When reading excerpts from both “We Make the Road by Walking” and “The Impossible Will Take a Little While” many common themes were discussed such as leadership, education, and the importance of societal change. While these topics are very important, one issue was discussed that I believe is the most important, neutrality. In both of the readings, the writers discuss the dangers of neutrality and how it can negatively affect society as a whole. In “We Make the Road by Walking,” Myles Horton states his feelings on the subject: “It’s a code word for the existing system. It has nothing to do with anything but agreeing to what is and will always be…Neutrality is just following the crowd…Neutrality, in other words, was an immoral act” (pg102). Horton’s statement on neutrality opened my mind to the idea of this topic and changed my perspective. I started to think about all of the elements in our society that made being neutral a good thing, most commonly in newspapers and news channels, even Switzerland is viewed as a great country because of their reputation of remaining neutral.
The argument of the dangers of being neutral was further proven in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.” In his letter, King discusses how the white citizens who remain neutral and silent is the biggest obstacle facing the success of the Civil Rights movement. King says “…the Negro’s great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is…the white moderate who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice…”(pg 282). This quote from one of the most famous and known Civil Rights leaders, shows he saw the danger in neutrality and how it keeps citizens following the majority instead of what they believe in. Neutrality keeps people from fighting for what they want out of life and their society. When talking about learning and social change, Horton says, “…you’ve got to take sides. You need to know why you take sides; you should be able to justify it” (pg 102). Horton is saying that to create change and be an active member in your society, one has to know what they are fighting for and why.
The readings taught me a to look at situations and issues more critically, and that being neutral is not always the best policy. Instead of going with what everyone else believes is right, I have to take it upon myself to discover what I believe is right and search for the facts and reasons to back up my beliefs.
On the article , “ The Impossible Will Take a Little While : A Citizens Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear” written by Paul Rogar, the article portrays a sense of leadership skills, education, and social skills. Rogar uses historical figures such as Rosa Parks to show us how to connect leadership education and social skills all in one. Rosa Park was idolized for the role she played on refusing to get off the bus. She made a historical movement by going to jail and standing up for her civil rights. Rather than Rosa Parks being neutral, she decided to make her point that things needed to change in racial dignity. The letters written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from Birmingham Jail where used to reinforce the central idea that you should never settle for less. In the letter Dr. King states, “I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are presently misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom” (286-287).
ReplyDeleteIn the second part of the article Rogar wants to show the reader who the real Rosa Parks is by telling the reader what Parks had to undergo in order to obtain equality, and not settle for less. First it started off with Ms. Parks preparing herself for the mental and physical abuse that she was going to undergo for refusing to give up her seat to a white person. Ms. Parks was put in jail and that’s when the bus strikes began. In order to obtain equality, blacks began to boycott the bus rides because they were given unfair treatment. When the blacks began to boycott the bus rides, then whites began to realize how many blacks used public transportation. As the story goes on Parks story suggests, “ Sometimes our struggles will fail, as did many earlier efforts of Parks, her peers, and her predecessors” (292). But in the end all the fights and struggles that blacks dealt with, they’ve open up better opportunities for future generations such as others, myself, and especially in the generations to come.