Does America have a race problem?

Note: This is the question I have to answer for an essay for my America in Black and White class. I sat down to brainstorm and this is what came out. I liked it, so I'm preserving it here.

Does America Have a Race Problem?

Emphatically and unequivocally: yes. In fact, I would say that America has a race crisis. The degree to which racial identity affects the daily lives of every American is astounding. It is such a deep rooted problem that many like to pretend it isn't there, to brush aside the disparities as natural or deserved. But the fact is that all people deserve the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities. Our nation claims to be predicated on these ideals, but we violate them dramatically every single day. There are enormous racial gaps in every arena of human life in this country. The problem begins with education, and the horribly imbalanced distribution thereof. Deprived of proper preparation for the world, disadvantaged people - members of races historically downtrodden and marginalized - are utterly unable to enjoy the full benefits of living in a "free" country. In fact, I would not call our country "free" at all. Many are bound by the chains attached to a race they were born into and can do nothing to change. Because he is black, a man may never learn to read properly, may be rejected from a job in favor of a white applicant, be denied the right to purchase a home, be treated with suspicion and disrespect by officers nominally responsible for his protection, and be unable to adequately support his own family. This is not a problem - it is a travesty.

Music requests; also, why SGA fanon > canon

I have a music request for you, my dear flist: does anyone have some Tom McRae albums they'd be willing to upload? I specifically would love the song "For the Restless" (thanks bionic!) (obsessive24 made the most gorgeous Firefly/Serenity vid to it, and I often open up the vid just to listen to the song) but I'd also love anything else anyone has to offer, because I've loved every song I've heard by him. Also, there are so many music vids made to his music, because it's so perfect for them (I desperately want to vid the song "A Day Like Today," which was in beerbad's Kara Thrace fanmix, because I can't listen to it without seeing some kind of visuals along with it - it *sounds* like a music video, if that makes any sense) and having more of him to listen to might aid me in future vidding song searches :) Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

And now, a few brief thoughts on my realization that I greatly prefer SGA fanon to canon. Specifically McShep fanon, but also all the little Atlantis details that have sprung up within all the stories I've read about them (and there have been MANY). Now, don't get me wrong - I love the show. I adore it, it makes me really really happy and it has a lot of rewatch value for me. But it doesn't take itself very seriously, so a lot of the nitty gritty, really thought provoking details that they could include just aren't. And so we write fic! I'm just gonna bullet point a few of the very common fanon tropes that I simply love and wish would be brought into the show.

( John Sheppard's hair is utterly ridiculous, and Rodney likes to point this out with regularity. )

I swear there were many more, particularly one about Sheppard, but suffice to say that rarely is the show as emotionally fulfilling or fundamentally real as the fanfic. The exceptions are "The Return" (which had me BAWLING) and "The Tao of Rodney," which is simply the best episode of the entire series thus far, hands down. Oh, Rodney. ♥ I love the show, I do, but my love is kept burning by the incredible authors and stories in this fandom.

I got some great news about Trinity today, or rather my studying there. I went to talk to the Financial Aid office about my merit scholarship and how that was going to be applied. The cost of tuition for the program is significantly less than the amount of my scholarship, so I was wondering if I would get that extra money somehow to pay for housing. And it turns out I will! Whatever the difference is, I will get a CHECK for that amount, which will be around $7,000! And if I have costs beyond that (which I will) I can use Stafford loan money. On top of that, I'll have a good chunk of money from my research scholarship this summer, and my parents are obviously willing to contribute some. So basically, going to live and study for a year in DUBLIN is a financial RELIEF on my family. How incredible is that? Occasionally, life is awesome. :D