In “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” a young black girl’s grandmother tries desperately to gain the help of a local white dentist who would “…rather stick [his] hand in a dog’s mouth than in a nigger’s” (Angelou, 189). Here all parties have developed a sense of the whiteness and blackness in their world. Blurred vision plays a large part in the illusions present here. The Dentist sees the blackness as savage and beneath that of dogs. The young girl creates a slightly different illusion. She concocts an interesting account of her grandmother’s interactions with the Dentist because she chooses to view her grandmother as a black woman with powers that she herself, hopes to inherit someday. She is not yet completely knowledgeable of all aspects associated with whiteness and blackness in her time but she knew that it was not acceptable to God. “Let the whitefolks have their money and power and segregation and sarcasm and big houses and schools and lawns like carpets, and books, and mostly – mostly – let them have their whiteness. It was better to be meek and lowly, spat upon and abused for this little time than to spend eternity frying in the fires of hell” (Angelou, 131).
Harmony between all humans is encumbered with insurmountable obstacles with quandaries so complexly burdened with inequalities that a solution for all seems unfathomable. While everyone is legally obliged to obey laws and conform, doing so will not guarantee harmony, justice, or equality. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed, “… there are two types of laws: just and unjust” (Charters, 29). Even laws that are immoral are expected to be followed but like St. Augustine, Martin Luther King, Jr. agrees that “an unjust law is no law at all” (Ibid). Aware that many laws were biased and completely arbitrary, Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man who vivaciously shown light on blackness, successfully exposing multi-layered depths of color-blindness. He promoted equality while displaying peace. He uncovered hypocrisies while exemplifying righteousness yet the many peaceful displays of protest did little to bring peace to the minds and hearts of either the oppressed or the oppressor.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words revealed differences in men by uncovering how the privileged, well-educated, cultivated, Christian Clergymen’s lack of actions were perfect manifestations of phenomenal demonstrations of hypocrisy. He clarified the differences between a man-made laws and natural, Godly ones; “a just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God… Any law that degrades human personality is unjust… it is morally wrong and sinful” (Charters, 30). An important ideology used to build our country’s democracy derived from God; the belief that all men are created equal. This concept was an essential element for the harmonious existence of a new land’s population. Our nation is ran by legislation derived from our constitution, written by men who were unable to comprehend the word men as plural for man – and “man” is defined by Dictionary.com as a member of the species Homo Sapiens or all the members of this species collectively, without regard to color or race. Those laws were written as just but were continuously subject to a white man’s interpretation, hence the implementation of legislation that is discriminately convoluted to solely benefit a specific class of society while oppressing all others is thoroughly unjust.
It is not genetics, geography, language, religion, education, attire, or possessions that elevate our spirits into the realms of humanity; but our virtue. It is our conscience and our courage to act upon what we know in our hearts and soul to be right and true. It is a strong man that holds to personal convictions that are true, regardless of consequence; and a weak man who continues to trudge forth in conformity, blatantly ignoring his wrongs inflicted upon others.
We are not born completely established; set like mortar and unchangeable. Our neurotic make up by nature is designed to grow, adapt to our environment, and learn from our experiences. We are made to comprehend and to work in abstract ways. We are not made for the mundane, the idle, or the stagnancy of stillness. No, we exist to excel in all fathomable ways. Our spirit is not limited by man-made boundaries. To stifle the spirit is to lead the soul to death. Malcolm X stood for freedom and he was willing to risk death to get that freedom. For without equality true freedom did not exist and individuality would remain oppressed.
Malcolm X was similar to Martin Luther King, Jr. in that he too was an advocate for equality between whites and blacks. The difference however was the tone of his delivery. In the “Ballot or the Bullet” speech he proclaimed, “We suffer political oppression. Economic exploitation. And social degradation. All of ‘em from the same enemy… it’ll be the ballot or it’ll be the bullet. It’ll be liberty or it’ll be death” (Charters, 75 and 79).
In 1968 a prominent public figure, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, addressed our nation regarding the hatred and violence between us. His speech contained powerful statements; “No wrongs have ever been righted by riots and civil disorders.” “…violence breed violence, repression brings retaliation, and only a cleaning of our whole society can remove this sickness from our soul.” “When you teach a man to hate and fear his brother, when you teach that he is a lesser man because of his color or his beliefs or the policies he pursues, when you teach that those who differ from you threaten your freedom or your job or your family, then you also learn to confront others not as fellow citizens but as enemies…” ("John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum").
Four decades have passed since Senator Kennedy earnestly articulated his stand on hatred. Still today, our Nation, our world, is teeming with racial issues. Regardless of where in the world we live, we are all born with a conscience; knowing right from wrong. Our insatiable desire for equality or control continues to consume us. Our essential bond, humanity, is rapidly deteriorating. Without humanity we are inhumane.
We Are One – “No matter who you are, where you’re from or what you were taught to believe in, be at peace with yourself and with everyone else” (We Are One).
Buddhism – “Hurt not others with that which pains yourself” (From the Udanavarga 5.18).
Christianity – “In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12 – NRSV).
Hinduism – “Do not to others which if done to thee would cause pain” (From the Mahabharata 5.1517).
Islam “No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself” (Sunnab).
Jainism – “In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self” (Lord Mahavir 24th Tirthankara).
Judaism – “What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow human beings. That is the law; all the rest is commentary” (Talmud, Shabbatƺla).
Native Spiritual Traditions – “Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves” (Chief Seattle).
Shintoism – “Be charitable to all beings, love is the representation of God” (Ko-ji-ki Hachiman Kasuga).
Sikhism – “Don’t create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone” (Guru Arjan Devji 259. Guru Granth Sahib).
Taoism – “Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain; and regard your neighbor’s loss as your own loss” (Tai Shang Kan Yin P’ien).
Many laws and much progress has been made since the 1960’s however, in our daily lives, in our interactions with others; neighbors, communities, counties, states, and countries, we continue to overlook the “Golden Rule”, which is possibly the most basic, virtuous universal rule. It is taught world-wide in nearly every religion, school, or philosophy. If this value cannot influence mankind to halt hatred and cultivate harmony, what can? To think that man-written laws and arbitrary democracy is the answer is utterly absurd. Democracy only works when virtue is present. So long as unjust laws are written, a system without virtue will do nothing to encourage harmony between people. No amount of respect, status, power, prosperity, education, freedom, or peace can change hearts of men to practice what they preach. This is a task that no one can accomplish for another. That revelation is saved for the man himself. Once man feels compelled to take ownership in himself, it is then that we can see true change.
Works Cited
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Ballantine Books, 2009. Print.
Charters, Ann. The portable sixties reader. Penguin Classics, 2003. Print. Dictionary.com. 2011
Dictionary.Com. http://dictionary.reference.com/. 2011.
The Golden Rules. We Are One; Buddhism. From the Udanavarga 5.18; Christianity. The Bible. Matthew 7:12; Hinduism. From the Mahabharata 5.1517; Islam. Sunnab; Jainism. Lord Mahavir 24th Tirthankara; Judaism. Talmud, Shabbatƺla; Native Spiritual Traditions. Chief Seattle; Shintoism. Ko-ji-ki Hachiman Kasuga; Sikhism. Guru Srjan Devji 259. Guru Granth Sahib; Taoism. Tai Shang Kan Yin P’ien.
"Remarks of Senator Robert F. Kennedy to the Cleveland City Club, Cleveland, Ohio, April 5, 1968." John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, n.d. Web. 12 Mar 2011.
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