The House I Live in

The documentary was a big eye opener and that it made me see the bigger picture on the war on drugs in the United States of America. I never knew how big an issue drugs were until I saw the number of people jailed due to drug-related cases. I must say that the document is well directed and that it enables the viewers to understand the history of the drug problem in the United States, the efforts made by the government over the years to try and curb the vice. One of the greatest things that I learnt from the documentary is the fact the initiatives set by the government to stop drug abuse have caused more harm than good to the affected population and the community at large. 

As much as I agree with the documentary, I must say that there are certain aspects that have been overlooked and that if I was the one filming the documentary, I would have gone ahead and shown the three sides of the coin and not only the two sides which have been presented by the director of the documentary. The director of the documentary mainly majored on the peddlers of the drugs and the United States Government. I believe that there is more to the war on drugs than only these two parties, and thus I would also feature those families that have been affected by drug addicts. We must recognize the fact the drugs addiction has enormous effects on one's health, family and society at large. Thus, as much as we may condemn the actions of the government we should also take a look at the how bad the issue of drug addiction would be if the government would not have put in place the measures that it put in place then. I believe that it is important to show all these sides and so that the viewers can be left to take a stand on the matter. 

 

Sarah Grimke

One of the characters that I can identify myself with in the book, “The Invention of Wings” is Sarah Grimke. Sarah is one of the two main characters in the book. The book introduces us to Sarah when she is about 11 years of age and ends when she is in her middle age. However, in between these two years, Sarah accomplished so many things that women her age can never accomplish in their lifetime. Motivated by her earliest memory of seeing Rosetta being punished, Sarah becomes motivated to fight for the rights of the slaves and the women of her society. It is such actions that amazes me and makes me like Sarah even more. Despite coming from a slave owner family, Sarah was very kind and she never despised any slave that worked for them. Instead she embraced them and always wished the best for them

​Sarah’s ability to talk to her brothers and her father about her stand on slavery shows her bravery something that is very rare in the present day since most people fear to act on what is right. In the book Sarah is portrayed as very sober, zealous and an abolitionist who stops at nothing and tackles every challenge that comes her way. Another amazing character that I like in her is the fact that she was able to keep her promise to Mauma even after her death. Sarah had promise Mauma at a tender age that she would free her daughter Handful. Despite being banned from Charleston Sarah risks it all and goes back to save Handful and Sky.

​These actions are what make me admire Sarah since she inspires me by her sobriety, courage, assertiveness and the zeal to help others regardless of race, norms and traditions.