, and disallows anyone to approach voters in line to give them food or water.

Essentially, this law is making absentee voting much harder and creating restrictions after losses of slim margins to democrats in the presidential and Senate elections. Voters in populated urban and suburban areas, home to many Democrats, have a smaller window to turn in absentee ballots. In the last presidential election, 26% of Georgia voters, 1.3 million people, voted with absentee ballots. Out of those people, a large majority voted for Biden, only 34% voted republican. If absentee voters fail to follow any of the new steps(provide driver’s license number, state-issued identification, etc.), their votes will simply not be counted. While it is important that voter security is ensured, this law creates somewhat of a pitfall, it’s certain that this will limit access to absentee voting. There are many other changes that come from this bill that affect the results of absentee voting.

Many parts of this law are unconstitutional. If “promoting the general welfare” is such an important goal from the preamble, taking away someone’s opportunity to get a drink of water, for their health, would not live up to that goal. When poll taxes and literary tests were mandated in the 19th century, they were proclaimed as ways to uphold the integrity of the elections. While the laws didn’t explicitly mention race, the effects were evident. The similarities between these laws and the Georgia laws created recently are obvious: A group of legislators, mourning losses in recent polls, create a new set of laws that make it more difficult for their opposers to compete.

The legislators claim that the reason for these laws is to improve voter fraud, but we haven’t found any legit proof that it is a real problem. As of now, we are left to believe that “voter fraud” is simply Democrats being motivated and having the audacity to show up to vote.

Mar 14, 2021, Student Procrastination

Procrastination seems to be a serious problem that holds back people of all ages from being achieving maximum productivity. Many students seem to struggle with time management and working on tasks long before they are due. Personally, I’ve felt the stress of needing to finish a major assignment hours before it’s due because I didn’t expect it to take as much time as it did. Why do we seem to do it this often? What makes us think that it’s a better idea to complete an assignment closer to the due date than when it is assigned? Or study for a test the night before it is given?

It’s a common assumption that students who procrastinate tend to do so because they don’t care about an assignment. Most of the time, there are two reasoning for procrastination: afraid of failing or being confused on how to approach the assignment. It’s likely that procrastination occurs when the task is meaningful or that the student cares about doing well rather than not caring at all. Students spend too much time worrying about whether they are doing an assignment correctly, which prolongs the time it takes to do simple tasks. A lot of the time, procrastination is a coping mechanism to avoid stress.

One way you can prevent this from happening as a student is by breaking up the assignment into multiple small tasks. By doing this, you are giving yourself a clear process to finish your assignment and less time is spent doing nothing. You should also set aside specific times in your schedule to get work done. Learning to set priorities in your schedule is important. Having spare time in your day to be flexible and work at your pace is good because if something comes up that you didn’t expect, you will be prepared and have time to complete the task or study. Making a schedule for yourself will increase your motivation and you will be less confused in general about your workload. Getting distracted is a very big problem now because of virtual learning. If you start wanting to play a game or watch a video, just remember that you will forget and not care about it a week from now and you should prioritize getting good grades and doing well in your assignment.

If you want to stop procrastinating, focus on the bigger picture. Understand that it’s normal to be confused in the beginning, but you should have a plan of attack and focus while you work.

May 7, 2021, Are Video Games Good for You?

There have been many claims from many different sources that playing video games makes you smarter. This statement is very broad, and it can be taken out of context very easily. Even with this claim, there has been a lot of evidence supporting otherwise, that video games are not beneficial in many ways.

Video games have been shown to generally enhance attention control. Action games involve quick gameplay and have objects appear and disappear quickly in the player’s visual field. Many games require the player to pay attention to specific objects and distinguish entities on their screens. As a result, these fast-paced action games naturally boost selective attention. People that play action games regularly are better at tracking moving objects than those who don’t.

There are some other benefits of playing video games, one of which is that they improve memory and learning. Many studies have shown that action game players have excelled over non-gamers when it comes to tasks involving retaining memories. In general, video game playing correlates positively with visual memory. Also, video games result in better problem-solving due to the frequency of decisions being made in the game.

Even with these benefits, it seems that there are more disadvantages that outweigh the benefits of playing video games. Gamers tend to have more negative behavioral and mental changes that deprive them of learning and continuing to do activities that they regularly did previously. Addiction to video games is the main problem that usually leads to physical and mental conflicts. People who are addicted to gaming will prioritize video games over working, studying, sports, social activities, etc. Too much screen time can result in laziness which subsequentially leads to weight gain and other physical problems. Gaming addiction will eventually slow down brain growth as well. Too many hours on video games results in worse critical thinking skills. And lastly, worsened eyesight and insomnia result from video game addiction.

In conclusion, it seems obvious that playing games occasionally for fun can subconsciously improve many aspects of your thinking and mental ability. But when it becomes an addiction and people are spending hours on end playing games, it can become a major problem with bad mental and physical results.

Feb 28, 2021, The Native Lives Matter Campaign

From the small amount of data we have, we can tell that Native Americans are the largest group per capita in the current United States prison system and are more likely to be affected by police brutality than any other racial group in America. A problem with the data collection that we have right now is that most publications group Native Americans with other ethnic and racial groups. As a result of this, it’s hard to understand the effect of mass incarceration on Native people. U.S. Census data provides a good amount of data and information that Native Americans are overrepresented in the criminal justice system.

According to the official U.S. Native Americans are incarcerated at a rate that is almost 40% more than the national average. Between 2010-2015, the number of Native Americans incarcerated in federal prisons specifically, increased by almost 30%. Native American men are sent to prison about four times the rate of white men, while Native American women are admitted at six times the rate of white women. The rates of Police brutality against Native Americans are also extremely high and contribute a lot to the incarceration rates and deaths of Native people. Native Americans only make up 1.2% of the total US population, but they still experience higher death rates from police violence than any other racial group. From the data we have, we can tell that Native Americans are three times more likely than white Americans to be killed by police.

The “Native Lives Matter” campaign, which was established in 2014, is a group advocating for awareness and justice for Indigenous and Native lives being taken by police violence. The campaign uses social media like Facebook and Twitter to spread awareness about multiple issues regarding police brutality against Native Americans. The campaign believes that some ways we can help improve this problem are by hiring a police force that better represents the Native communities. A police force more educated on the matter would allow for more cultural understanding which would lead to less racial profiling against tribal nations by the police. They believe that cultural healing programs will address and subsequently lessen police brutality by creating an understanding of their personal problems.

Feb 21, 2021, All About Immigration in America

America is definitely one of the most attractive places for immigrants planning to move away from their original country. Every year, many foreigners go through a long process of becoming an American citizen or being able to live in America. The question is: Why do so many people strive to become an American, what makes it so enticing. It seems like their reasonings have changed a lot over time.

Since 2015, the number of student visas issued per year has decreased by 27.6% from around 990,000 to 710,000. But, the number of work visas increased more than 16% from 762,000 to 888,000. Migrants who leave their countries in fear of persecution or any sort of danger surprisingly make up a small part of total immigrants. The number of refugees who settled in the U.S. has decreased heavily since 2016 where it was 105,000, compared to the 61,000 in 2018. Today, immigrants account for nearly 14% of the total U.S. population, almost three times that of 1970 where it was only 4.8%. Mexico is the top origin country of immigrants in America. As of 2018, 25% of U.S. immigrants fleed from Mexico. China, India, the Philippines, and El Salvador all also have large origin groups.

Nearly a quarter of U.S. immigrants are unauthorized, meaning they entered the country illegally. The total number of immigrants recently has dropped a bit, mainly due to a decrease in total unauthorized immigrants, specifically from Mexico. Looking forward, however, immigrants and their descendants have been projected to account for 88% of the total U.S. population in 2065. Nearly half of America’s refugees live in Texas, California, or Florida. Nearly 30 million immigrants were working or looking for jobs in 2017, making up almost 20% of the total civilian labor force. About 7.6 million of those workers were unauthorized immigrants, less than that of previous years. The unauthorized immigrants on their own account for nearly 5% of the total civilian labor force. It’s projected that immigrants will drive future growth in the U.S. working-age population through 2035.

The number of apprehensions at the U.S-Mexico border has doubled from 2018-2019 to 850,000. Americans have generally positive views on immigration with about ⅔ saying immigrants strengthen the country and only 24% saying that they burden the country by taking up jobs, housing, and healthcare.

In conclusion, American immigrants play a major role in all parts of the country’s functions. Many immigrants come unauthorized yet still working at the same rates as most U.S. citizens.

Feb 16, 2021, Diversity in Congress

The 2020 American Presidential election was a very historic one because, for the first time ever, a Female Vice President was elected. Not only that, but she is half-Black and half-Indian which is another first for America. Her racial identity definitely allowed her to connect with many Americans like no one running for oval office ever has before. Why has it taken us so long to reach this point? Even after the 15th Amendment was signed, which granted Black men the right to vote, African Americans still didn’t have full access to vote. In the decades that followed, Jim Crow laws, literacy tests, and poll taxes seemed to limit the voting rights of many Americans that weren’t White.

Nearly 25% of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are racial or ethnic minorities, which makes the 117th Congress the most racially and ethnically diverse in American history. This has been an upward-running trend for many years now. As of right now, 124 lawmakers identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, or Native American. This is a major change from the 2001-03 Congress which only consisted of 63 minority members.

White Americans have always had a larger share in Congress than of the actual U.S. population. As of 2020, 77% of Congress consists of White Americans while 60% of the U.S. population consists of White Americans. It has been a similar gap in percentage throughout the past 40 years. In 1980, the White Congress Member percentage was close to 95% while the actual white U.S. Population percentage was at around 80%.

Women only hold about 27% of all congressional seats, an improvement from 2019 where it was only 25%. The percentage of Women in congress has been increasing steadily for the past few decades, specifically, Women of color. Right now there are 51 total seats held by Women of color compared to the 48 in 2019. The party makeup of Women still leads toward Democrat, with 36 being Republican and 105 being Democrat. Even though the 118 total Women serving in the House of Representatives may seem like a good number with large improvements, the U.S. currently ranks 68th globally for women’s representation. Other countries are improving much faster than the United States due to more fair laws implemented to level the playing field for women and people of all races.

In conclusion, although we are seeing improvement in the diversity of Congress in terms of racial, ethnic, or gender identity, it isn’t moving at a fast/desirable enough pace right now. In order to fix this, more new system strategies should be implemented to provide equal chances to all types of Americans.

Feb 1, 2021, Keystone XL Pipeline

Every time a new president gets elected, they tend to change or cancel many executive orders that the previous president had in place. On President Biden’s first day in the oval office, one of his most notable changes was related to the Keystone XL Permit. He canceled the controversial pipeline that was a 1200-mile system meant to carry crude oil from Canada to the United States. On paper, it might seem like a good idea, and beneficial for everybody. The problem is that it cuts through Indigenous lands. Many environmentalists and Native American activists have fought against the pipeline for decades now. Trump approved of the pipeline in 2016 which reversed Obama’s order, and then Biden disapproved of the pipeline, which reversed the reversal of Obama’s order.

The pipeline would be expected to carry over 800,000 barrels of oil per day from the Canadian province of Alberta to Nebraska. This seems like a very good decision for both countries, it could create many new jobs, and it would increase the availability of oil so that prices can go down. President Trump made it a main priority to allow the pipeline without the consult, review, or consideration for treaty rights. It was obvious that corporate interests were prioritized over the well-being of local citizens and tribes’ authorities to govern their land.

Beyond the possibility of an oil spillage, Alberta’s oil sands will be forced to gain development. Some argue that if this happened, fossil fuels will be available and the trend toward warming up the atmosphere might not actually be curbed. However, the main reason why this pipeline has been opposed so much is because of the risk to local Native communities. First Nations or Native groups in the area have made many attempts to sue the government for damages to oil sands and their rights to hunt, trap, and fish on the traditional lands. Their water sources were used as a waste area and were filled with dirty tar sand crude. The homelands were in the direct path of the pipeline and many negative effects came immediately after construction started. Now that Trump’s permit has been revoked by Biden, the Native tribes will continue to ensure that the proposed Keystone project follows all laws in place so that the tribal people and ancestral lands are protected.

Jan 30, 2021, What Should You Use to Identify Native People?

In the United States, there are 574 federally recognized Indian Nations in the United States right now. The current Native member ancestors inhabited what is now the United States before it was found by European immigrants. Each Indian Nation’s culture is defined and shaped by its history, customs, and beliefs. Given the wide diversity of Native American descent, it’s hard to identify them all or put them into one specific category. There isn’t really one answer to the question: “What do all Native Americans prefer to be called?” or “Should we call them Native Americans or American Indians?”

In America, the most common term, Native American, has been a bit less preferable amongst some groups. It’s better to use “Indigenous Americans” for most Native people. The term Native American grew in usage during political movements decades ago when describing indigenous people from 48 states and the United States territories. In America, you tend to see people identify as Indian, Native, or Indigenous, while in Canada, First Nations and First Peoples are used more often. The most preferable term that you can refer to Native people should come from their specific tribe name. By being specific with your references, you are honoring and respecting the tribe and the culture that comes with it. Another specific way you can identify Native people is by their clan.

The U.S. Census has been using “American Indian or Alaska Native” as a combined identity for Native people. However, the Census Bureau and tribal groups came to a decision that would allow people to self-identify their tribal affiliations in an area right under the race section.

If you are non-indigenous, you should try to avoid the term “Indian” since it is more commonly used to describe the culture of India specifically. Although the term has been used by the U.S. government, “Indian” brings back the harsh history of negative stereotypes. They started getting called Indians in the beginning because Columbus originally thought he was traveling to India and ended up stumbling upon them.

Ultimately, if this is all too confusing for you and you are still not sure what terms to use, the most efficient way to know is to simply ask them. While it may seem somewhat disrespectful to not know it in the first place, it shouldn’t come as a problem, and the person you are asking is more likely to be appreciative of the effort you are putting forth than they are to be offended.

Jan 23, 2021, D.C. Statehood

Lawmakers have renewed calls for D.C. statehood following this month’s violent capitol riot. Many citizens and residents have questioned the police response when the capitol was breached. Under federal law, however, it is necessary for the U.S. President to control the D.C. National Guard unlike in almost every other state where governors have the power. The district’s Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton has re-introduced this bill to 117th Congress session.

Washington D.C. residents do fulfill all the obligations of US citizenship but are still denied voter representation. D.C. itself has enough residents to be a state, it can afford to be a state, and statehood is constitutional, yet residents are still denied representation. D.C. residents pay taxes, but have little influence on how taxpayer dollars are allocated. This is a situation that most famously created the D.C. license plate slogan “Taxation without Representation.”

More importantly, however, it would grant the D.C. residents more voter representation by adding one member to the House and two members to the Senate. This would mean that the current D.C. mayor would become the governor and the current district council would become the new legislative body.

Republicans tend to oppose this bill since it plays a substantial role in their political advantages. D.C. Residents tend to vote blue more, so it would be unlikely that Republicans would allow another democratic house or senate member. To put this to scale, on average, the democratic presidential nominee gains around 90% of the D.C. vote. This means that the democrats would most likely gain two extra senators who can and will influence many future votes. This could possibly flip the senate majority towards the democrats since the current split is 48 Democrats, 2 Independents, and 50 Republicans.

The “Washington, D.C. Admission Act” (H.R. 51) is extremely important bill because it could possibly add a 51st state to the U.S., which would change the name to “Douglass Commonwealth” while keeping the same D.C. abbreviation, and honoring Fredrick Douglass. Washington D.C. Statehood would maintain an existing capital district that encompasses the spread of federal buildings in the city’s core. The rest of the current area would become the nation’s 51st state. It was first introduced in a 116th Congress (2019–2021) session of Congress and was passed by the House on June 26, 2020 but was never passed by the Senate.

A similar bill titled the “New Columbia Admission Act” was tried in 1993, but it turned out to fail very badly, by a vote of 153-277.

Hope Congress passes H.R. 51, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, to make the District of Columbia the 51st state. Citizens of the District deserve the same rights and voice in government as the current 50 states.

Jan 18, 2021, Capitol Riot

2020 was a turbulent year for America with many social, racial, and political conflicts even when the nation was struggling with a pandemic. The events that happened in DC and other state capitals this month seem like a precursor to what 2021 could be like.

President Trump has struggled to get even a 50% approval rating throughout his presidency because a large percentage of the population does not like the way he has run the country. His social media interactions were sometimes divisive and/or inaccurate.

Since the November elections, President Trump has been conveying to his supporters that the election results were being incorrectly counted/certified and was rallying his supporters to demonstrate and protest against these “fraudulent elections”. That Wednesday, 6th January, his supporters had assembled and the atmosphere was very rife. He urged the assembled “to show strength”. That resulted in some of his supporters making their way towards the Capitol. There were scuffles with the police, some broke windows and quite a few were able to get inside the building and vandalized the place of governance. Unfortunately, five people died. Lawmakers were threatened and had to take shelter. It was a miracle that no elected official was harmed physically.

This incident has angered many Americans and forced some to reevaluate their support for President Trump. They feel that the president incited the crowd and then did not take ask them to stand down when the situation had escalated. But there are also some of his supporters who justify their actions by comparing them to BLM protests that had also turned violent and resulted in looting. This continues to divide the country and may make such protests the norm in the coming days.

America is a leading democracy that attracts immigrants because of its democratic values and economic opportunities. This has been a difficult time but we can hope that all citizens, irrespective of their race, religion, and political views, can learn to accept their differences, even celebrate them, and make it a better union.

Dec 29, 2020, Healthcare and Bankruptcies

Healthcare insurance cost is a very controversial topic in America as it’s getting more and more expensive every year. At approximately ten thousand dollars per person, with inflation added, healthcare costs are three times what it was in 1980. In terms of growth, healthcare costs are increasing at a faster rate than the U.S. Population. So how does healthcare affect the number of bankruptcies in the U.S? Digging deep into the topic by analyzing the data by communities and individuals will give a better understanding.

Most Americans have had health insurance for the past few years. While data from this year has not yet been released, we know that last year only 8% of the U.S. Population lacked health insurance, compared to that of 1990, where 14% were without healthcare coverage. In terms of different communities being insured, we know that American Indians have the largest percentage of people that don’t have health insurance, at almost 30%. This is not a surprising statistic however, if you read my last blog you would understand that Native Americans have the highest chance of living in poverty amongst all communities. Another unsurprising stat is that the Asian and White communities have the lowest non-insured percentage with around 5-6%. They also tend to be on the lower side of poverty rates.

It’s also a known fact that diseases and injuries that result in medical bills are the number one factor for bankruptcies in America. Even with most people having health insurance in America, multiple factors impact them heavily. Any injury or disease that is either rare or expensive results in thousands of dollars having to be paid that take away savings or money that is meant to go towards essential purchases. Bankruptcy tends to be the only choice that people are left with after getting serious medical bills, even with healthcare insurance.

It is not totally clear who and how many people are without insurance this year. One thing is for sure though, there will have been a dramatic change in rates this year. The coronavirus pandemic must have affected the rates heavily due to jobs being lost.

Dec 27, 2020, Poverty in America and how COVID Affected it

In a country like America, you would think that high levels of poverty are not really a problem from the outside. However, you would be surprised at how prominent poverty is in America if you haven’t already looked at statistics and researched the topic. Which communities are impacted the most? And how has the Coronavirus pandemic affected the rates?

Before analyzing the data and information, we should try and understand why poverty is bad for a country in general. For individuals, poverty tends to lead to mental health problems, unhealthy living conditions, and higher chances of getting involved in crime. For a country as a whole, these factors can rise into bigger and more consequential problems for the economy, and spirit of citizens. This is why countries like Ethiopia, Uganda, and Yemen are so unsuccessful in almost every category. Poverty leads to an unhealthy home-life, which leads to diseases and financial problems, which leads to low income and productivity, which leads back to life in poverty. This cycle shows why it’s hard to move out of poverty unless you get many opportunities to do so.

As of 2019, the US had $34 million or 10.5% of the population living in poverty. Per the US census website, the 2019 family of four poverty threshold (below) is $26,172. Poverty rates in America have been slowly declining for many years, dipping to 10.5% in 2019 from 14.8% in 2014. There are some communities that have much higher poverty rates than others. Native Americans have the highest rate i.e. 25.4% and White and Asians have the lowest poverty rate less than 10%.

So the main question is how has COVID-19 affected poverty in the United States as a country in general, and which communities are getting affected the most?

Thankfully, in April high poverty and unemployment rates were improved due to a federal economic relief package called the CARES act that had the rates at 13.9% instead of a predicted 19.4%. It reached a high of 17.3% in August and declined down to lower than 16% in October. Poverty rates have always been higher in Black and Hispanic individuals than White individuals. In America, White poverty rates tend to be half of that of Black and Hispanic poverty rates. Native Americans are being affected by poverty problems the most in the U.S. and the coronavirus pandemic has certainly not helped.

In my eyes, the differences between poverty rates before and after the pandemic are not that dramatic. Maybe I might be under thinking, but I would have gone as far as to assume that poverty rates would double due to the number of jobs lost and people being forced to stay at home. I suppose America should be extremely thankful for the CARES act, as it has played a major role in keeping American poverty rates low.

Dec 25, 2020, United States Census

What is the United States Census and why should we as Americans care? I’m sure you’ve seen letters in the mail regarding the census, you probably even know that it’s basically a headcount that the government uses to get statistics. But why? What’s the importance of it? How often does it happen? Who is counted? And how does the United States use the information gathered?

According to the United States Census Bureau’s website, the main mission is to provide the nation with data about its people and economy, to provide the best mix of timelessness, relevancy, quality, and cost of their services. The U.S. Census counts everybody that lives in the United States and its five territories. The count is allowed by the American constitution and is conducted by a “nonpartisan” government agency.

By running the census, all United States workers get valuable information and critical data that would be useful to manage multiple things, especially their money. It also has importance in deciding things in politics such as the exact number of seats a state will have in the House of Representatives and the budget. Redistricting and boundary changes are also derived from the census for voting equality amongst different places. The government relies heavily on the census to plan out locations for schools, hospitals, roads, and many other necessary government placements. First responders also need census data to understand and identify where and how much help is needed.

So why should you care about the Census? Well, regardless of who you are, or where you live in America, you will be getting directly affected by the decisions that are made from the data of the census. Your voting significance is based on your location, your money flow will also be impacted in some way, and for those that don’t have to worry about these types of things because you are too young, roads, schools, and hospital locations’ are affected by the census. Some indirect ways that you are probably being affected by the census are the number of seats in the House of Representatives and the United States budget.

So, at the end of the day, the United States Census is extremely necessary for the government and businesses’ survival by giving them accurate data and information.

The Census Bureau has conducted censuses every ten years since the year 1790. Everybody is counted in the census regardless of age or any other factor (it does not include tourists and other temporary visitors). As long as you live in U.S. Territory, you will be counted in the census. Statistical estimates based on samples are published for years between full Census counts. As of 2019, we have $328.2M people living in the US. Here is the breakdown by Ethnicity – 197.3M or 60.1% (white, non-Hispanic), 60.6M or 18.5% (Hispanic), 41.1M or 12.5% (Black), 18.9M or 5.8% (Asian), 7.2M or 2.2% (other mixed-race) and 2.4M or less than 0.7% (American-Indian and Alaska Native).

Dec 20, 2020, Kamala Harris

If everything goes to plan and we go through the normal presidential voting process, we should see Joe Biden as President and Kamala Harris as Vice President in office. Obviously, we had a major step forward with Barack Obama becoming the first non-white president of the United States, but with Kamala Harris now as Vice President, we have reached a transition that is as significant as Barack Obama being elected. So what does her being in office mean for our country? Can we expect more diversity in the executive branch in the future? And how has America reacted to it?

Kamala Harris is not only the first woman President/Vice President of the United States but she also is half Jamaican and half Indian. Though her run for president was merely unsuccessful, Democrats seemed to appreciate her background, especially Black women. Support from women in states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia boosted their advantage and helped them achieve victory. Similar to Barack Obama, there are some people that doubt her status as an American is strong enough to be a Vice President. However, Harris has made it evident that her work for our country makes her nothing less than eligible to obtain such a major role. As a person, and a woman of color, many Americans can start to see themselves as President/Vice President for the first time.

It’s evident from America’s reaction to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris winning that they have inspired many people in our diverse nation to want to get involved in politics. Another resulting factor that comes with Kamala Harris becoming vice president is that people will use her role to discredit conversations about racism or sexism in America. It is a fair point though, although we shouldn’t stop talking about topics like these, it’s obvious that America is taking a step in the right direction and there is in fact improvement in diversity in politics. The past two decades have told us that the future is looking bright in terms of diversity in the executive branch.

America’s reaction to Harris has been extremely positive and the fact that she is a woman of color seems to be positive for everyone, regardless of their political views. For the first time in American history, we are seeing some major changes in the executive branch, and the future is looking good in terms of diversity of race and gender.

Dec 12, 2020, What’s Going on with the Denver Broncos?

The Denver Broncos have been a major part of my life. I’ve been watching and rooting for them for as long as I can remember. I think the first time I started supporting the Broncos was in the 2013 season when they were playing in Indianapolis against the Colts. The game was somewhat ironic because Manning played for the Colts in the previous season but got what everybody thought to be a “Career ending injury.” As a result of this, the Broncos picked him up. Although they didn’t win the game, I was intrigued to the team for whatever reason. Ever since then, my love for the team only increased more and more… Until this season. I remember getting into heated debates with my friends and teachers in middle school and elementary school.

My frustration with the team started the season after Peyton Manning retired. Peyton seemed to be the icon of the team for the 4-5 years he played for them. He led the most dominant offensive season in 2013 where he shattered multiple records such as the all-time passing yards and most touchdowns thrown in a season. That season, they made it through each of the playoff games but had one of the biggest flops in Super Bowl history. In 2015, The Broncos defense seemed to be the strong-side of the team, leading the league in almost every category. This was the golden year where they pushed their way through the playoffs and upset the 15-1 Carolina Panthers to win the Super Bowl. This was a good point for Manning to retire since he had finished off his career with the biggest accomplishment you can get as an NFL player.

Manning’s retirement was essentially the beginning of the downfall for the Broncos. To summarize it concisely, the Broncos have been slowly losing their star players each year, and it seems like the few good players left on the team are injured every year. Not to mention, the quarterback situation is a joke. It seems like the Broncos have gone through 10 QBs since Manning’s retirement and each time we are disappointed because they didn’t fulfill our expectations. For example, right now our starting quarterback is Drew Lock who has been one of the more hyped up QBs for the past two years. At the end of the last season, everyone was convinced that he was the face of the future. His performance this season has shown us otherwise as he continuously throws interceptions and throws dumb plays.

So what does the Broncos future look like? The short answer is that we don’t know. One thing’s for sure though is that they won’t be back in the position they were in 6 years ago until they find themselves a dominant and reliable quarterback.

Dec 6, 2020, COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic has played a massive role in the way we live our lives this past year, and if anything it’s become more and more prominent with time. The virus that originated in China and soon after spread across the entire world in a matter of months seemed to affect everybody, regardless of where they live, or how old they are. Most schools have been closed, we have had lockdowns, and we’ve been “quarantining” for quite a while now. So why does it seem like people have started to care less about the consequences and mingle with people and accepting the consequences?

In December of last year, the coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, China. I think the first time I heard about it, I was scrolling through YouTube and found a video talking about a newly formed virus in China. I didn’t really think much of it and never expected it to turn into what it is. At the time, I remember joking about the name of the virus and discussing it with my friends at school. Little did I know that this “joke” of a virus, would change the way that I and everyone I know lived. After a month or two, talk started to form that our schools might shut down. Obviously, the thought excited me for a bit, but soon after I realized how detrimental that would be to everybody. The coronavirus started to take away almost all of the things that we enjoy in our lives. Jobs were being lost, people were being forced to stay at home, and it seems like everybody’s way of living changed because of it.

With Coronavirus cases rising every day in the United States, my question is, why are people starting to meet up with other people more often now than they did at the beginning of the year with fewer cases? In my community, people are starting to meet up more with friends and family as if we are living in normal times. The obvious answer to this is that people are starting to lose fear and have an “If it’s going to happen then let it happen” type of mindset. At the beginning of the year, it seemed like everybody was afraid of the virus and awareness was at an all-time high. Now, there have been 14.6 million U.S cases which is about 4% of the whole country.

I can only imagine what would happen if a similar virus, but with more deadly consequences and a higher chance of being spread was to appear. There have been times in history where large scale pandemics like this have happened, but no society has ever been more reliant on jobs like the one we live in now. Let’s say a virus pops up that can spread amongst people in larger radiuses, with symptoms that go in effect quicker, and have more consequences. Our whole society will collapse since nobody will be allowed to work in person. Hopefully, we’ll never have to see a world like this and that the coronavirus is the last virus pandemic that we won’t have an effective vaccine quick.

Nov 28, 2020, Washington Football Team

In this blog, I want to address Native American culture and specifically sports teams taking advantage of their culture to develop a mascot or team name. I’ve lived and grown up in the DC area for my whole childhood, so obviously I’ve been exposed to the local football team. Although they weren’t and aren’t my favorite team, I’ve gone to a few of their games and have been around very loyal fans. If you haven’t heard or are not too familiar with the situation, a couple months ago, the Washington local NFL team decided to have an official name change from “Redskins” to just the Washington Football Team.

A couple of weeks ago, I watched a documentary called More than a Word. It was extremely informative and opened my eye on the whole situation. The documentary consisted of interviews with many people with different opinions on the matter. Some were activists who have been looking for change for a long time, and some were football fans who had strong opinions but were clearly uneducated on the matter.

I think the main problem lies within the definition of a redskin. Before watching the documentary, I thought that it was just another term for a Native American, but in reality, it is actually a racial slur, similar to the n-word. I think the main problem is that people don’t understand the true meaning of the term, and assume that with the team name, they are somehow honoring native Americans. From the interviews that we saw in the documentary with the Washington fans, we can tell that their main argument is that it doesn’t matter and that it’s just a name. They also believe that somehow they are promoting Native American culture and that there are no negative effects. They don’t understand that fans are openly mocking the Native American culture, and most fans don’t even know that they still exist. This documentary does a good job of showing how one word that we use so often can mean so much to some people even if we don’t realize it. I suppose the main goal would be to try and eliminate the use of the term completely as well as stop taking advantage of Native American culture to create a mascot or a team name without actually understanding the meanings.

From looking at the interviews with the Washington football team fans, we can tell that they haven’t really looked “between the lines” and are formulating their opinions on what only they can see. Some of them understand the importance of such a matter to someone who has been receiving the prejudice. We can assume that there are many around the country who are uneducated on the matter.

If you have decided to take the time out of your day to read this post, I ask that you go out of your way to raise awareness on this matter. Talk about it and discuss it with fellow friends and family and make sure that they understand the weight that this topic carries.

Nov 9, 2020, My First Blog

Hello! My name is Angad Dhillon. At the time of writing this post, I am in 9th grade attending Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology in Northern Virginia. I plan on updating this blog as frequently as possible, writing about my thoughts and opinions about anything on my mind. I would like ‘to focus on the following topics on this site: Sports, music, Native American culture, Indian American culture, relevant social issues, and personal and mental health. I’d like to write about these subjects because I’m passionate about them and have strong opinions I can express through this blog.

The title “Between the Lines” is derived from how the world likes to tell us that everything is black or white. There always seems to be a right and a wrong, but it’s hard to find the in-between. I will do my best to dig deep into topics and inform my readers about anything that needs to be addressed so that they can go on and think and make decisions for themselves without a black-or-white approach. I plan on doing my best to ensure that this blog is as informative and useful as possible.

I understand that this post is quite short, but I will make sure that each one after this is extensive and specific to a single topic. Thanks for reading.