Dr. Deborah Reese
Engl 1101
Nov. 3, 2013
A Call for Social Courage.
One of the re-occurring
themes through my high school English career and into college were how
insistent the teachers were at nailing into our heads that we must take a stand
with our writing. How common it was for them to see their students “waffling”
and unwilling to take a side in their papers and moreover their beliefs that
they had to remind us constantly to do so. Whether it be nature vs. nurture or
the human condition, the average “politically correct” American is lacking in
this true grit. People are unwilling to stand for their beliefs and muster up
the social courage as called for by Dr. Martin Luther King’s “A letter from
Birmingham Jail”. The effects of this unwillingness of people to fight for what
they believe in can be seen in our modern government, which relies heavily, if
not wholly on the will of the people.
That, is something one must admire about King and his followers,
who were willing to fight, go to jail, risk their better health and in some
cases their lives for what they believed in. However, this is not a call to
come out and join the march in the streets, this is a call to at the very least
be an active member within our political system, rather than take a sideline
stance “I have watched white churches stand on the sideline and merely mouth
pious irrelevances and sanctimonious trivialities.”(King 290). Mentioned in “A
Letter from Birmingham Jail” were certain communities who refused to go out on a
limb, to simply step aside and spectate rather than get their hands dirty; “I
have been gravely disappointed in the white moderate.” (King 386)
We have conditioned ourselves to be utterly fearful should we
fail with our stance, that we are wrong, or that we make a fool of ourselves.
Proof of this can be seen in Americans’ biggest fear, the fear of public
speaking. Rather than take that risk people have gone quiet, reserved and
fearful of their beliefs; sometimes causing them to be lost, warped, or
assimilated into the groups’.
At the rout of the other half
of this fear is America’s newest fad, the undying pursuit to be politically
correct. Now, it is not alright to stroll through the nearest shopping mall
speaking with a racial slur every other word; we must be wary of the deeper
philological effects. So careful, we must be now as not to offend anyone or any
group. This causes more fear in people, afraid that by lettering their true
colors fly they might somehow cause offence to someone, even though what they
believe might truly not be malicious in intent. This, in some ways has provided
us with a filter. A filter is a very important thing for thoughts to pass
through before manifesting outside the mind, though in our fear of offending
anyone the filter is not doing its job properly. It might cause us to ease
around our idea, warp it, or even change it rather than disturb whatever good
company might be around us.
These fears combined with
simple and pure laziness have etched deep within many the unwillingness to
commit. The social cowardice has started to become visible within our
government. Some choose to follow “(T)he strangely irrational notion that there
is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills.”(King
387) and they choose to instead put it off for another day. This lackluster
path is not one in which we may pursue and hope for a brighter tomorrow.
Ever since world war one the
American people’s view has shifted primarily to the president as the seat of
power within our nation. It is where most people concentrate their attention,
their blame, and their vote. It is a lot easier, to simply pin it all on one
person and one branch. It receives the most attention by the media, and it is
much easier to simply fall in line behind the rest of the crowd. One thing many
people seem to have overlooked though is the Legislative branch. (Lowery)
Congress has been forgotten
about because it currently has the poorest approval rating it has ever had in
our history. (Lowery) Yet, with those dismal ratings 90% of those who
serve there get re-elected every year. (Lowery) The Legislature was built by
the founding fathers to be the strongest branch of government, because in their
eyes it was the one that would best represent the people and their concerns.
Rather, though it is far easier for people to simply cast one vote every four
years, then go home and ponder why their system is not functioning; the system
built for them and to run by them, and the system fully theirs to spoil.
Non-partisanship is at an all
time high (Lowery); standing as an individual and formulating your own thoughts,
beliefs and ideas is by all means people’s rights’ and a brilliant use of them,
though that’s not what people are using them for. Rather, they are standing on
the sidelines, unwilling to commit to their beliefs if they have them “I had
hoped the white moderate would understand…when they fail to do this they become
dangerously structured damns that block the flow of social progress.”(King386)
It is due to this non-partisanship that presidential campaigns have become such
a conglomerate. Since they no longer have the promised vote of their party they
must fuel the boiler with money and campaign, campaign, campaign in order to
secure that majority, undecided vote.
Due to the partisan system
our government has become the majority of Americans who do not belong to a
party are left not properly represented. They are unorganized, and left to
drift helplessly in the middle of a far-left, far-right spanning system. With
this partisan powerhouse in place it also leaves out those running for office
who do not wish to affiliate with a party. Those who would properly represent
the majority of the people, not belonging to a party, are helpless against the
two primary parties.
The only people who get
attention in our government these days are people that shout and scream, while
most Americans are whispering or quiet. The ideals of political activism
brought to us by King have either been completely lost or they are in a very dusty
and dark corner having been forgotten about; as stated by King “We must use
time creatively and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do
right.”(387) People who have social courage have started to become something of
idols to us, those who can speak in public, or take charge are a handful in
many. This is not a call to go to jail or start a fistfight over your belief,
this is a call to simply recognize and have respect for your own beliefs.
As to avoid hypocrisy, I for
instance stand that all social issues should be left to state governments such
as healthcare, and abortion. My reasoning is that with the vast diversity of
the whole of the United States, the central government is in no way suitable to
be making these choices for the whole of the people. It instead should be
tailor made to suit the people, region by region. One of the major factors of
Rome’s fall was that the world was simply too big to govern with one central
body. Let us not repeat history. For these things I am willing to openly admit,
stand, vote, and possibly even run for office to see them come into being.
Lowery, Alex. Advanced Placement United States Government.
Benedictine Military School, 6502 Seawright Drive, Savannah,
Georgia 31406. n.d. Lecture.
King,
Martain Luther, Jr. “Letter from
Burmingham Jail.” 1963. Word by Word, Armstrong edition. Ed. Nancy Remler. Boston, MA:
Persian Learning Solutions, 2012, 378-394. Print.
