According to the Oxford dictionary, boycott means to “withdraw from commercial or social started relations with (a country, organization, or person) as a punishment or protest.” There is a long history related to the term, like where it came from and why. A famous boycott in the 21st century is the Grab Your Wallet boycott, initiated in July 2018, which targeted Donald Trump for not understanding the effects of climate change and discrimination. A more well-known boycott in history was the one led by Rosa Parks in 1955, who refused to give up her seat to a white person. After being forced off the bus, Parks started the Montgomery Bus Boycott through which many activists stopped riding the bus. Black people boycotted for the right to equal seating. Rosa Parks’ protest defined the word boycott for me, but recently, I’ve been doing some research to dig deeper into its meaning. Born in 1932 in Norfolk, England, Charles Boycott made history with just his ego and his name. The time Charles was alive was a hard time for farmers who suffered from high costs for rent. Feeling sympathy for their cause, Charles, the head landlord, told his worker, Erne, to lower rents by 10%. The farmers, sensing weakness, got greedy and asked for 25% lower, and Erne said no. Charles got mad at them for being ungrateful and started to evict farmers. Now it was the workers’ turn to get mad; those who still had their houses refused to pay rent at all, and the farmers without houses stopped farming, depriving the people of England of necessities like milk and eggs. Charles decided to give back the houses because he, and all the townspeople, needed the food. England decided to name this action boycotting, after the person who was targeted by this protest. In conclusion, I am always impressed how understanding the derivation of a word can deepen its meaning. When reading about the current boycotts in the newspaper, or using my voice to stand up for what I believe in, I will always remember Charles, and I hope you do too.
Bring on the Gratitude: A Review of “Be Thankful”
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I reviewed a poem about gratitude, called “Be Thankful” by an unknown poet. To me, gratitude means being thankful for what you have instead of thinking about what you don’t have. It is important to feel empathy for individuals who have less than you do and to appreciate all that you have. Everyone can be thankful for something–whether it be food, water, warmth, a house, or family. I chose the poem “Be Thankful” among a whole group of poems about gratitude because I was incredibly inspired by the message and tone of this poem. If you would like to read this poem, here is the link: https://blog.gratefulness.me/gratitude-poems/ “Be Thankful” is a 17-line poem divided into 7 couplets and ending with a three-line grouping. Though it doesn’t rhyme, it repeats the “Be thankful” phrase at the beginning of each stanza, helping emphasize to the reader the central theme of gratitude. The poem is intended to help readers recognize aspects of their lives that are challenging or hard, but nonetheless still could be positive and deserving of gratitude. One of my favorite parts in this poem is the stanza that reads: “Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire, / If you did, what would there be to look forward to?” This stanza highlights the emotion of envy, in which people yearn for things that they don’t have but that other people have. Envy is usually thought of as a negative emotion, but the poet suggests that one should be thankful for not having everything you want because it gives people something to look forward to. From this couplet, I thought about how to turn my jealousy into gratitude. Another one of my favorite parts is the fourth stanza that reads: “It is easy to be thankful for the good things. / A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are / also thankful for the setbacks.” As the holidays approach, it is easy to be happy for the things you have, but the poet emphasizes that people with challenges barreling towards them may be the most lucky because they have even more to be thankful for. In my opinion, this poem was a great kickoff to Thanksgiving, and it really helped me understand how to be thankful. Even if I don’t have everything, it is important to be thankful for what you do have – and if all you have right now are challenges, you can be thankful for those because they can make you better in the long run. I think people should read this poem with their family or friends on Thanksgiving to understand that everyone is a lucky person no matter what the situation is. Enjoy this holiday and time off as much as possible!
A Very Special Beach
Like all other beaches, Omaha Beach had sand, rocks, and water. But this beach was different. This one had a history. Last summer I went to Paris, France for a seven-day trip with my whole family, and we experienced all of the traditional tourist sites of Paris. Some of my favorites were the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and the Arc De Triomphe, but the part I was most excited for was our day trip to a region 2 hours outside of Paris, called Normandy. Visiting Normandy allowed me to learn about World War II and America’s opposition to the Nazis. When Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazis in the 1930’s and 1940’s, his aim was to conquer all of Europe. At the same time, the Nazis also led an effort to kill millions of European Jews in the Holocaust. The German military began conquering different parts of Europe, including France, and they built bunkers and army bases to defend their territory. In 1944, England and the US joined together to try to free the French from German control. With help from other allies like Canada and England, the U.S. devised a plan called Operation Overlord in which they aimed to attack Nazi armies in France. Once Germany successfully took over France, they used the bunkers to store ammunition. Our family toured one bunker into which a Nazi soldier carelessly loaded ammo, setting off a bomb in the bunker and destroying it. The importance of Omaha Beach is that it was the destination of England and the US when they were attacking Germany. They put out misleading signals to make the Germans think that an attack was going to happen elsewhere in France. But really, on June 6, 1944, more than 150,000 soldiers landed on the beach, and caught the Nazis by surprise. They had to confront seasickness and overcome wind and poor weather conditions to make it onto the shore and then had to run onto the beach to fight the German soldiers. The bravery they had to show will always stick with me, and I am grateful for all that they did for our country. Though many died that day, it was a turning point in the war. As President Barack Obama said, “So much of the progress that would define the 20th century, on both sides of the Atlantic, came down to the battle for a slice of beach only six miles long and two miles wide.” Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, is a popular tourist destination because of its extensive history. While we were there we saw many plaques, memorials, cannons, and even toured a cemetery where many of the soldiers who were killed are buried. But for me, the time I spent on the beach in Normandy will be an experience I will always remember.
