Breaking Free of Societal Norms
Daniel Webb
Bingold 2nd hour Honors English
Embedded Assessment 1
6 September 2013
The Greatest Change is the Change of a Single Person Societal norms are strange things, created by everyone trying to fit in with everyone else; which can cause numerous problems. No one person can fight this, but a single person is always the start of a change in society. As we can see historically, currently, and written abundantly in literature, social norms are hurdles to be jumped over by a single man or woman trying to be themselves in an effort to make a change. History is always doomed to repeat itself if not learned from, however most major changes in history start with the change of society. The American Revolution is a prime example of this, when the colonials were tired of unrestrained control from across the sea social norms were bound to be broken. In society at this point rioting and violence in no way were standard to life, but a few brave people will lead to a few more, which leads into an entire revolution. This breaking free was incredibly beneficial to the early settlers, and especially now because those minor settlements grew into a major world power. An incredibly similar process happened with the termination of segregation. A few brave people turned into many people which of course spiraled into an entire cascade of protestors filling the streets. These individuals wanted change, so they brought it upon themselves to make a better society. History always repeats itself; it is just inevitable, which means that current society can undeniably follow this pattern. In most places across America societal norms dictate how the majority of citizens act in public. While in any random elevator, it may be extremely awkward to engage a stranger in conversation, but in the process of avoiding confrontation one also passes up an opportunity to be acquainted with an otherwise stranger. Most would not even consider being more than silently polite while in an elevator
Bingold 2nd hour Honors English
Embedded Assessment 1
6 September 2013
The Greatest Change is the Change of a Single Person Societal norms are strange things, created by everyone trying to fit in with everyone else; which can cause numerous problems. No one person can fight this, but a single person is always the start of a change in society. As we can see historically, currently, and written abundantly in literature, social norms are hurdles to be jumped over by a single man or woman trying to be themselves in an effort to make a change. History is always doomed to repeat itself if not learned from, however most major changes in history start with the change of society. The American Revolution is a prime example of this, when the colonials were tired of unrestrained control from across the sea social norms were bound to be broken. In society at this point rioting and violence in no way were standard to life, but a few brave people will lead to a few more, which leads into an entire revolution. This breaking free was incredibly beneficial to the early settlers, and especially now because those minor settlements grew into a major world power. An incredibly similar process happened with the termination of segregation. A few brave people turned into many people which of course spiraled into an entire cascade of protestors filling the streets. These individuals wanted change, so they brought it upon themselves to make a better society. History always repeats itself; it is just inevitable, which means that current society can undeniably follow this pattern. In most places across America societal norms dictate how the majority of citizens act in public. While in any random elevator, it may be extremely awkward to engage a stranger in conversation, but in the process of avoiding confrontation one also passes up an opportunity to be acquainted with an otherwise stranger. Most would not even consider being more than silently polite while in an elevator