Critical Essay on 'The Forest, Trees, and The One Thing' by Johnson

Topics:	Environmental Issues Trees
Essay type:	Critical
Words:	430
Page:	1 This essay sample was donated by a student to help the academic community. Papers provided by EduBirdie writers usually outdo students' samples.

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What influences an individual’s perspective or approach to social issues in a global context? Considering this, in the assigned reading, “The Forest, Trees, and The One Thing'' by Johnson, he states that “we are succumbed by this idea that everything starts and ends with individuals. With this thought, it’s likely that one would view social issues in a global context as simply a result of individual flaws. Is it this tunnel vision that leads to poverty? Environmental racism is discrimination not merely from race, but also from the environment the community is in. The helplessness of those outside of the majority or white is being taken advantage of. Minority residents tend to live in more polluted areas with less access to political and legal means at their feet. The potentially environmentally hazardous sites are often seen in disadvantaged communities, simply because it's the path of least resistance. So again, why does environmental racism exist? The short answer is resources. These dangerous sites are closer to the minority communities who are unable to stand against them as a mere result of little to no resources. Racism isn’t just about words, it’s in the air and water. Therefore, making environmental racism an unjust global event faced by minority communities.

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When one thinks of “poverty”, eight times out of ten, a minority community comes to mind. In the reading, The Sociological Imagination, Wright Mills mentions stepping back and seeing the big picture from a historical standpoint. We have a tendency to view problems that occur as a result of one’s character and nature. The historical shifts of suburbanization present white privilege, which contributes to environmental racism in a form. Privileged individuals of the majority are more inclined to believe that minorities could easily “get a job” and help themselves. However, as aforementioned, the lack of resources to aid these individuals ceases that option. Additionally, in a more broader context, these individuals in minority groups result in higher percentages of health problems as an immediate effect of exposure to waste. Instead of thinking about the social issue of environmental racism in terms of a mere individual flaw, and instead in the global scheme of things one is able to fully understand this issue is incapable of a personal solution. To fully answer what influences one’s approach to social issues, one’s social standing has the biggest influence. So would developing a deeper understanding of cultural variation help the majority of individuals intervene more effectively with diverse communities, or would an individual’s natural stereotypes have power over that?

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Critical Essay on ‘The Forest, Trees, and The One Thing’ by Johnson. (2023, July 20). Edubirdie. Retrieved April 29, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/critical-essay-on-the-forest-trees-and-the-one-thing-by-johnson/

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