I posted a few comments concerning the half time show for the Superbowl this past Sunday. It featured an artist I wasn't familiar with, Usher and apparently, he was joined by some other famous performers, also unknown to me. I get it, it is pop culture, what sells these days and targeted at that audience. They are the ones spending the big bucks on this entertainment. I've read where some are saying the NFL has gone woke. That's just another term for being "hip" as we used to say back in the old days. I never did join in with the "cool" crowd, I wasn't hip or happening. It just didn't appeal to me.
There was some talk, some pushback being fueled by social media about the singing of what is being called the Black National Anthem at that event as well. I was watching but was unaware of who that singer was and what song she was signing. Guess I'm way out of the loop on that. I couldn't tell you what song that is. I did look it up and read where it is Lift Every Voice and Sing. It was written in 1899! I read where that song has been significant in Black culture ever since. Never heard of it before but then I'm not black. I read where some Blacks began calling it their national anthem and that is one reason, they wanted it played and sung at the football game. I'm guessing it all has something to do with the big kneeling issue. Personally, I don't have an issue with that, no problem as far as I'm concerned. I will sit/stand quietly while it is being performed and expect you to do the same when the national anthem is played as well. No problem.
It does make me think and question some things, however. I understand some are saying that it is black culture. The song, originally written as a poem, was about the KKK terrorizing black Americans in the south during the Jim Crowe era. The original intent was a song to celebrate Abraham Lincolns birthday. A song of hope for true equality in the future. Those "Jim Crowe" laws began in 1865 during reconstruction by the Democrats in the south. They were eventually abolished altogether by the civil rights act of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965. So, my first question is, what is black culture? What is culture? One definition goes like this: "the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group:" Okay, so how are Black peoples culture any different than mine? Those people have been living in the same nation as I have, and I haven't noticed anything particularly different about their "culture."
I realize I'm not supposed to say anything about any of that. I'm fully aware of the history of blacks in America. I'm not justifying or excusing any of that history, but view it as what it is, history. All the injustices of the past cannot be erased or compensated for. The best that can be done is to acknowledge that injustice, take "ownership" as is the popular thing to say these days. Personally, I can't take ownership for what others in the past have done. My ancestors, as far as I know never enslaved anyone. My roots are European and Scandinavian. None of them were even Vikings, so I can't take ownership for what the Vikings did either. I don't think of myself as living in a white culture. My skin is white, I'm told I'm white and I'm certain many blacks see me as white and make certain assumptions about me. I admit I see black people and make certain assumptions about them as well. What we call stereotyping. And what we all know isn't the truth or accurate.
All of that is based upon perceptions. What you might call the current trend in fashion. When I was young a common perception of black people was they dressed "to the nines" and drove big fancy cars. All blacks can sing and dance and played sports. They were tough people because they had to be tough. And they all had a chip on their shoulders! What's the perception today? The blacks now dress with sagging pants, dreadnoughts, and are angry people! They aspire to be thugs and have that street cred. They rap about women and drugs and killing people. They all feel entitled to compensation and reparations! If anything is wrong, it is the white guys fault. Is any of that true.
I've read where in the black community there is much discussion about who or what is truly black. Sociologists have written extensively about all of that. Just what is a black person supposed to be? I wonder just what a white guy is supposed to be. Having been in the service and traveled extensively I can tell you all that depends. When overseas going to certain nations I was told, try not to look American. I wasn't certain how I was supposed to do that. The obvious was, don't wear a cowboy hat, blue jeans or anything patriotic. The objective was to fit in. Yes, we were a target. Not all Americans are cowboys though. Yeah, I know, surprising, isn't it? Not all black people are black either. Well, at least not the perception of what a black person is supposed to be.
So, I'm left with a simple question. If that song is the Black National Anthem just where is the black nation? I've been under the impression that the objective here was to be one nation under God. Isn't that what equality is really all about? Following the civil war, it was proposed that the freed slaves be given forty acres of land to farm and do with as they pleased. Those families could create their own towns, cities or whatever. They would govern themselves while remaining a part of America. It was believed even then that freed blacks were unlikely to receive fair and equal treatment from the ones that had held them in bondage. But that plan was revoked, withdrawn and thrown out by Andrew Johnson after Lincoln was killed. There have been proposals and movements advocating for Back to Africa initiatives that have not met with any support from the blacks themselves. Nobody wanted to go back to Africa! No, this is their nation now.
We can write all the laws we want. We can institute all manner of plans and programs. We can apologize, recognize, and offer restitution. But all of that will not change what is in the minds of people. You can't legislate morality. And that is what we are really talking about, the moral choice. To treat others as though you were the others! And that will never happen as long as we insist upon proclaiming our differences as a cultural thing. As long as we insist, we are somehow different from everyone else. As long as we reinforce that thinking by "empathy and understanding" without calling out the hypocrisy in those actions causing the unrest, unrest will continue. No one will be satisfied.
America and the American Republic is the big experiment. All men are created equal with liberty and justice for all. With those few words the mission is spelled out. That is what is proposed. Can that ever be achieved? Hasn't happened yet, not in all of human history. There are always those that feel just a bit superior in some fashion. It's a part of the human condition. There will always be those that find justification for whatever actions they choose to take, good or bad.
There will always be those that feel they aren't being treated fairly. One Nation, under God. Thing is a nation can only have one culture, that's kinda what makes it a nation. That doesn't mean that nation can't recognize and respect other cultures just that there will be a dominant national culture. And that is the struggle. It's an identity crisis. You can identify any way you like, but that doesn't make you whatever it is you are identifying as until the dominant culture (identity) agrees with that. Someone will always disagree. You may not agree with me on this. I'm not surprised, offended, or hurt by that. Give it time, things change.
No comments:
Post a Comment