Nick Tipsword

11/21/16
Seminar
Prof. Catron

Achieving Social Justice
The only way change can happen is if people stand together and make change
happen. This process has been happening since the beginning of times all over the world.
Symbols are often what bring these groups together to strengthen their resolve. If we
take a look into history we can see several examples of this. Even thinking back to the
Revolutionary War. The colonists fought the British under the flag of the United States
of America. Now we see it as a national symbol of freedom, but at the time it was just
been another symbol used to represents their cause and rally the people. We can compare
this act to more recent actions, such as Brexit or the presidential election. After Great
Britains decision to leave the United Kingdom many people began wearing safety pins
to show that they cared about the immigrants that were being affected by this change.
Many people in The United States have recently begun wearing safety pins with a very
similar meaning in result of the presidential election. Without these symbols uniting
these causes change cannot effectively happen. One voice can often be lost in the crowd,
but with the ability to rally under one symbol one voice can turn into that of many. In the
United States this right is protected by the freedom of speech and is a wonderful
representation of why the right exists in the first place. This is why we should promote
these movements as a way of supporting freedom of speech and creating change.
Often times when movements arise it is because the minority is being oppressed
or wronged by the majority. One example of this is the LGBT rights movement. In this

Nick Tipsword
11/21/16
Seminar
Prof. Catron

movement many US citizens that identify as LGBT were not allowed to get married to
the person they love. Rather than stand by and accept this as fact a movement
blossomed. Rallying underneath a rainbow flag and symbols of equality the LGBT
community held pride parades and rallies until gay marriage was legalized in all 50
states. In this case the LGBT community was fighting to effectively create social change
in regards to the idea of marriage. The majority, heterosexuals, often thought that
marriage should not be between two members of the same sex and therefore gay marriage
was not legal. The entire community was able to come together by using symbols such
as the rainbow flag to unite and effectively create the change that they wanted to see.
With these symbols one insignificant voice can be turned into the shouts and cries
of many. Symbols are not just a way of making a group of people be seen or recognized,
they are ways that groups of people can be connected. These movements can be essential
to many people who think they are not heard. So many people can feel alone in the
world, but these symbols and movements can show them that even if they are a minority
there are people fighting for change. We can even see examples of this if literature that is
popular in the modern age. In the best selling novel and movie The Hunger Games the
government, known as the Capital, is treating the people of the districts poorly. As a
symbol of unity the protagonist of the novel touches the three fingers to her lips and
raises them in the air. This one symbol rallies the entire nation into effectively causing

Nick Tipsword
11/21/16
Seminar
Prof. Catron

an uprising against the oppressive Capital. Here we can see that one girl used her voice
to make the people of her nation believe that they could come together to create change.
The Bill of Rights states that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom
of speech or the right of the people to peaceably assemble. With this in mind it is the
right of a citizen of the United States of America to speak their mind when change needs
to be made. This nation was created as a country for the people by the people. If the
people think something needs to change then it is their right to come together and create
the change they want to see. If you do not stand up for these rights that you have then
you are effectively throwing them away. As referred to earlier the founding fathers
created this nation because a government that ruled them from across the sea was
oppressing them. They had to make a change and they created a movement to do so.
Every citizen has the right to instigate the change that needs to happen.
It does not matter where you are in the world or what time period it is.
Movements to gain social justice have always existed. In the United States it is your
right but all over the world it is a human right. If change needs to happen create the
change. Find symbols to rally under and use your voice to amplify the voices around
you. Social justice cannot be achieved if you do not stand up together to achieve it.