Be Descriptive

As George grew into a preteen, teenager, and young man, he continued to face challenges related to the war and his race, but he ultimately managed to take his father's words to heart, that American democracy was the greatest system in the world. (It is worth noting that when George looks back on the mistreatment he suffered during grade school from the teacher who disliked him, he has empathy for her rather than anger, declaring, “Maybe she had a husband in the Pacific Theater or a son...and I looked like the people who fought her family member” (174).) This is evident in George's volunteering with the Adlai Stevenson campaign, and marching for Civil Rights. From a young age, he understood that activism and speaking out against injustice were vital components of the democratic process. His father told him, “Our democracy is a participatory democracy. Existentially, it's dependent on people who cherish the shining, highest ideals of our democracy...and actively engage in the political process” (178). Essentially, what this means is that some of America's most outspoken critics are also some of its greatest, most committed patriots.

In addition to speaking out about oppressive practices, George also articulates the importance of learning from history, recalling that there was no chapter about Japanese internment in his history book in high school. He explains that, if we do not know history, “we don't learn the lesson those chapters have to teach us. So we repeat them over and over again” (174).