Creating a Determined Existence Through Conscious Reflection
This week’s reading of Paulo Friere focused on understanding the creation of our consciousness from our past experiences. My social identity growing up was shaped largely by environmental factors that conditioned my mindset. Before I began to philosophize ideas independently my view was conditioned by the middle class, catholic views of a rural Maine town. My parents being humanitarians, advocated me to form my political understanding outside of their personal beliefs. Yet, even this opportunity towards self-reflective thinking I was not free from the archaic ideologies that were perpetuated by my school and my community members’ inability to even acknowledge any belief system that threatened their own. By accepting and only viewing life through a narrow view of what we are born into is detrimental to both the individual and communities everywhere. Paulo Freire explains this in detail when talking about determined or conditioned existence. He highlights how our mindset is conditioned from birth from our environmental factors, the people in my town who refuse to consider opposing beliefs don’t have to work towards a developing conscious, making it less work to remain passive and stagnant in their views. Then there is the other side of the coin that is having a determined existence. Friere which is the conscious acknowledgment of your conditioning and taking an active role in your continuing education through political awareness and challenging your beliefs with a critical and humble mind.
The key to unraveling social ideologies is to combat apathy and passive movement of so many dominate groups. Getting people to take an active and informed roll in their town, state, and federal issues is the first step. The idea is that this will transfer into the election of ethical culturally aware politicians who will carry out social justice on a national scale by effective policy changes.
The canal alliance is helping effect this change by providing equal educational opportunities to a marginalized community. Though some of the residents of the canal may not be able to legally vote, the canal provides the parents with information on movements that will help them politically like the census. During my census interview, I’ve learned that community members want to enact change but have a hard time finding accessible relevant information. This made me think of the Ethics in the Margins ideal of putting subjugated voiced in at the moral center. Though I’ve seen Canal Alliance validate and inform these voices, I feel their needs to be more of a platform for the adults in this program to be heard.
One of the main problems, in getting these voices heard is little representation on the local and state level. The census 2020 marks the Canal Area as one of the “hard to count” districts. Why does this happen? The inequity of information, fear of deportation is perpetuated uneven power and geographical isolation. In my final paper, I want to continue my research into how isolated communities are a result of uneven power structures. Investigating how racist systems and policies create inequity in the quality of education and mental health, thus explaining how isolated communities are a form of modern segregation.
