Activism Toward Structures of Oppression

I believe that one of the first "acts" in activism relating towards the structure of oppression is acknowledging the fact that there are those who are being priveleged and those who are being oppressed. I think in terms of religion, especially in this country where christianity and its various forms seem to be the dominant religion, should acknowlegde and respect the presence of other religions. By this I mean as individuals of a particular faith, we should not be judgemental or biased by what religion a person is or is not. In assignment #3, we also talked about class, which I believe is the keystone to branching into other ideas of wealth and who has economic, social, and racial power. I think that one of the ideas that we hold up as Americans is that the ideal American is equal and fair to her/his fellow American. Nevertheless, it seems that in our capitalist country, your voice and the presence of oneself in American society is driven by how much money you have. When Donald Trump goes on tv, we recognize for being a monetarily rich real estate agent. However, that real estate "rise to fame" now gives him the opportunity to talk about other issues, such as the huge debacle he has with Rosie O'donnel. In this situation, he is not talking at all about real estate, but because we recognize him from tv for his money and his power, we listen to him. We might not agree with him at all, but we listen. Therefore, I guess that much of our activism could start against the media, or rather with the media; Using tv and internet to change the images that we see to not just include the classical role of role of rich, white, middle to upper class men as being powerful. If we cannot destroy power to destroy oppression, we must somehow take part in social activism in relating back to the individual; Getting the word out that each individual is unique and important in society. NOT the message of if you are one sex, one race, or in one class, you are will be ULTIMATELY disadvantaged, oppressed and will not be able to succeed.