My last post was on racism. There were some other thoughts that I wanted to bring up, but I had become rather long winded. Perhaps this post will be shorter, but I can never tell. Hopefully it is, because I am just taking a study break at the library right now.
American literature is about finding identity. From the very beginning, a significant percentage of writers and works have had that theme. A lot of this quest for identity has to do with forming a recognizable literary presence that was not overshadowed by the great writers of England. For a long time, American writing largely was seen as an imitation of English literature. Many times this was true, but a lot of the issue with creating an independent and American literary form was due to the unresolved question of who or what is an American?
Personally, I believe that the advent of the transcendentalist movement was where American literature became independent. This is why I consider Walt Whitman to be the founding father of American literature. Sure, he was preceded by Emerson and a few other transcendentalists, but Whitman was the first to really write about America in a literal and physical way. He was more than just a philosopher. He came out and defined what America should stand for.
Whitman preached a gospel of universal brotherhood. We all share a common bond. He promoted racial equality, and in the aftermath of the Civil War, he longingly wrote words to heal a wounded nation.
Whitman wrote of the beauty and humanity in everyone. He loved everyone. He wanted everyone to get along and see the positive qualities of each other. He snubbed no one, shunned no one. They all were equal to him, and they all were a part of him and his writing. He loved America, and he wanted America to love America.
Whitman was a poet who saw the divisions in the land that he loved, and I believe that was one of the driving reasons for his poetry. He tried very hard to bring everyone as equals. I do not feel I need to explain this any more, because if you read his works, this is all very clear. I just want to say that I see his pain in a divided nation, a nation that claimed freedom and equality yet turned on itself because it did not practice what it preached.
Now remember that Whitman was an early poet, from before the time that blacks were even considered fully human (yet he considered them fully human).
After Whitman, a lot of writers pop up searching for American identity as well as personal identity. There are regionalist writers who try to express the beauty of their area of the country, showing their own unique identity. This largely happened during a period after the Civil War when the country was having a hard time seeing itself as a homogenous entity. However, these displays of local flavor are what has come to define America, especially what we tend to refer to as "small town America." Here we see more of the American identity being clarified.
Entering the 1900s, a lot of American literature becomes centered on discrimination and acceptance. The Harlem Renaissance centers around the African-American and their search for equal standing in all aspects of American society. The feminist movement pops up. There are a lot of writers from ethnic minorities, gender minorities, sexual minorities, etc. Each of them wants to write their page in the history of America, to paint there picture on the canvas of American identity just like the regionalists before them.
African-Americans struggle against the superiority complex of the dominant whites. Gays and lesbians seek amnesty in a straight culture. Native Americans will not sit by and be ignored and undervalued any more. Mexican-Americans want to show that they are talented at more than just grunt work. Outspoken poets cry out for freedom and equality. The underprivileged and underrepresented strive to show the world that they are just as good as everyone else.
This is the story of modern American literature, and it all started way back with Walt Whitman. So many authors drew inspiration as well as courage from him. Take a survey class in American literature, and more than likely you will be just as apalled by the inequality as I am. History classes will try to make it all look like we are being progressive, but the truth is that no matter what we do or how we change, we always seem to be mistreating some minority somehow.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Racism and American Government
Either people talk about racism too little or they talk about it too much. I tend to talk about it a lot. When you study literature, it is very hard not to talk about racism. You see, one of the central themes of American literature is being accepted as an American.
It will be impossible for me to express all of my thoughts in one blog, but I would like to some day write a book about racism in American Literature.
One of the big problems about racism is that it tends to get the most face time of all of the forms of discrimination. I feel that religious discrimination tends to be more of an issue than racism is at times, and that a lot of racism actually comes from religious discrimination. Furthermore, discrimination according to lifestyle, whether that means sexual orientation or basic social preferences is also a big problem. I am so tired of this land that supposedly is founded on freedom and equality trying to restrict people's forms of expression and mistreating groups with different (not even opposite or opposing) viewpoints.
I do not have an interest in politics, but I do have an interest in people being treated with respect. I believe that God gave man a free will, and that man should be free to excercise that free will as he sees fit. I believe that the purpose of governments is to act as a shield to prevent man from using that free will in a way that will harm other people. Of course, I believe that some actions are wrong (what one might call a sin), but I have respect for the free will that God gave people, and I will not interfere with that, even if it contradicts my moral values, unless it is literally endangering someone else. For instance, I will not be against a person getting drunk if they feel the desire to (though I consider this to be a moral fault), yet I will be against driving while drunk because it endangers people. However, I do not have the same view towards drugs like cocaine due to the fact that the drugs themselves present a hazard to those who use them. If there are drugs that are safe to use with no forms of danger presented at all, then go for it. I have no problem.
I would, however, like to say that as I also have a respect for order. I believe that you should obey rules. If you are attending a show at a theatre, you should respect their house rules by shutting off your cel phone and not smuggling in treats. These are rules set up to promote fairness between people. Shutting off your cel phone makes like more pleasant for those around you, and refraining from smuggling treats is a way to show respect to the owners of the establishment (you could also view smuggling of treats as a harmful action toward them because it damages their profits; they are not out to get you). Government usually has similar reasons for the laws they create.
A lot of people think that our country was based on freedom. This is sort of true. Those who came and settle this land orignally were minority groups who sought to avoid persecution. However, when they got here, they more or less became imperialistic, trying to take over the land of others. That is not freedom. No one every called an invader a seeker of liberty. Also, when we rebeled from England, we did it for the money. As far as minority groups go, our new laws were comparable to the laws of England when it came to minorities. In fact, I believe that England progressed faster in relation to racism than America did. History confirms this. It really was all about taxation without representation, or fiscal liberty. Consequently, I believe that people's idea of "freedom" was largely influenced by their wallets.
I know there is a lot of idealism floating around in government, and I know there was back then. People wanted to make a better country than they had before, and if you take the interests of the people back then into account, I believe they did make a better country. However, I think there was too much greed interfering (again, all about the money) for people to really be willing to take up the cause of true liberty. The South did not give up their slaves. Greed. The North wanted to set up the rules to protect their goods. Greed. A lot of this was settled through the Civil War, but what did we end up with? A free country? No. We ended up with a violently racist country, and we still have not recovered from that.
As a result of the Civil War, America lost the freedoms protected by state's rights. Yes, I believe in state's rights because it demonstrates free will. People could move to the states that they felt best worked with their lifestyles. Unfortunately, now the national government and the Supreme Court feel that they can bully states into following political norms. Sometimes I agree with their decisions, though. Any loss of freedom for any group is wrong, unless it somehow literally protects others from a real danger. However, this situation gets a little dicey because then you are also restricting the freedom of another entity, local or state government. I think they still should have some say it what happens.
I have gotten a lot more political than I set out to be.
Basically, I believe everyone should have a fair shake at things and that government should not restrict that.
What I wanted to point out is that American government has been racist from the get go. Blacks were not considered completely human. Free blacks were not even allowed to vote, even if they had money. I am not exactly for discrimination against the poor, but I understand why they would want people to have money or property before they could vote. I also think it is a good incentive for people to get up and do something with their lives. Sorry about that tangent.
Anyways, blacks aren't humans, and Native Americans are not equals. Come on. Blacks are just as good as whites. Early colonial history could prove that easily. Native Americans were easily our equals. They were better than whites at warfare, even if they took cheap shots sometimes. They had the capacity to be just as "civilized" as we were. Heck, they could have created their own state and fit in just fine. Why did we have to run them out and over? We could have let them integrate with us, or even integrate with them! Same goes for blacks!
And why do we always think racism has to do with skin color? The Irish had a bum rap for decades and they were white. It did not matter about skin color, they just had to be not you in order for you to discriminate.
And we still face this problem of racism. The Mexicans are our new slaves. They face even more issues than the blacks did, because their situation is not as black and white as the earlier issue was (ok... bad pun).
But seriously, we have made the issues more complicated by trying to serve ourselves under the pretext of freedom. We make laws to protect America from future Americans. Why are they not Americans now? Because we don't want them to be. Oh, but we really do. Oh, but we really don't. And we never did. And that is why I hate it when people say America is a free country.
"You sit on a throne of lies."
America will only be free when everyone is treated equally. No, not in a socialistic way. It is not about the money. It is about the ideals and the values. When everyone has tolerance and respect for each other like the Ideal America would have, then America will be free. Right now its all about money and personal comfort. DC does not give a damn about you. They really don't. But we can change that by changing ourselves.
How?
Give a damn about the people around you. Learn to love them like yourself. It really is as simple as the Golden Rule. I don't care if you are a Christian or not. Follow it, and you will be surprised at how free our world will become.
It will be impossible for me to express all of my thoughts in one blog, but I would like to some day write a book about racism in American Literature.
One of the big problems about racism is that it tends to get the most face time of all of the forms of discrimination. I feel that religious discrimination tends to be more of an issue than racism is at times, and that a lot of racism actually comes from religious discrimination. Furthermore, discrimination according to lifestyle, whether that means sexual orientation or basic social preferences is also a big problem. I am so tired of this land that supposedly is founded on freedom and equality trying to restrict people's forms of expression and mistreating groups with different (not even opposite or opposing) viewpoints.
I do not have an interest in politics, but I do have an interest in people being treated with respect. I believe that God gave man a free will, and that man should be free to excercise that free will as he sees fit. I believe that the purpose of governments is to act as a shield to prevent man from using that free will in a way that will harm other people. Of course, I believe that some actions are wrong (what one might call a sin), but I have respect for the free will that God gave people, and I will not interfere with that, even if it contradicts my moral values, unless it is literally endangering someone else. For instance, I will not be against a person getting drunk if they feel the desire to (though I consider this to be a moral fault), yet I will be against driving while drunk because it endangers people. However, I do not have the same view towards drugs like cocaine due to the fact that the drugs themselves present a hazard to those who use them. If there are drugs that are safe to use with no forms of danger presented at all, then go for it. I have no problem.
I would, however, like to say that as I also have a respect for order. I believe that you should obey rules. If you are attending a show at a theatre, you should respect their house rules by shutting off your cel phone and not smuggling in treats. These are rules set up to promote fairness between people. Shutting off your cel phone makes like more pleasant for those around you, and refraining from smuggling treats is a way to show respect to the owners of the establishment (you could also view smuggling of treats as a harmful action toward them because it damages their profits; they are not out to get you). Government usually has similar reasons for the laws they create.
A lot of people think that our country was based on freedom. This is sort of true. Those who came and settle this land orignally were minority groups who sought to avoid persecution. However, when they got here, they more or less became imperialistic, trying to take over the land of others. That is not freedom. No one every called an invader a seeker of liberty. Also, when we rebeled from England, we did it for the money. As far as minority groups go, our new laws were comparable to the laws of England when it came to minorities. In fact, I believe that England progressed faster in relation to racism than America did. History confirms this. It really was all about taxation without representation, or fiscal liberty. Consequently, I believe that people's idea of "freedom" was largely influenced by their wallets.
I know there is a lot of idealism floating around in government, and I know there was back then. People wanted to make a better country than they had before, and if you take the interests of the people back then into account, I believe they did make a better country. However, I think there was too much greed interfering (again, all about the money) for people to really be willing to take up the cause of true liberty. The South did not give up their slaves. Greed. The North wanted to set up the rules to protect their goods. Greed. A lot of this was settled through the Civil War, but what did we end up with? A free country? No. We ended up with a violently racist country, and we still have not recovered from that.
As a result of the Civil War, America lost the freedoms protected by state's rights. Yes, I believe in state's rights because it demonstrates free will. People could move to the states that they felt best worked with their lifestyles. Unfortunately, now the national government and the Supreme Court feel that they can bully states into following political norms. Sometimes I agree with their decisions, though. Any loss of freedom for any group is wrong, unless it somehow literally protects others from a real danger. However, this situation gets a little dicey because then you are also restricting the freedom of another entity, local or state government. I think they still should have some say it what happens.
I have gotten a lot more political than I set out to be.
Basically, I believe everyone should have a fair shake at things and that government should not restrict that.
What I wanted to point out is that American government has been racist from the get go. Blacks were not considered completely human. Free blacks were not even allowed to vote, even if they had money. I am not exactly for discrimination against the poor, but I understand why they would want people to have money or property before they could vote. I also think it is a good incentive for people to get up and do something with their lives. Sorry about that tangent.
Anyways, blacks aren't humans, and Native Americans are not equals. Come on. Blacks are just as good as whites. Early colonial history could prove that easily. Native Americans were easily our equals. They were better than whites at warfare, even if they took cheap shots sometimes. They had the capacity to be just as "civilized" as we were. Heck, they could have created their own state and fit in just fine. Why did we have to run them out and over? We could have let them integrate with us, or even integrate with them! Same goes for blacks!
And why do we always think racism has to do with skin color? The Irish had a bum rap for decades and they were white. It did not matter about skin color, they just had to be not you in order for you to discriminate.
And we still face this problem of racism. The Mexicans are our new slaves. They face even more issues than the blacks did, because their situation is not as black and white as the earlier issue was (ok... bad pun).
But seriously, we have made the issues more complicated by trying to serve ourselves under the pretext of freedom. We make laws to protect America from future Americans. Why are they not Americans now? Because we don't want them to be. Oh, but we really do. Oh, but we really don't. And we never did. And that is why I hate it when people say America is a free country.
"You sit on a throne of lies."
America will only be free when everyone is treated equally. No, not in a socialistic way. It is not about the money. It is about the ideals and the values. When everyone has tolerance and respect for each other like the Ideal America would have, then America will be free. Right now its all about money and personal comfort. DC does not give a damn about you. They really don't. But we can change that by changing ourselves.
How?
Give a damn about the people around you. Learn to love them like yourself. It really is as simple as the Golden Rule. I don't care if you are a Christian or not. Follow it, and you will be surprised at how free our world will become.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Untitled Psalm
For the most holy God
From a lowly psalmist
With all my heart I thank You, Lord
You are my God forever
I'm struggling in vain
Clouds of sin block my sight of you
Waves of guilty shame
Hide me from Your light. It's true
I'm going down again
Helpless I raise my arms
While evil Satan grins
The third time is the charm
The just man falls down seven times
But I've failed You more than eight
Burdened down by all my crimes
In seas of guilty self hate
I know I am not strong enough
My flimsy arms will never do
And my spirit's beat by oceans rough
Lord, what I need is you
Lord, I breathe out this last breath of air
And with this breath my humble prayer
Lord, with your strong arms rescue me
And hold me in your hand
Lord, with your wings please shelter me
With your strength, help me stand again
Lord I am nothing and can never be
More than a failure without you
I was wrong, I now can see
How what You said was true
Lord, thank you for these trials
For carrying me those many miles
You are always only good to me
You're always there so faithfully
Lord, I am far from just
And I so many times will fail
But in Your strength I put my trust
And by Your strength I'll prevail
My lungs fill with new air
And my heart with a new song
My spirit with a thankful prayer
To the Almighty, my God so strong
-V
From a lowly psalmist
With all my heart I thank You, Lord
You are my God forever
I'm struggling in vain
Clouds of sin block my sight of you
Waves of guilty shame
Hide me from Your light. It's true
I'm going down again
Helpless I raise my arms
While evil Satan grins
The third time is the charm
The just man falls down seven times
But I've failed You more than eight
Burdened down by all my crimes
In seas of guilty self hate
I know I am not strong enough
My flimsy arms will never do
And my spirit's beat by oceans rough
Lord, what I need is you
Lord, I breathe out this last breath of air
And with this breath my humble prayer
Lord, with your strong arms rescue me
And hold me in your hand
Lord, with your wings please shelter me
With your strength, help me stand again
Lord I am nothing and can never be
More than a failure without you
I was wrong, I now can see
How what You said was true
Lord, thank you for these trials
For carrying me those many miles
You are always only good to me
You're always there so faithfully
Lord, I am far from just
And I so many times will fail
But in Your strength I put my trust
And by Your strength I'll prevail
My lungs fill with new air
And my heart with a new song
My spirit with a thankful prayer
To the Almighty, my God so strong
-V
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