ism

We are sensual beings. We decipher information based on our senses. Through sight, smell, taste, touch, and vision. Our brain processes information based on color, depth, scent, bitterness or sweetness, bright or dark, soft or hard, cold or hot. These senses are natural, and all living creatures posses their own range of senses.
It could be said that it is human nature for us to think in terms in which we classify information by breaking it down categorically. The flaw in this statement is only that I have theorized that there is no such thing as human nature. Humanity is not natural, this is true. Humanity is man made. And in this case, humanity is a sixth sense.
What makes us different from animals is the fact that we can propose a logical argument. We can challenge the idea of anything with reason or logic. We are animals but we are not completely animalistic. What separates us from animals is the ability to apply the concept of ethics to our thoughts and consider the potential effects and consequences of our actions, as well as their alternatives.
A few events and conversations lately have had me concerned. Even though they were all separate situations, they seemed to leave my mind entertaining the same thoughts. I feel concerned, and this is why I choose to address this.
First, on the evening of September 11th I was on campus. The circle outside of the union was surrounded with hundreds of tiny American flags. It was actually very beautiful, all these tiny flags blowing in the wind. We sat nearby and listened to a guy practice playing "Taps" on his trumpet. Patriotism has always been something that really brought on a surge of emotion in me. Whenever I hear Taps I have flashbacks to my grandfathers funeral, he was a veteran and so someone played taps at the conclusion of the funeral, at which point I completely broke into hysterics for the first time since his death. So we were sitting staring at the memorial and some guys walked by, making some derogatory comments about America. Me and my friend found this to be rude and offensive, mostly because it was just a sensitive day for everyone. A little later we caught the end of a memorial service as some military men walked out of the union, holding giant flags and followed by maybe a hundred or so students all carrying candles. Everyone stood in silence, just as many all across the United States were at that same moment.
The next night we were sitting around the table at a friends house just having general discussion when we brought up the memorial service. We mentioned the guys who made the comments we found to be rude and another one of my friends defended it as their right to freedom of speech. But more importantly, he brought up a valid point that I had never thought about before, and felt kind of foolish that I had not seen it myself. He asked what the deaths of all the people on 9/11 have to do with America. They were Americans, yes, but they weren't putting their lives on the line for America. They weren't actively fighting for America. They were just innocent people, going to work, running errands, doing everyday things. These people were Americans it is true, but just because a large quantity of them were killed simultaneously, its almost as if that is all we see them as. And it is all we see them as because their deaths had to be avenged. How did America avenge their deaths? War.
If I were to die tomorrow would my death be marked by an American flag? Would people forever remember me first as Kendra, an American. No, they would remember me as an individual, a person, a human being. Being an American is just a bi-product. Our troops, our soldiers, they are disposable men and women. Someone said this once my senior year of high school in Government class. Some of my classmates were severely offended but my teacher assured us that he was right. Men and women of the military sign up and agree to put their lives on the line for America. Those who were killed on 9/11 however, they never signed any contract. I realize that I too was blinded by patriotism, a patriotism that in this particular situation, was not necessarily justified. I too was a victim of government manipulation and propaganda. From now on I will regard those who died on 9/11 as not Americans who died for America that we must avenge, but as people, individuals with families and lives, who died for no reason at all.

Secondly, shortly after the 9/11 event but still within the same week, I had a conversation with my grandma. She had received a questionnaire in the mail and asked me what I knew about immigration. I told her I had my opinions but they were based on morality more so than statistic or law, but I knew a decent amount. I printed her off a blog I had written back in I think the Spring, in response to the immigration boycotts that took place across the country. The boycotts were led by people of Hispanic descent, both those who were in this country legally and illegally. My essay I had written in response to it talked a great deal about migrant workers, illegal aliens, et cetera. I was disgusted by the counter protest that took place in Southern California, where people actually got together to build a fence along the border. I respect their right to support border control, but my god, it was just the principle of the matter. America, which used to be a country of refuge for the oppressed and misfortuned, seeking a new home in the 'land of opportunities', was now closing her doors. My grandma read it and agreed with me. But she also made a point to assure me that it was not the Mexicans she was worried about, not at all, but those Muslims. We let them in and allow them to stay here and all the while they are taking advantage of it by learning how to fly and planning to attack us. I tried not to laugh, as my grandma is usually surprisingly open minded when I try to offer her a younger and more progressive perspective. Unfortunately, this just sounded so sadly cliche and unfortunately common. I didn't want to flat out tell her that that was a completely ignorant thing to say, but rather offered her a few examples to put it into context. Not all of the 1.5 billion Muslims in the world hate America. Some do, there is no doubt about that. But to condemn an entire group of religious people for the ignorant actions of only a small fragment of people, is ludicrous. It is true that the terrorist network who is responsible for 9/11 considers this war a Jihad, or holy war. But as I said, these people do not represent an entire community of people. They are only a small fraction of the Muslim population, and as in any religion, Islam also has its extremists. I pointed out that Hitler was a Christian, but do the Jews hate all Christians? Are Jews weary of every Christian because they assume that any Christian automatically hates them and has malicious intent towards them and their communities? Of course not, and neither does the rest of the world. We regard Hitler as a man, a leader, a German, but more importantly we regard him as a sadistic individual whose intelligence was unfortunately ill spent on hatred and evil. Better yet, what about Timothy McVeigh? He committed a terrorist act against America. Not only did he reside in America, but he was born and raised. How come after the Oklahoma City bombing no one begin to grow weary of every white American male? Why did we not declare war on terrorism then? What and who did Timothy McVeigh represent? Shall we persecute them?

Lastly, I've seen bits and pieces about the JENA 6 on the news lately, but was fairly unfamiliar with the story in its entirety. I read an article in the Times the other day and learned a little more about it. Tonight I looked it up and read some more but was confused because it just sounded so extreme that I knew there was no way we were getting all the facts. Maybe I am just lucky I am from the north. Maybe I am fortunate enough to be from a place that even though it is still the Midwest, the general population is somewhat cultured enough that this blatant element of racism exists only in very rare occurrences. I looked at some videos on youtube, mostly video blogs by just random people, stating their opinions. I came to one that I did not even watch completely, but rather was distracted by the comments below it. The comments amazed me because they were completely off topic to begin with. There was one guy who commented frequently and everyone praised him and coincided. I can't imagine why. His opinions were completely asinine, ignorant, racist, and written in vain. The first one that caught my attention was this:

"Not to metion all the unwed black girls that leave their babies in dumpsters to die. Give a statistic and I will show you what race is commiting more of these type crimes than whites."

He wrote this to demonstrate that racial difference was a big problem in this country, as if minorities, most specifically blacks, were the cause of all the problems here? I was instantly angry, because this especially is a subject that really strikes a chord with me. I wrote in response:

"This comment strikes me as surprisingly ignorant. This is not a matter of race, contrary to popular belief. Young white women also have left babies in trash cans, and this is an unfortunate occurrence either way. These crimes and social problems come down to not issues of race but issues of poverty. These statistics of black women who have left their babies in trash cans to die, their motive wasn't being black. Since you are big on statistics I'm assuming you know that minorities have some of the biggest families, they raise plenty of healthy children. These women have other options, undoubtedly, but they do these things because they can't take care of their children, and why? Yes, it is true that the majority of those in poverty are minorities. Yes, it is true that the majority of those in poverty are black. If you've ever studied economics than you are well aware that the cycle of poverty is extremely difficult to escape. And as far fetched as it may sound, sit and think one day, about the reason why there might be so many minorities in poverty. Us whites, we have had a head start. It wasn't until after hundreds of years of suppression that the blacks were finally able to actively get involved in the work force, and begin to make the same amount of money as any white male. Think about it, slaves were 'freed' after the civil war, but it wasn't until 100 years later, in the 1960's, that they were really able to finally claim the freedom they had been granted. I'm not saying that this is any fault of us who are white, I am not my ancestors. All I can say is that it is wise to stop and think about the possibility of why a social problem may be occurring, identify trends, and in this case instead of saying it is what it is, think about what it could be. You've identified a problem, now identify a solution. And make a more intelligent argument next time. "

All in all, the overall conceptions of Americans have me really concerned lately. We, but not we alone, have chosen to regard ourselves as Americans. We are Americans. But we are also so much more. Every person on this planet is born with levels of responsibility. First we are responsible for the well being of ourselves, as individuals. We are responsible for each other, as a species, and thus humanity is born. We are responsible for all living creatures. We are responsible for society and civilization, the machine we have built and must continue to run. And the point here is, that in the beginning we are responsible for ourselves, and thus above all things we are individuals. Beyond that we are human beings, and then living beings. Only lastly are we black, white, Americans, French, Indonesian, Democrats, Republicans, Children, Adults, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, big, small, tall, short, et cetera. I've addressed a lot of things in this, patriotism, nationalism, racism, terrorism, et cetera. But above all things, we need to come to terms with the most important 'ism' of all, humanism.

The terrorist attacks on 9/11, its counter war, racism, persecution, genocide, and indifference- These are not crimes against a nation, these are crimes against humanity.

It would be beneficial if we would all ask ourselves just one question, and really think about it and come to terms with it, and know that we can change it. My name is Kendra, I'm 22 years old, I'm a female, brown hair, blue eyes, average weight and height, American, Ohioan, white, Liberal, college student, social drinker and smoker, agnostic. These things are part of me but they are not even close to the definition of who I am. I am not a statistic.
What defines you?