We Don't Know It Because We Don't Have to Know It

I was very intrigued by Tim Wise’s powerful speech. Perhaps the most stunning moment came when he referenced the war in Iraq. Here, Wise talks about how a young kid was giving our U.S. soldiers a thumbs-up sign and how our nation felt that was symbol of positivity, only to find out that a thumbs-up there is the equivalent of the middle finger here. He goes on to mention that a “five-year-old kid is punking our entire nation.” The statement that followed this description may have been the perfect summary to his entire speech: “We don’t know it because we don’t have to know it.”

“The glory is ours” and “the debt is not ours” are both relative quotes to Wise’s argument on how naïve we can be – and he is justified in saying that. What this speech made me realize is that we are living in such an ethnocentric society to the point that we are oblivious to our surroundings unless they directly impact our personal lives. This is a major problem.  How are we supposed to move towards a future with more understanding if we solely believe that our actions are the only justified actions and those of others are meaningless? There is no room to grow as a racially unified nation.

Wise raised awareness that needs to be heard by the masses. If we continue to hold an elitist attitude in life and refuse to acknowledge the lifestyles of other cultures and other races, progress for equality will ultimately be impossible. Among all of these differences and the refusal to acknowledge and accept different lifestyles and ideologies, how does one start the immense project that is the search for a peaceful environment of true acceptance?