If anyone has the time and would be interested in reading and giving me honest feedback on this piece. It is going to be the introduction to my program that I am producing, "Do You Really Know Me? Exploring Cultural Differences." I need to shorten it some, but am stuck. Any suggestions, comments, ideas.....would be very welcome. The song ‘Black & White’ was written in 1954 in response to the United States Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education to outlaw racial segregation of public schools. It was a song of integration. But to me, it was also a song of hope, celebration, and the opportunity of a giant step toward human growth. There was, however, one great problem. I was in second grade when the schools in Orleans Parish were integrated. All I remember being told was that “the colored” children would be coming to school with us. I stood on the school grounds, watched the buses roll in and a new, fascinating, and scary mass of “other” children flood out of those buses. We all stood, uncertain and scared, and stared at each other. I wonder now how many of those children had never seen a white person before, just as I had not seen a colored person. And I “knew” all kinds of things about “them”. And NOTHING was done to correct all those things that I “knew”. We now live in the enlightened 21st century. We have laws that state that every person is equal, no matter race, gender, or creed. Everyone has the same opportunities to gain an education, seek a job, open a business, raise a family, and live according to their own beliefs. And yet we still have a problem closing the gap between cultures. We are a nation that is a “melting pot” of the world. We welcome immigrants from every nation, country, language and belief system. And each has the same opportunities offered to them. Including the problem of closing the gap between cultures. The media, in all its myriad ways, brings the world into our homes every day, helping us to be in closer touch with humanity and all its inherent problems, challenges and triumphs. Who can remember watching the heart-wrenching live feed of 911 without feeling like they were seeing it again, feeling the shock, horror and outrage at innocent Americans being attacked on American soil? Who can bring to mind the sights coming over the airways of the tsunami in Japan and not again feel the sense of horror at the power of nature and the devastation and cost in human lives she left in her wake. Or hurricane Katrina, right here in New Orleans and the whole Gulf coast area. Who can watch the relief efforts on behalf of the survivors without feeling the awe of the depth of human caring? Who can picture the BOMBING of the Boston marathon and not experience the shock of the senseless violence. We live and experience through media the strength of the human spirit, how love and forgiveness can heal hearts and communities, how hate can destroy lives, and yet we cannot seem to close the gap between cultures. I look around my world, which is Lafayette, Louisiana and I marvel at the diversity. I am awed by the stories of people and what and how they survive so much tragedy, trauma and struggle. I am confounded how, in their battles of life, individuals will draw together and help each other. And I wonder, why we still have such problems closing the gap between cultures. I believe that it stems partly from the way we are raised. There is a saying in the old testament that the sins of the parents will be passed down from generation to generation. I also believe that this distance between cultures is perpetuated through feelings of superiority and intolerance, of that attitude that I am better than you and that anything different from me is unacceptable. Much intolerance is caused from misconceptions, false judgments, unconfirmed “facts”, and generalizations of our experiences with individuals to a whole group of people. And lastly, the gap between cultures is unbreachable due to feelings of inferiority. I was not born into the right socio-economic class, my hair is the wrong color, my skin not the right shade, my IQ not high enough, my talents and abilities not college material. All these things fill our ears with cotton, fingers or wax. Colors our eyes with our own experiences, opinions, and beliefs. The great opportunity we had in the sixties and seventies for a giant step in human growth by closing the gap between cultures was missed. And many of the experiences we have had as a nation have hardened our hearts and deepened our bitterness. And facts and figures do not change this problem. Laws cannot change it. Logic and a cry for equality and justice does not change it. A constant rehashing of history will not change it. I believe that there are only two ways to start to change this trend. One is the acceptance of self-responsibility, respect and acceptance. If I do not respect and accept “ME” how can I respect and accept you. If I continue to blame “THEM” for my problems, how can “I” ever become empowered? And if I never become empowered, then I never experience true freedom. Which freedom allows me to accept and respect “YOU”, in all your uniqueness? The second thing that will help us close the gap between cultures: heart and feelings. Challenging what we think we know about each other with our hearts. Recognizing how I am the same as you and celebrating how you are different from me. So, do you really know me? Will you open your heart and come with me and explore our cultural differences?
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 16:19:45 +0000