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Kyra Leetz

Ms Gardner

10 honors/6th period

14 November 2016

Letter to the President

My name is Kyra Leetz I am a young woman speaking to you about a problem many Americans

face, inequality. Mr. President you are the representative of this country. You give a voice to the people,

and yet we are crying as the minority remain ignored . I am writing this today to offer an additional voice

to the fight for a more egalitarian America. It is imperative that you seek to welcome everyone of all

colors, religions, sexualities, and genders, so that we may fuse the separation between ourselves and our

neighbors. We need to ensure that no one person is favored over another because of these things. We were

born equal. We will live equal. We will die equal. This is the mentality we must uphold to have an open

mind and accept one another for our differences.

The quality of a persons life should not be determined by things that are out of one's control. In

1970, a woman earned about 60% of the amount a man earned. In 2005 a woman earned about 80% of

what a man earned. Since 2005, there has been no change in that figure. African-American women earn

just 64% of what a white male earns, and Hispanic women just 56%. (Larry). The fact that how much

someone earns is based on gender and race opposed to the quality of work is an injustice. This country is

a melting pot of diversity and failure to recognize that is a crime against American beliefs.

African-Americans comprise only 13% of the U.S. population and 14% of the monthly drug

users, but are 37% of the people arrested for drug-related offenses in America. (11 facts). Stereotypes
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often lead to racial discrimination. People are then limited by the color of their skin. Inequality must be

addressed now if we want our country and its people to thrive.

If terrorism has no religion, then why are so many Muslims afraid to wear their hijabs? Why are

they afraid to go to airports? Why are they afraid to leave their own homes? We as a country need to ask

not why the religion is bad, but rather ask why it is perceived as bad. The acts of extremists should not

define an entire group of people. A group of Muslims were surveyed and 28% said that in the past year,

people had acted suspiciously of them, 22% said they had been called offensive names and 21% said they

had been singled out by airport security.(Chalabi). When it comes to the law, all citizens must be

protected no matter what religion they believe in. For one to be considered dangerous because of their

religious beliefs is ludicrous.

We can normalize differences instead of fear them. We may not be able to change everyone's

outlook, but it will open minds to the possibility of equality. I fully understand there are many who

disagree with this viewpoint. Differences scare many into generalizations and biases; however to accept

others around you for who they are is one of the greatest things you can do for this world.

Therefore, Mr. President are you willing to represent this country as a whole, including everyone

from the LBGTQ+ community, various religious groups, people of color, and females, so that we can

break the stereotypes and tear down the walls of discrimination. The assumptions we make about a

stranger are based on race and we perceive danger, this leads us to anger, by making a killer out of a

stranger. If we can widen the small mindedness of these kinds of actions, only then can we create a truly

great America.

(704 words)
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Citations

By Larry Schwartz / AlterNet. "35 Mind-Blowing Facts About Inequality." Alternet.

N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

"11 Facts About Racial Discrimination." DoSomething.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov.
2016.

"U.S. Illegal Immigrant Population Falls below 11 Million, Continuing Nearly

Decade-long Decline, Report Says." Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web.
14 Nov. 2016.

Chalabi, Mona. "How Anti-Muslim Are Americans? Data Points to Extent of

Islamophobia." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 2015. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.