There is a bigotry I see in the distribution of ideas. There are ideas that are discouraged, smudged, feared, or ignored. There is a poetic justice that is delivered with the lyrics that come from 2-Pac. There is a invigorating patriotism that I find in Che Guevara's lifestyle. The bigotry is found when trying to make their message mainstream and respected.
I recognize the bigotry as I try and build a bridge between the messages of these men, and the message found in scripture, Poe, Thoreau, Oliver, Niche, Jefferson, Chomsky, Rand, Douglas, Frankle, Dr. King, Horney, Gandhi, Twain, or Cash. The bigotry is not so much racial as it is for dominance. There are too many people who refuse to look in the shadows, preferring to remain in the limelight. There are too many people who prefer short cuts to a thorough journey. There is a bigotry towards sacrifice and a bias for reward. There is a bigotry towards decomposition, whether it is physiological, emotional, or theoretical.
In this post decomposition can be described as breaking down. Most people are judgmental of failure, creating a stigma around failure. It becomes bigotry when one group of people decide what is failure. In America, the dominant culture, this being white European, determines the definition of failure. This has created a subculture of failures, those who don't fit in, or what can be described as perceived failures. The bigotry is a collective idea that there is a right and wrong way of living, feeling, or being. The bigotry is detrimental to the necessity of paradox, causing imbalance.
I see the bigotry manifesting itself in education. I was taught what the dominant culture chose and still chooses to teach. I was taught that I was lessor by my community of Chicano elders by their insecure choices made while facing an immigrant white culture. I continue the bigotry by believing I am lessor and unfortunate, separating myself from the mainstream, and judging lifestyles. The bigotry comes into play when I am entertained, by being overwhelmed with what the dominant culture has chosen to be worthy of publication, and my desire to reject it by seeking out the underground. The bigotry comes into play when I am influenced, by being punished, restricted, rewarded, or deceived, with aspirations molded by the dominant culture. The bigotry of ideas is tainting the learning process and gaining momentum in the educational systems I belong to. The bigotry is flowing to me and from me.
So Che Guevarra and 2-Pac have lessons to teach. I am seeking mature learning systems that can critically look at their message and learn as much as they can about the people they represent. This desire to understand can lead to respect. Respect might lead people to personal dignity. This personal dignity can lead people to reconciling the histories of being left behind, oppressed, smudged, and exploited. The reconciliation might lead to prosperity for all, not just American's. We might be a world under God, we might one day ask God to bless our enemies, and we might one day realized that faith is written on our hearts not in the pages of scripture. This week is the birth anniversary of two inspirational men in my life, their lessons will be taught and promoted......by me.
