Has The Dream Come True?

"I have a dream" by Martin Luther King Jr, I wonder if he actually had a dream; well because of his integrity I'm going to assume that he actually had the dream. It has been exactly half a century since King had a dream, so the question is, has the dream become a reality? Before we go into that here is a video of that momentous day:

"Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning"(King), is today finally the end or an intermission of realizing the dream? Have we made "real the promises of democracy"? These are the questions that I ask today, I need to know that from the moment Mr. King said that speech to the moment I typed the first word in this entry, the dream has been realized. Well I will stand tall and say that it has; life may not be perfect and democracy may feel like its hiding in the distance sometimes, but those words rippled through this planet and began realizing the dream. July 2 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed in the United States of America. April 25 1974, Angola gained its independence from Portugal. March 21 1990, Namibia gained independence from South Africa. April 27 1994, became known as the end of Apartheid in South Africa. January 8 2009, the United States of America had its first African American president.Those are only few examples of the fruition that came from that dream. Therefore if you wish to say the dream has yet to come true, you are entitled to that; however you cannot deny we have come a long way from when that man told us of what he dreamt.

Malcolm X: My job in this blog has been to give you a different perspective on some of the issues we talk about; to set you straight about some of the things you say, but today I'm here to support you. Remember on your very first post you used a quote from Martin Luther King Jr, and I decided to leave; well now I have something to say. Martin Luther King Jr,W. E. B. Du Bois, Rosa Parks, John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, myself(wink) and many others brought much needed change to our world, We strayed from the norm and stood for what is right; we defied nature, by being the cornered prey that attacked its predators. Now is time for you to stand for what right; renounce the fear you may have, because we the men of yesterday learned from you the men of tomorrow. Let me explain with quote of mine "Children have lesson adults should learn, to not be ashamed of failing, but to get up and try again". That is what leave you with in the hopes that your generation  may accomplish things that dwarfs the accomplishments of your predecessors!

Fight Stereotypes With by Throwing Away Your Culture

Lucio: Reading the play "Trying to Find Chinatown" by David Hwang made me think of when there comes a time when we may be stereotyped because of our gender, race or nationality; the first thing we do is trigger our defensive mechanisms, but what if they say is true; I can imagine it now, I'm prepared to defend myself when my opponent say "I bet you like fried chicken", and right before I attack, I see the crispy, golden and juicy piece of chicken and I end up say "Yep I love fried chicken".

Malcolm X: You clearly don't understand why you should fight against stereotypes whether if it's true, false, good or bad. Lets look at the Asian stereotype of intelligence, at first glance you would think it's not so bad when someone thinks you are or expects you to be intelligent, but how would you feel that they only have that assumption because of your skin colors and not because of your hard work. It is as if you are put in a box and categorized because of your genetic predisposition and not your true worth. So ask yourself would you like your opponent to believe that you like fried chicken because your taste buds demand it of because your the color of your skin demands it.

Lucio: Oh that's a completely a wonderful perspective on the matter. It induces thought on how we stereotype on so many things other than just race; lets take sports for example, I love basketball but even in that there are many stereotypes. Take a look at this video to see what I'm talking about:

Malcolm X: Remember one thing, do not let the stereotypes of others make you mask or defend against who you truly are. Whether it is mannerism, types of food or beliefs all these are building blocks of each man's culture and you should never be ashamed of it. Just like Benjamin the Caucasian boy in the play adopted by Asian parents, believed that one should not hide from their  roots or assimilate into another country by forsaking the culture that made them who they are.

Eu Acho Que Eu Te Amo (I think I love you)

Guys/Girls think of the time when your significant other tells you "I love you" and you say "That's nice", come on you know you've been there. Okay maybe most of us aren't that mean, I sure know I'm not (wink). But seriously when looking back at the play "The Man in a Case" by Wendy Wasserstein, it made think on how I have a more traditional view on the topic of love. Look at the characters at the play, Byelinkov the teacher tells his fiance that he loves her only when she asked him to and then the same day he showed signs that he was going to end their engagement; I don't know about you but that seemed pretty fast. Whoa don't get me wrong, I'm not saying love will be ice cream and basketball (I like ice cream and basketball don't judge me) and I'm not endorsing that people need to have some epic love that can't be moved by mountains; however I do feel that love is something that should be strongly established first. Fine I'll do this, I'll give you, the audience, four definitions of love and you choose the one which you believe is most suitable; note I wish you to only choose definitions applicable to someone you would see as your significant other:

1. A feeling of strong or constant affection for a person.
2. Unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another.
3. Strong  affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties.
4. Attraction that includes sexual desire: the strong affection felt by people who have a romantic relationship.

Now many reading may be pointing out the fact that these different definitions explain different kinds love, like the love to a family member. Yet why shouldn't the love to that special someone encompass all those definitions. To some this may be an inaudible rant but hey where else better to do it then in your blog? In order to give some substance to all this, lets link it back to the aforementioned play- as I pointed out Byelinkov seemed willing to throw away what he called love because he saw a women with more liberal beliefs/personality (I completely see the unselfish loyal concern there). And-

Malcolm X: Let me stop you right there young man, you bring shame upon this blog. As you said  love should be something strongly established therefore it means love is something that grows. If what you feel for someone is stronger tomorrow does not mean what you feel today is not love. I love it when children who have only felt the warmth of the sunrise a few thousand times think they know what it means to love. What you fail to consider is how love can be unpredictable, wild, exciting and dangerous. From when it's a spark to when it's a flame it is still love; just like a flame can dwindle and die so can love for a lover (as much as many may deny it). I'll bring  it back to the play, look at Varinka, she loves a man who is different to her in many ways; some may say that she is blinded by love (hey Lucio see what I did there?). I can't think of one of my famous quotes to end with, but all I can say to you is to not be afraid to go into a relationship head first, to reap happiness before reassurance because when it all come down to it, its much easier to find love when you don't have a shield blocking your heart.

Lucio: Okay calm down Romeo X, I was just trying to fill something for my blog; it's not like I'm having this conversation with you to try and convince myself of something (wink).

The Tunes of Defeat

Okay let me get this out of the way, the play "The Sound of a Voice" by David Hwang creeps me out; however I do understand that the play's mysterious nature is just a veil hiding its more complex aspects. Lets look at this particular aspect in the play, both characters the woman and the man are terrified of the silence; this signifies how loneliness is the driving factor in bringing these two characters together. Now both these characters care to deal with this fear in different ways. The man hides from his fear by living in the city and finding solace in the loud noises of the city; while the woman plays the shakuhachi (a japanese flute) to emulate having company. Lets concentrate on the shakuhachi for a while, listen to this tune of someone playing the shakuhachi and ask yourself what this tune do for you; does it fill you up inside, does it sooth your senses or does it personify any loneliness you feel:

To me, the shakuhachi at first gives an ominous tune however if one continues to listen, they may see why Hanako (the woman) uses such a somber tone to mask the loneliness she felt.

Malcolm X: Well I have noticed something quite troubling in this story, even though many things were orchestrated to keep them apart such as Hanako being a more skilled swordsman, the man revealing that his intentions were to kill the woman or the mysterious flowers that plead for freedom; they still seem to love each other. Therefore the only thing that keeps them apart is them; I believe the man still believes the woman is the cause of all the disappearances, yet he sees his love as the weakness that keeps him from doing what he must.And woman is tired of seeing people she begins to care about abandon her; we given an example of this when she speaks on how her parents thought she was a ghost or a demon when she didn't cry as a baby. The man had many more choices than to mend his broken pride by leaving; he could have taken her away and start a life or he could have ended her suffering by the sword. But fighting his love for her was what truly defeated him and caused her to commit suicide; that is why I leave you with one more of my great quotes "How can anyone be against love".

  

The Dying Warrior who Fights on: Poetry

Lucio: Today we read a series of poems which made me wonder the importance poetry. Why does it matter, is it because people are hypnotized by a poem's rhythmic nature, or is it because one can hide a message with cryptic words? Lets take the poem "The Colonel" by Carolyn Forche, it is pretty much a highly descriptive story; however it is considered(or for more justice to the author, it is created) as a poem with a deeper meaning then the story on the surface. You see what truly gets me with poetry is that many say certain poems are open to interpretation, but when the author creates this treasure hunt of meaning, there is only the authors intended meaning. So why do we still keep this literary genre?

Malcolm X: All I hear is the fear of working hard for something that can enrich you intellectually and emotionally  Poetry is the true language of one's culture; many stories and traditions people obtain from their ancestors in different cultures come to us through poetry. However the most amazing thing about poetry is how open it is to creativity and expression. Look at "Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven" by William Butler Yeats, it expresses giving your greatest gift,your dreams, to someone you love; while at the same time exploring the idea of how love makes you vulnerable. Such a short poem yet with an enormous message that makes this poem an appropriate ambassador to the relevance and beauty of poetry. I leave you with this in hopes of changing your opinion on poetry, poetry can be expressed in an universally loved way, through music. Here's an example: 

Eat, Pray, Torture

You know the world is becoming extremely disturbed when you need creative brainstorming on what kind of torture should be implemented. While reading the book Persepolis there comes a time when the reader is exposed to the horrors prisoners in Iran went through during the reign of the Shah. Instead of a description of what they did to prisoners during interrogations, let me present a page from the book(Warning: even though this page is a drawing, it is not suitable for children):

Seeing the ways in which people are tortured (not just in Iran but all over the world), just makes one think on how one has to kill a piece of their own humanity to accomplish such atrocities.

Malcolm X: Hey but hold on now, I do not agree with the interrogation methods you have just shown but one should understand that interrogation is still a necessary evil in the world we live in. One may argue on whether putting torture within an interrogation is acceptable or not; but there are some pros and cons- an example of a pro could be the interrogator being able to extract information much faster. An example of a con could be the interrogator receiving false information due to the prisoner's fear. At the end of the day one should ask themselves-what are they willing to give up in order to protect their people?

Lucio: You make a valid point Malcolm however if we had to watch the number of innocent people tortured because of some government or dictator's insecurities, the acceptability of torture for the "sake of the country" would be null and void. Millions of people have been brutally tortured because they believed in the freedom of their people, while many others have been forced to torture innocents due to the fear they have for their rulers. I know that some times to protect one may have to become something they are not, however there should be appropriate rules on how to interrogate prisoners because remember it will be impossible to help peace blossom when we keep planting seeds of hatred in the people we are suppose to protect.

The Art of Protest

Lucio: What are you willing to fight for? What are you willing to risk? When I sit down and see on the news how people protest for what is close to them, I wonder what would make me risk everything for what I believe in. The young Marjane in the book Persepolis decided to go to a protest/demonstration while disregarding the dangers; the protest was soon known as the "Black Friday" because so many were killed. We can say because of Marjane's young age at the time, she did not know what she was getting herself into, but the question is: if one is not willing to risk their life in protest, then does that mean they do not truly believe in their cause? Protests can be violent, they can be peaceful but there is always a risk, so Malcolm what would  you say is a good motivator other than the cause for one to protest?

Malcolm X: I am glad you asked, the fear of protesting is very normal; even if you decided to go to a protest, you wouldn't want to have your children to follow behind you. However a protest does not always have to go to the extremes, that's why there are different forms of protests for different causes. Now to your question of the motivator for a protest, well whether you like it or not, one's conviction to a cause should be biggest motivator to protest. We protest for different reasons; it can be to increase the visibility of a cause, to inspire others to stand up for the cause or just to demonstrate power.Even though we are willing to take risks, the safety of the protesters(or any at the protest) can depend on how heated the opposition becomes; however no matter the severity of the cause, one should always be cautious and not end up doing something dangerously unnecessary like on this video, where protesters set on fire a symbol of there government but end up burning themselves:

In all seriousness, protests have been something very important in human history; the gathering of people to stand for what they believe in is a powerful symbol on its own. I'll leave you with another of my quotes " If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything."