Many people around the world want to be in your shoes. My father had fled Vietnam to the United States in the middle of the Vietnam War. Like many other immigrants, he had left the chaos of war in hopes of a better life, and he was more than happy to have the chance to start anew in the land of the free. Although it seems that many citizens of the United States feel dissatisfied with the abundance of endless problems such as discrimination, there should be no need for major changes, including restructuring the government, since the people have access to rights and opportunities for success. To some extent, many citizens believe that racial discrimination continues to be a significant problem in America today. This nation has had a terrible history with past slave ownership and segregation. However, the addition of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments and the Civil Rights Acts corrected this misjudgment. Randall Kennedy describes the people as wanting to "escape the gravitational pull of the country's ugly racial past," which shows efforts to reduce and eliminate racial prejudice (240). Although discrimination still occasionally occurs at the individual level, people view it as a nationwide problem. Our ancestors faced far more persistence from discriminating people than current generations do today (Kennedy 240). The solution to this problem, however, lies not in the hands of America's leaders or laws, but rather in changing an individual's narrow-mindedness and prejudice toward others. We have learned from our previous mistakes and are now working toward an America free of racial discrimination. The American public should realize the privileges of living in the United States and remind each other to be grateful for all that we have. Just know that somewhere else in the world, someone wishes to be in your shoes. Works cited by Amnesty International. “Africa suffers from human rights violations. » Africa 2008: n. page. Opposing viewpoints in context. Internet. March 4, 2014. Kennedy, Randall. For discrimination. Toronto: Pantheon, 2013. Print. Spalding, Matthew, ed. Introduction. America's Opportunity for All. Washington, DC, 2013. The Heritage Foundation. PDF file. US Department of State. “Libya's human rights record remains poor. » Libya 2012: n. page. Opposing viewpoints in context. Internet. March 4. 2014.