DBQ Essay Assignment: "One"
Directions: Write a well-organized essay that
includes an introduction, several paragraphs, and a conclusion. Use evidence
from the document(s) and media in the body of the essay. Support your response
with relevant facts, examples, and details. Include additional outside
information and related concept words ( empathy, identity, citizenship...)
Task: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We may have all come on different ships, but
we're in the same boat now.” Read the excerpt below from his address "What’s Your Life’s Blueprint?”
In your essay, discuss the meaning of the passage and be sure to explain how it
relates to the concepts of diversity and interdependence. You must also discuss
the meaning of Bono’s song, One and the political cartoon. Be sure to
define the term “E pluribus unum” and explain the origin of the term when
discussing the cartoon. Remember to explain how both the cartoon and song are
related to the essay themes of diversity and interdependence. Finally, discuss
the importance of teamwork in school. Identify and discuss specific attitudes,
beliefs and behaviors that teachers and students should adhere to in order to
support diversity and promote cooperation in the classroom. Be sure to include
and fully discuss citations and specific examples from each document and media.
"Don't allow anybody to pull you so low as to make you hate
them. Don't allow anybody to cause you to lose your self-respect to the point
that you do not struggle for justice---how ever young you are. You have a
responsibility to seek to make your nation a better nation in which to live.
You have a responsibility to seek to make life better for everybody. And so you
must be involved in the struggle for freedom and justice."
"What's
Your Life's Blueprint", address by Martin Luther King, Jr. to students of
Source: “E pluribus unum” – Gallery; Goals for Americans Foundation
One
Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you
Now you got someone to blame
You say one love, one life
When it's one need in the night
It's one love
We get to share it
It leaves you baby
If you don't care for it
Did I disappoint you
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without
Well it's too late tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We're one but we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other
One
Have you come here for forgiveness
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come here to play Jesus
To the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much
More than a lot
You gave me nothing
Now it's all I got
We're one but we're not the same
We hurt each other, then we do it again
You say love is a temple
Love is a higher law
Love is a temple
Love is the higher law
You ask me to enter but then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on to what you got
When all you got is hurt
One love, one blood, one life
You got to do what you should
One life with each other
Sisters, brothers
One life but we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other
One
One
Bono/U2 - Achtung Baby © 1991
“It is a song about coming together, but
it's not the old hippie idea of "Let's all live together." It
is, in fact, the opposite. It's saying, "We are one, but we're not
the same." It's not saying we even want to get along, but that we
have to get along together in this world if it is to survive. It's a
reminder that we have no choice.” ~ Bono, 1993
~ 8th
graders E pluribus unum / “One” Essays ~
It’s been said that, “Strength is not
only in the similarities, but also in the differences.” This quote means that because everyone is
different, it can only make us stronger as a group. The diverse amount of ideas that can come
from everyone can help change the world.
When we come together, we have more power in numbers and that’s why we
should stick together as a nation. But
when we get older, it will be our choice if we believe this or not. We can learn this from political cartoons,
songs, and quotes.
After 9/11 many people wanted to
divide instead of be interdependent because of the different races and
religion. There were diverse people in
the planes and in the buildings that came down, but we just wanted to blame one
group. That is not what the
Martin Luther King Jr. once gave the
speech, “What’s Your Life’s Blueprint” to students of
The song “One” by Bono and U2 is an
example of unity because it tells us that we have to get along with each other
for us to be able to survive. “We’re one
but we’re not the same” states that even though every one is diverse, and has
different ideas of ways to use their power and empathy, we still all act as a
whole and come together during important times.
Another line from the song is, “And I can’t be holding on to what you
got when all you got is hurt”. This line
means that we can’t all trust each other when all we do is hurt each other. We need to be able to trust each other and
know that they will be there when the nation needs to act as a whole. If we are prejudice, it brings down our
nation and weakens our group and we need to be strong and have citizenship and
power.
As a young person, we have our whole
lives in front of us and we need E pluribus Unum to make us a whole. As a kid, if we treat each other with
respect, justice, and citizenship, then when we get older we won’t have trust
issues. To promote E pluribus Unum now,
we need to make sure that everyone is treated the same way no matter what their
identity is. In school, the teachers need to influence their students to act
together as one and for the teachers and students to also act together. Teachers are very good role models for
students because they teach us important lessons as we grow up. An example of this would be what if they
taught us to all be the same and to think what everyone else thought. We wouldn’t have our own ideas and we
wouldn’t be able to think for ourselves.
Thinking differently doesn’t prevent people from acting together as a
whole though.
To learn to act together as one,
helps shape our future and gives us a better outline for a brighter
future. If someone wants justice for
themselves, but not for others, then it really isn’t justice. Everyone should have the same opportunities
and we can share them with each other.
If we could all act as one, then we would have more power because there
would be more ideas and ways to make us have a better future. As we get older we need to know whether this
is what we believe or not. What will you believe?
In the past, some people believed
that there should be world peace and unity.
That is not bad, but some also believed that everyone should be the
same. Bono’s song has many ideas about
how people can work together and still be different. There is a saying, “Strength is not only in
the similarities, but also in the differences” and this supports Bono’s idea
about working together and being different. “As different as people are, we are
still one nation” said Mr. Chase, my social studies teacher. These ideas can be shown through cartoons,
music, and quotes.
Bono’s song
and music video “ONE” is a great example of coming together because; Bono did a
new version of the song with Mary J. Blige.
She is African-American and is a female.
I believe the idea behind this is that she is different than Bono but
they could still create a beautiful song together. “We are one, but we’re not the same” is a
great way to explain them working together.
Also it is part of his song, so the image of two different people
singing together is supported by that quote!
E Pluribus Unum is on our coins, so
it must have an important meaning. The
exact meaning is out of many one. The political cartoon with E Pluribus Unum is
representing all diverse groups of people standing as one, to spell out the
phrase. This also is related to 9-11 and
how American citizens felt after that tragic event. They are trying to tell us that we need to
stay united as American citizens and work interdependently as one, because if
we don’t then our beautiful
“You have the
responsibility to seek to make your nation a better nation in which to
live. You have the responsibility to
seek to make life better for everybody.”
Said Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In order to make our nation better everyone must be kind, help one
another, and live in peace and unity.
If everyone in the world follows these words then the world will truly
become unified. Also everyone’s lives
will be worth living and hopefully there will be less crime.
In schools,
teachers are there to teach us things that we need to be successful in the
future. In school teamwork is helpful
because if you don’t understand something, you can go to other students or a
teacher who you really trust will help you and not GIVE you the answers. Teamwork also helps the teachers, with giving
the children more items of knowledge. In
order to help, students and teachers can try to make it easier on each other and
to create unity among one another.
Diversity in schools can help everyone also. If everyone was the same at school then the
environment would feel weird because everyone would have the same beliefs.
All these documents express nearly
the same beliefs, that people can work interdependently and still be different.
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping
together is progress. Working together
is success.” said Henry Ford. This is also a great quote people should live
by. It is saying that you should try
your hardest to work together, and you will become successful.
Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. said that we all came to America on different ships, but he is also
saying that we are together in the same country. No matter what color our
skin is, we really did come to this country together as one. When he is
saying that we are in the same boat, is that we settled in
The song “One” is a song about how we are all different but in a way we
are all the same. You should not judge someone by what color their skin
is. We should not judge anyone by what they are wearing or what their
culture is. This song is saying that we should join together and work
together. Here is a quote that is very much similar to joining
together. “Snow flakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just
look what they do when they stick together”. That is what people should
do, stick together and try to work everything out. We are all different
but we are not sticking together it’s the same thing with the snow flakes, all
snow flakes have different designs and shapes and that’s exactly what we
are. We just need to stick together.
The cartoon shows a whole bunch of people from different backgrounds and
they are all linking hands. Its shows that they don’t care about the color
of each others skin, and what each of their culture is. In the cartoon in
the corner there is a picture that says “9/11” that is in there because people
are not mad at them anymore and they are trying to forgive. It does not
mean everyone has forgiven but it does show that we are healing. If we are
walking down the street and we see a person that is Arab-American it does not
mean that we are going to yell “hey there’s a terrorist”. Just because he
comes from the same country dose not mean he is on their side.
I do not judge anyone by the color of there skin. I think that the song
was good because it showed how Bono feels on how people judge others by the
color of their skin. The cartoon was good because it showed how people
change and are friends with each other. I think that if we all did not
judge people by their skin then the world would be a better place.
Don’t
let people bring you down because they make fun of you because of who you are
and you should not listen. Walk on and be the better person. You
should be the only person who has the right to judge yourself and tell your
self who you are. You should have respect for your self. In Martin
Luther King’s speech it says “Don’t allow anybody to pull you so low as to make
you hate them”. Don’t let someone judge down on others, because you know
deep inside people are all just the same and maybe they are being mean because
they are scared to know someone different. They are not used to seeing
someone so different, and that probably scares them even more.
“Strength is not only in the
similarities, but also in the differences.”
This quote means that you do not all have to be the same to have
power. Everyone, similar and different,
can come together and have strength.
Everyone has a different identity and even though some people might not
accept that you still have to be as one and have empathy for each other. We can learn about the importance of unity
and diversity from songs, speeches, and cartoons.
The song “One” by Bono, is saying
that people are interdependent, but they are not always the same. Even though we might hurt each other
sometimes, we still forgive each other and help one another. It is hard to stick together when we hurt
each other. The song says, “…I can’t be
holding on to what you get when all you got is hurt…”
The political cartoon is saying that
even though our nation is diverse, we can still work together as one. E pluribus Unum means out of many, one.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “You
have a responsibility to seek to make your nation a better nation in which to
live.” Citizenship is a duty not a
choice. Everyone should be as one and
promote citizenship. This quote means
that you have the choice to have empathy for others. This quote reminds me of our pledge of
allegiance, “…with liberty and justice for all” because it is saying that
everyone should be free and have equal rights.
No matter what they look like we should be as one. Everyone should take care of
Teamwork in school is very important
because in order to learn you have to choose to work together. Whether it is
with the teacher or your classmates, you should always try to work as one. Teachers should influence kids to be
interdependent. Lewis and Clark explored
the west and came together with a diverse group of people to create a map for
others to follow. Many people who change
the world start by working with others when they are young.
It is very important to respect
people even though they are different.
No matter what your race or religion everyone should be treated
equal. People work together every day. E pluribus unum is very powerful and influences
people to be interdependent. You have to
care about others. When people are
prejudice they are not being fair to others.
When people are prejudice they are not standing as one. It is very important to stand as one and be
interdependent. You should be fair and
treat everyone equally.
Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. said “We may have all
come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” Dr. King is telling
us that we are different but we live in the same place so we should try to get
along. Fighting for equality in
diversity was one of Dr. King’s messages.
He wanted Americans to get along and respect others. You can learn about respect for diversity
from songs, movies, quotes and cartoons.
“We are one
but we’re not the same” a line written by Bono for his song “One,” says the
same thing as Dr. Kings quote. “We get
to share it, it leaves you baby if you don’t care for it” Bono feels that if
you don’t care for or promote love and peace it goes away. If the world wants
love and peace we have to care for each other. If you hurt people they will not
trust you like they did before, this will tear down unity in the group. Like Bono said, “I can’t be holding on to
what you got when all you got is hurt.”
“You have a responsibility to
seek to make your nation a better nation in which to live.” Dr. Martin Luther
King means that it is our job to make our nation better. It is our choice to change our behavior for
the better. We have the power to change
what we do to each other, and to be positive toward each other and all our
differences.
“E Pluribus
Unum” means out of many, one. That means that we are all different from
each other, and live in
The
importance of teamwork in school is that we have to learn to get along and work
with each other. If we don’t get along
now it’s going to be harder out in the real world. Teachers need to help children learn how to
respect each other and each other’s differences. Students can help by respecting adults and by
listening to them when they are talking, and actually trying to learn from
their experiences.
We’ve made
progress in American communities in the way we treat each other. People get along and stick together more
during rough times than they used to.
Although we’ve come a long way we still have a lot of work to do to make
the world a better, more peaceful, place for everyone. As Martin Luther King
said “We must learn
to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” We need to learn to live together peacefully,
or we will die together with hatred in our hearts.
“Everyone is different in there own way, we make
each other strong. We’re not the same, we’re different in a good way, together
is where we belong”, this is a quote from The High School Musical. The quote
means it is good to be different. If we were all the same the world would be
dull. Being different is a great thing. Being different lets you choose what is
right from wrong in “Your” own perspective. Cartoons, quotes, song lyrics, and
more can remind us about diversity and interdependence and our selves.
Mary J Blige and Bono from
the Band U2 sang a song called “One”. This song represents how differences
shouldn’t be ignored and how we should always get together no matter what race.
“It is a song about coming together” This means that the song represents that
we can get together even if we are different. This is part of what Bono said
right after he thought about what the song really meant. At first, he made it
to represent a couple fighting. Then he thought about it until he got the idea
that it wasn’t about just one couple. It was the whole world! Bono and Mary J
Blige worked interdependently with one another to have the video represent that
no matter what race or skin color, we can all work together as one.
E Pluribus Unum represents
how everyone, even different religions can get together. The cartoon, “E
pluribus unum” represents that even though, when 9/11 happened, all Americans
hold one another’s hand through the horrible tragedy. There was at one time, an
E Pluribus Unum Project. E Pluribus Unum means from many, one in Latin. At first
it was the motto for the Great Seal of the
“Don’t allow anybody to pull
you so low as to make you hate them. Don’t allow anybody to cause you to lose your
self-respect to the point that you don’t struggle for justice---how ever young
you are. You have the responsibility to seek to make your nation better nation
in which to live.” said Martin Luther King Jr. This part of the quote
represents the diversity of everyone in the world, but yet we should work
interdependently with one another in order to make one another stronger. Martin
Luther King Jr gave people hope to get along with each other. Blacks can get
along with whites everyone can get along with one another. He made his people
proud to be living. Whites, some of us still have some sort of hatred in our
hearts for African-Americans. Why? Some people can’t get over the past. That
can sometimes kill someone. Even though if the past is horrible you can’t
forget about it, but keep it behind you.. It shouldn’t be forgotten, but then
it shouldn’t hurt you as your life goes on.
The Song “One” by Mary J
Blige and Bono from U2 represents the diversity of people. Lines that prove
this are “We’re one but we’re not the same, We get to carry each other, Carry
each other”. This means that we need to work together in order to get along.
Even if we are different there is a way that every one can get along. Nobody is
the same. No one should be treated differently because they might be a
different ethnic group or color because in some way every one is the same. Why
should we give up the way we live and treat others differently? We should work
interdependently with one another. We should have empathy for each other. We
should get along. Even though that people have a different identities doesn’t
mean that we need to treat people differently. For an example, Rosa Parks was
judged just because of her color, and was arrested for not going in the back of
a bus. Now Rosa Parks is respected for defending her human rights and being
herself, and helping to change others lives.
Sometimes
being different is a good thing. Sometimes people might not think that because
they are always considered different in other people’s eyes and they think
something is wrong with them. There is absolutely no reason why people should
discriminate other people for being different. Why is being different
important? So we can learn other sides of people’s ideas or states of mind. If
we were all the same, everything would be less exciting.
In this world, diversity and teamwork
are two words that people take for granted.
Many people don’t see the importance of coming together as one and
helping each other out. Some people take
advantage of the different kinds of races, and don’t notice that everyone is
the same in their own way. All some
people look at, are the differences and weaknesses, while we should be noticing
and accepting their strengths. We need
to learn to stop and stand up for what is right, and know what is wrong.
In Dr. Martin
Luther King’s quote, he explains that we should not have others change our
ideas about something, or try to change our need for justice. We need to work for justice for
everyone. “…Don’t allow anybody to cause
you to loose your self-respect to the point that you do not struggle for
justice---how ever young you are.” Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Everyone needs to
have the courage to stand up for what they believe in. Together we can continue to make a better
life. People will only succeed in doing
this, by becoming involved with the government, and knowing what is just.
The cartoon is
representing many people, of different races, coming together after a hard
time. On the backs of everyone, there is
a letter, and the letters spell out a word. It spells out “E Pluribus Unum,”
which means out of many, one. The cartoon shows people coming together as “one.” It’s not easy to come together after a hard
time. But it’s even harder to come
together after being attacked by people from one certain group. If we think about it, all the people living
in America still feel upset and hurt, even though a terrorist might have been
someone of their own ethnic group. We
are all living together, and need to help each other. But it’s important to have a reinforcement to
fall on, so it’s important to come together and work together.
The song
“One,” by Bono, explains that difference is ok.
We carry differences with us. “To
drag the past out into the light” “We’re one but we’re not the same”, means
that we don’t need to bring out what has already occurred. It doesn’t need to be in the spotlight
24/7. We need to move on, and come
together, even though we have our differences.
We are all like snowflakes; no one is exactly the same, even though we
may have our strengths and our weaknesses, we all have our own talents that
make us special. And when we come
together, we can put our talents together and make a difference.
During school,
teamwork is very important. Teamwork
shows in different ways during school.
Teachers help the students do work and give advice, which is one of the
ways, that teamwork is important. Another way is when a friend needs help;
other students help them, whether they honestly need it or not. One other way that teamwork is important is
displayed in school is in sports. The
whole team is there for the same reason, and they come together to succeed and
try to win. Schools respect differences
in race, and in personalities. There are
kids who succeed in choir, arts, music, and even computer skills; and there is
a diversity of respect for each and every child’s abilities.
Prejudice is a
word that means to have unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, of a
hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group. Prejudice can be seen from different ways;
and there are many different kinds of prejudice. There is racial prejudice, cultural, and even
sexual prejudice. We can try to stop
prejudice by not comparing each other, and by not telling others what they can
and can’t do. “…don’t ever let someone tell
you that you can’t do something…not even me.” This quote is from the movie
Pursuit of Happyness. A black man tells
his son this, making sure he follows his dreams, no matter what.
If we come together, you won’t believe what we
can do. “Two heads are better than one,”
means that a group of people can make a bigger difference than just one. We
should look beyond someone’s race and actually see what, and how he or she is
feeling. We need to have empathy for people who have no one, and should pray
for them. Just like at the end of the Pledge of Allegiance, “…with liberty, and
justice for all.” Saying this every day in school shows me that everyone is
entitled to fairness and citizenship. Everyone has an identity that needs to be
understood, and not judged.
“The important thing about that
freedom train, is it's got to climb mountains. We ALL have to climb mountains,
you know. Mountains that go way up high,
and mountains that go deep and low. Yes, we know what those mountains are here
at Glide. We sing about them.”
~ Rev. Cecil Williams Glide Memorial United Methodist Church
It’s been said,
“Diversity is the one thing we all have in common. Celebrate it.” Diversity
does not mean we are all the same. It means variety, and there are a variety of
people in this world. Many people, though, are prejudice towards people that
are different from them. However, songs, quotes, and even political cartoons
support diversity and the idea that we are all one, but were not the
same.
The cartoon “E pluribus unum” is an example of interdependence because it
shows a variety of people joined together. E pluribus unum literally means
“from many, one” and they are joined together on the anniversary of September
11th, a day in which this country truly came together. The people in
this cartoon are not all the same, either, which is an even greater example of
diversity and interdependence. If they were all the same, it would not have the
same meaning. However, it has not been easy for people of the same group that
attacked us. Some people are prejudice towards them just because they are of
the same group. The song “If Everyone Cared” by Nickelback says, “if everyone
loved and nobody lied, then we’d see the day that nobody died.” More people
should follow this and stop blaming others for horrible events just because of
their skin color.
Another document that supports diversity is what Martin Luther King Jr.
said to the students of Barrett High School in Philadelphia, PA. He says not to
let “anybody pull you so low as to make you hate them,” and to be
interdependent, you can’t hate people, you have to join them. King also says
“You have a responsibility to seek to make life better for everybody.”
Everybody means a variety of people, and to have this responsibility, you have
to learn to join others and respect people different from you.
The song “One” by Bono is a great example of diversity and unity. Even
the title of the song sums up interdependence. However, as Bono says, this isn’t
a song of living together or that everybody is equal, it’s a song about being
one, but not being the same. People don’t even have to like each other to be
one; we just have to be tolerable of each other in order to accomplish
something together. Bono also says “I can’t be holding on to what you got when
all you got is hurt.” This means that when people are hurtful towards other,
then we can’t join together to do what’s right if we are not tolerating that
person or group.
The idea of diversity is a powerful
one and we should always respect it even if some people are different from you.
There will always be prejudice in this world, but if just a few people changed
their ways, then maybe more lives can change.
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