Can Anyone Hear Us?
While reading all of these pieces one underlying theme or reoccurring idea that I noticed was the idea that we are not together, nor are any of us asking the same questions to solve the same problems. Not necessarily that we need to be together to live a humanitarian/moral/ethical life, or that we need to be asking the same questions, but that we need to have the same purpose: a desire to want to listen, love, respect, and overall create a better quality of life for everyone rather then just ourselves. Selfless. West describes this well when he says, “Any civilization that is unable to sustain its networks of caring and nurturing will generate enough anger and aggression to make communication near impossible. The result is a society in which we do not even respect each other enough to listen to each other” (West 212). If we as a society do not listen to each other then how are we expected to make any steps forward. We can not change what we do not know. Currently we live in a society where ignorance is the oppression. We do not let our people speak and so we do not know.
West continues on to say, “Democracy is also about giving each person a dignified voice in the design making process in those institutions that give and regulate their lives” (West 212). Of course what he says holds much truth, but if that is the truth then I do not believe we live in a democracy. Each day more and more people are disenfranchised, and the unfortunate truth is that the majority of these people are “minorities” or people of color. West describes their situation very well when he says, “…cast as a part of a problem people rather then people with problems” (West 210). When we do things like this we are taking away peoples voices and this is only one of the many ways people today loose the ability to voice their opinions.
When looking at the two examples above and comparing them to my community experience I am able to draw many parallels. I am volunteering at next generational scholars and their main mission is to get underprivileged, “under-voiced”, children into quality higher education such as Yale, Harvard, etc. These children have the same if not more potential then the privileged children who normally attend these schools but because of their position in society they are often not seen or heard. The way I see it Next generation scholars is their voice, it allows them to be seen and to be heard, these are the children who will make a difference.
Moving on to Barzun one quote that really stuck out to me was, “In any age life confronts all but the most obtuse with a set of impossible demands…” This quote really stuck out to me because it holds so much truth. I related it to growing up, which is almost impossible: you’re still a kid but everyone expects you to do everything correct and responsibly with no room for error, but then won’t let you stay out past midnight. I feel like society gives people the same challenge, especially for people like the children at NGS. Society continually scolds them for being uneducated and taking advantage of the amenities offered in America, but then refuses to give them the resources necessary to succeed, which is where NGS steps in.
Finally when looking at Goodall the quote that most caught my attention was, “We humans are not, after all, set apart, separated from the rest of the animal kingdom by an unbridgeable chasm”. This stood out to me because all though we are all different animals humans tend to try and create a hierarchy of “species” with in our own. Or in simpler terms racism. Based on our backgrounds many people seem to think they have more superiority over others. This is something that has already been ingrained into our children whether we know it or not. One of the many great things NGS does for children is bring up topics such as this, makes them think about contriversial topics at a young age. While I was there they were all asked to write down “good” and “bad” things about each race. When all was said and done they had written a very extensive list of negative things about all different races of color including themselves, but when the negatives of the white list were shared it was much less. By bringing these types of issues up we can hopefully change the way in which they see themselves, and create a more positive outlook. Make sure they know that no matter what society tells them we are all equal.
In regards to the last question: If we wait for someone else to do the questioning and changing for us then “we” as a “democratic” community are apart of something much smaller. We are apart of one persons rule and question. It becomes more of a dictatorship.
