Pride

Pride. Who knew that such a small word could have such a strong meaning? The dictionary defines it as “pleasure or satisfaction taken in something done by or belonging to oneself”, but to me, it means much more than that. It means looking at actions and behaviors of someone or something and wanting to be represented by it. That’s why when I heard the question “are you proud of America?” it was fairly easy for me to answer.

           

            I take much pride in my country because of all of its accomplishments and the way it has overcome struggles and challenges. In 1861 America wanted freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and letting each individual have equal rights. They fought for what they wanted and eventually, they got it.

            September 11^th, 2001, America was terrorized on its own soil. We lost a lot that day. We lost the lives of our loved ones, we lost the some of the buildings and monuments that symbolized our country, and most importantly, we lost our pleasure. It left us with the sorrow and mourning; scared to see what tomorrow may bring us. I’m not proud of the attack or how it left us, but what I am proud of is how we recovered. We found our way out of a dark place and built ourselves up stronger and more stable.

            I am proud of America and all we’ve accomplished and I am proud of the things we’ve done to make our country better, but what I’m most proud of, is HOW we’ve accomplished it. Together as one.

           

Love.

Love. Passion. Desire. Imagine a world without any of this. No wanting someone, but no getting let down when they don’t want you back. No waiting for someone you long for, but no heartbreak when they don’t show up. No getting that jittery feeling when you see them, but no hurt when you realize they don’t feel that, too. No, anything, no everything. Nothing.

           

Love is a gamble. You put your heart on the line hoping someone will take it. You risk years of terrible heartbreak for a life of long lasting love. Some people are scared, it’s understandable. That kind of hurt may take a while to recover from, however, if you ask anyone who has been in love, they’ll tell you it’s worth it.

            Though you cannot ask a citizen of the Community in The Giver, for the reason that they do not know of love. With every love, there comes hurt. A hurt in which they don’t believe in. The council made absolutely sure that they could eliminate anything and everything that may risk pain, sorrow and difference. So a pill was created to suppress the hormones of the consumer. Without love there is no hurt. Without hurt there is no mourning. And without mourning there is no difference.

            Even though the suffering with heartbreak may be worth it in the end, it surely will create problems for you along the way. The feeling you get when someone tells you you’re not good enough could hurt you beyond your imagination. The sense of thought when you wish you could be better or what things would be like if you never went your separate ways. None of this is a factor to the people of the community thanks to the pill.

            With this pill and this rule stating that you may not love, teenagers and adults don’t have to worry about unnecessary distractions and drama. With their focus off of other citizens, they would be able concentrate more on things such as academics. Regardless to say that relationships come with a lot of drama. Disapproval and jealousy from your friends, family, and collogues can stir up a whole bunch of problems, and break ups hardly ever end well. Fights break out and soon enough someone will get sad or mad, or different.

            A life without love. Just imagine. Your first instinct may be that it is a terrible idea and everyone deserves a chance to love and be loved. But if you take a step back and just think. Is it?

Nothing

Car horns beeped. Lights Flashed. Sirens screamed from a few streets down. I heard  people calling my name. "Aurora", they'd yell. "Can you hear me?!" I could, but couldn’t bring myself to respond. The sirens got louder and louder as they began to get closer. The sound was ear piercing, and made the headache I had just gotten that much more painful. I didn’t know how to stop it. The pain. The hurt. The agony. It began to build up, more and more and more until….nothing. Nothing but black, still, silence. I was lost somewhere between life, and  death. No path of how I got there, no route to follow out. Nothing.Car horns beeped. Lights Flashed. Sirens screamed from a few streets down. I heard  people calling my name. "Aurora", they'd yell. "Can you hear me?!" I could, but couldn’t bring myself to respond. The sirens got louder and louder as they began to get closer. The sound was ear piercing, and made the headache I had just gotten that much more painful. I didn’t know how to stop it. The pain. The hurt. The agony. It began to build up, more and more and more until….nothing. Nothing but black, still, silence. I was lost somewhere between life, and  death. No path of how I got there, no route to follow out. Nothing.

Color.

Imagine a world with no color. A dull, lifeless place. With no originality, no novelty, no fun. Everything would be the same; plain. So what would cause one to extinguish such a wonderful asset to human life? And how would these changes affect the growth and development of the minds of all the people in the world?

            In the book The Giver just that happens. A law is made that bans all colors within the community of which these people live. This is because of a different rule in the Community called Sameness. The thoughts behind the council who created this lifestyle were simple, if everyone were the same, there would be no anger, jealousy, or hurt. Colors may indeed cause confliction, yet they also build confidence and originality.

            The Civil War. That is one example of a time where color was an asset to the start of a fight. If there weren’t colors, this war would have never started. Everyone would have the same color of skin, and no one would be different.

            But, taking away color would take away the fun. Research has proven that kids become more interested in anything when there is color involved. It helps make things more enjoyable and fun to look at.

            Personally, I would not like it, if color was taken away. What do you think?