Pub #3 - Martin Luther King Said...
"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a Genevan author, philosopher, and a famous musician of the eighteenth century, once stated “Absolute silence leads to sadness. It is the image of death” Based on the philosophical findings on the study of Egalitarianism, the belief of social equality, silence is the worst form of oppression and is pernicious to the idea of equivalence among-st all people. In 1762, Mr. Rousseau wrote a book called “Du contrat social; ou, Principes du droit politique” which inflamed citizens to the idea of revolting against their government if their human rights were defunct. Astonishingly, the ideas of Mr. Rousseau can be seen within modern society. Martin Luther King, a leader of the civil rights movement, fought against the duplicitous and egregious actions and statements that were made by zealots of slavery. In response, Martin Luther King claimed “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” This statement represents that the oppression of silence must be myopic in the minds of the “oppressed” due to the satisfaction of autonomy and freedom in the long run. The oppressed are the only people who know the superfluous actions of the oppressors, proving that the fight for freedom rests within the palm of their hands, not others. The idea of silence can also be seen within the essay “A White Woman of Color” by Julia Alvarez, where Ms. Alvarez had to remain silent on her culture and color so she would be “no problem” within her societal circle. Sadly, not everyone has the same strength and perseverance to retaliate silence. Ansel Elgort’s song “Believe” follows a man who fears the thoughts and actions of those around him, causing the character to refrain from enjoying life with his wife and only looking forward to the afterlife in “Eden”.
In the book “Basic Tort Law: Cases, Statutes, and Problems” By Arthur Best, David W. Barnes, it states “An injury ‘denotes the invasion of any legally protected interest of another.’ A harm ‘denotes the existence of loss or detriment in fact of any kind to a person.’” Legally recognized injury, within the United States of America, include physical harm, economical harm, and psychological harm. The supreme law of the land is made up by societal values, meaning that all laws are correspondent with the majority of citizens views and beliefs. Julia Alvarez in her essay “A White Woman of Color” is faced with the legally recognized injury of psychological harm by forcefully remaining silent of her culture, values, and beliefs to maintain her daily life. The silence of Ms. Alvarez can be seen when she stated “When I began looking for a job after college I discovered being a white Latina made me a non-threatening minority in the eyes of these employers. My color was a question only of culture-and if I kept my cultural color to myself I was ‘no problem’.” Ms. Alvarez is faced with the worst form of oppression which goes against the ideas and teachings of egalitarianism. Ms. Alvarez also uses symbolism within her essay to represent how people of non-color reject not only her physical actions but eternal beliefs as well. Ms. Alvarez states “I had been going through a pretty bad writer’s block: the white page seemed to resist whatever it was I had in me to say.” This statement shows the actions and beliefs of the “oppressor” has gotten to Ms. Alvarez mentally now. Not only are the oppressors rejecting her in the physical world but now are rejecting what she has to say and think within her head on “the white page”.
Ansel Elgort’s song “Believe” encompasses a man who is severely persecuted by his family and friends about his wife. The character believes the only way to escape the continuing hatred and discrimination of his societal circle is in the afterlife and hopes the statements of “they told me, that you'd set me free” is true to end the suffering of being oppressed. Ansel’s character is faced with silence, fearing to change his families order within his life. The song states “Just listen to Father and he'll set you up / To seek seeds in the soil to dry / To produce what we need for our family trees” These lyrics represent the passing of information from generation to generation and Ansel’s character believes he knows what’s good for him and not his family. Sadly, like Ms. Alvarez, the “oppressors” got in Ansel’s characters head and can be seen in the lyrics of “We lost our years together because of the fear / Know I'm never going make it there / I just wanted Eden on repeated sunny days” Ansel’s character lives in fear from the silence that has risen within his scenario. The character believes the only way to end the oppression of silence is dying and meeting the love of his life in “Eden” where they can be love in peace and not be oppressed.
Works Cited
diablo-believe-lyrics.
Alvarez, Julia. A White Woman of Color. Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 1712-1778. The Essential Rousseau: The Social Contract, Discourse on the Origin of
Inequality, Discourse on the Arts and Sciences, The Creed of a Savoyard Priest. New York :New American Library, 1974. Print.
King, Martin Luther, Jr. Letter from Birmingham Jail. New York Post, 1963
Best, Arthur, et al. Basic Tort Law: Cases, Statutes, and Problems. Wolters Kluwer, 2018
Comments
Post a Comment