Non Fiction Essay
By Anthony Mitchell
I am a believer in starting off strong, and I think that’s how my introduction to civic
engagement through rhetoric was. Oftentimes, when we think of something as being rhetorical,
we think “this is a question that I am going to ask, but I don’t really want an answer to it”; if not
that, then it is something along those lines of thinking. It’s amazing how we use rhetoric before
we even know what it is! Remember when you were in elementary school and during the
morning announcements you would say the Pledge of Allegiance? Do you remember that? Well,
you probably didn’t know how to spell all those words you said or knew what they all meant, but
surely you knew that they were important words. For example, most elementary students don’t
know what “indivisible” or “republic” is or means. That type of thinking is above an elementary
student’s competency level.
I find it quite interesting that at such a young age, we are being conditioned to uphold certain
values and training our brains to believe that the ideas presented in the Pledge of Allegiance are
what makes us a good citizen. We can see that this is a form of becoming civic through civic
activities being integrated into our everyday routine. Ponder for a moment how different things
would be if there was no prompt on the intercom to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every
morning in elementary through high school grade levels. Would that make our country a better
place if we didn’t impose things on our children that they don’t even understand? Does it build a
sense of pride and patriotism for our country? What does repetitiously reciting the Pledge of
Allegiance actually do for the people who constantly say it? I ask these questions not to start a
controversy to the legitimacy of the subject, but to show just how powerful civic activities can
be.
In addition to that, we become civic through the public calling attention to certain things and
ignoring others (also known as the structures of attention). In the Business world, we are taught
the concept of “Prior Hypothesis Bias”. A Prior Hypothesis Bias is looking for information that
will support your viewpoint and ignoring information that will contrast what you believe to be
true. Whether we notice these things or not, most people are heavily gravitated toward this type
of thinking because that is what we have been taught. For example, transitioning the reputation
of a brand from being well-known in one thing to becoming something else will always awaken
heuristics and biases because people, generally, do not like change; this shift and redefining of
the brand will cause an internal grappling with many of the company employees that have a bias
and are opposed to change and stuck in tradition. Also, the media (newspapers, magazines,
social interaction sites, news broadcastings, etc.) has a profound impact on what we perceive and
how biases are formed because we can only make decisions based on the information we have
received. Oftentimes, the only information that we have is what we see in the media. That is
when we, as citizens, have to find other ways of being civically engaged.
I believe that students should immerse themselves in both curricular and co-curricular
activities to maximize their time in college as well as make the most of their tuition dollars. I can
remember on many accounts how my experiences in and outside the classroom have impacted
my behavior now. I can remember vividly how presenting a strategic plan to the Dean of Smeal
(Dean Whiteman), as part of my final grade for my Management 301H course last semester, has
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given me more public speaking/presentation confidence. That is a skill that can be utilized in my
academic, social, personal life. On a broader scale, an everyday activity like talking to people or
going to class turned into another chance to be civically engaged. That presentation was an
investment into the civic infrastructure of the Smeal College of Business via direct interaction
with someone who has an immediate impact on the culture of that college – the dean.
Not only has my time in the classroom been a direct connection to civic engagement, but my
activities outside the classroom have been as well. Last semester, I was selected to participate in
GELE (Global Engagement & Leadership Experience), a program that brings together twenty
national students and twenty international students attending Penn State to talk about what it
means to have global perspective and what leadership looks like from a global lens. I absolutely
loved the 2 ½ days spent with people who brought something completely different from what I
brought to the table. There were people at GELE who were from Kazakhstan, Ethiopia,
Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, East & West Malaysia, China, Nigeria, and even State College. That
experience of shared enterprise with students from other countries was a way to civically engage
myself. We stayed up in the wee hours of the night getting to know one another, sharing
viewpoints/perspectives, and learning about ourselves as student leaders. It was the closest thing
I had to gumbo in a long time (figuratively of course).When making gumbo, there are so many
different things that come together to make something spectacular. If I could get another
spoonful of GELE, I would definitely take it.
Another co-curricular concept is diversity and what it means to be diverse. Diversity plays a
major role in advancing society because we are now a globally connected community through
technology, intercontinental programs, and constant interaction. Diversity has allowed cultures to
expand and intercultural competency to flourish. After personally being exposed to cultures that
differed from my own and people around me that did not share my ethnicity, I became a better
person. I have learned that all people should have the same opportunities and that no one should
be discriminated against due to sexual preference, gender, race, religion, skin color, etc. By
immersing yourself, you carefully lay a foundation for a civic infrastructure that is conducive for
having conversations about race, religion, sexual orientation, and other hot topics. A
conversation like this one:
Me: “What are some negative fallacies that people may have toward people who identify as
Hindu?”
Her: “I think more recently there are a lot less than there used to be before. I think people think
that Hinduism is polytheist and that is simply not true. Polytheism is definitely one of the things
that I have heard. To my knowledge, at least, that would be the only thing that comes to mind.
Another fallacy that might not be a fallacy is that we tend to stick to our own kind, which is quite
common in a lot of microcosms. “
Me: “What things have you noticed are major societal differences associated with practicing or
being Hindu?”
Her: “I think, especially living in the United States, the biggest societal difference I’ve noticed
is that Hinduism is very heavily based around a culture and family and a hierarchy (not
necessarily a matriarchy or patriarchy) but Hinduism is all about collectivism especially within
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families. With dress and clothing, you will tend to notice that people who actually follow and
practice and believe in the scriptures will dress more conservatively.”
Me: “Does that difference seem amplified being in the United States, a place where Christianity
is the dominant religion?”
Her: “Definitely! The United States has the freedom to practice many religions. Hinduism
being just one of them.”
Me: “What is the religious make-up of your home country? What differences/similarities have
you seen with your home country and the religious make-up of the United States?”
Her: “I would say it is about the same here as it is in Kenya just on a smaller scale. Kenya is
predominantly Christian, then Islamic, followed by Hindu. It seems to be similar to the United
States with Christianity and Islam being the two hierarchical religions just smaller, but the U.S.
has more diverse cultures given the scope of things. Kenya is about the size of a state, just to put
that into perspective.”
Me: “Have you seen discrimination when you or someone you know identified as Hindu?”
Her: "Yes, I have definitely seen discrimination, especially post 9-11. Those who have the
turbans and the beards definitely feel marginalized because they are immediately thought to be
terrorists. That is one of the most instant responses I would say.”
Me: “Why do you think some Hindu people in America may be hesitant to say that they identify
as such?”
Her: “Quite contrarily, to my experience people in the United States, especially people of my
parents generation, are quite avid about their culture because they want their children to continue
in the traditions of the religion to keep it perpetual among future generations.”
Me: “How do you think people who don’t identify as Hindu can be more appreciative of people
who do?”
Her: “I think it kind of goes with all religions. It’s just about making yourself aware of what
you don’t know. People fear most what they don’t know. That’s where ignorance streams. I think
people are more likely to bash things they don’t know or understand instead of agreeing to
disagree. I think there should be more open forums, seminars, and webinars for question. I think
it would be really cool to have discussions like that. I think that assignments like this are really
good for students who aren’t of the Hindu faith Interviewing someone who is of a different
background than you is key to learning something different. It’s really cool to see who a person
is by where they come from and their background.”
The above conversation was one that I had with an international student who identifies as
Hindu from Kenya. Talks like this should be done more often because it is beneficial to the
community and the individual. Through this talk, I was able to expand my knowledge,
understanding, and appreciation for another culture. The group of people I was privileged to
conduct my project on identified as Hindu. I was surprised at the amount of enjoyment I was able
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to learn about Hindus from formally and informally asking questions. You can see how we
talked about a wide range of things from how she thinks people who indentify as Hindu are
discriminated against to why and how Christianity isn’t too far from Hinduism under the
principles of what they both believe in. I found this piece of information to be particularly
enlightening. What continuously surprised me during the conversation was how we made
connections about how Hinduism doesn’t differ too much from Christianity. I began the
conversation with only questions, thinking that the two religious ideologies were almost polar
opposites. There were things that she said that made me think “really?” or “huh, I didn’t know
that”. For example, when the person I was talking to said that people who identify as Hindu only
serves one deity, I was a bit shocked because my preconceived notion was that Hindus were
polytheistic.
In conclusion, I have found that it is good to be civically involved, whether it’s having a
shared enterprise for global leadership with international students or practicing an everyday civic
activity that allows the sharing of different ideas with others and the exchanging of viewpoints.
There are a plethora of ways to become civically engaged, even though you have been
conditioned to do so by different forms of media, society, and family influences. The media
engages its viewers in civic engagement through structures of attention; this means they are
calling attention to things they deem important and doing the opposite to things that aren’t
important to be noted. The talking with someone who doesn’t identify as what you identify as
and children saying the Pledge of Allegiance are examples of civic engagement in everyday life.
These things can be done without thought or being forced to do so. Civic engagement can be
advantageous to all participants. Even though we see the implementations and mental
conditioning of civic engagement early in life, continuing to be civically engaged will produce
more generations of men, and women who contribute to the community!
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