Author Archives: johndewey

Prejudice operates on anti-intellectual and non-philosophical thought – it is based upon unexamined societal customs and biases that persist across generations often in complete disregard of veracity and of rationality- and is therefore a mode of thinking that is unfit and ultimately detrimental toward the cultivation of a Great Society. Because prejudice has a tendency to be extreme in its discrimination, it ensures the oppression of “X” (a filler for any oppressed group) sect of society. If “X” sect of society is oppressed and silenced socially, the same oppression will become solidified through laws in state and federal dominions. Whatever decisions come about in society will not reflect the values or worries of the entirety of society, and thus tragically hinder efforts of progressive reform and social betterment.

White supremacists of today uphold similar antagonistic ideals that racists of earlier American eras did; by deliberately aiming toward the exclusion of non-whites from society/government-building processes, they deny minorities/marginalized people the ability to realize their true human individualities to become free and productive members of society. Racial supremacists’ fixation on the past and the comfortable loftiness white life held provides no impetus for positive or liberatory social change. The hatefulness in racial prejudice and supremacy is so narrow-minded in its goal to remain at the apex of the perceived social hierarchy, that progress is disregarded since their energy is instead focused on the continuation of oppression in hopes of maintaining dominance and the existing conceptions of normalcy. Considering that America is becoming less and less white, white supremacists lose whatever petty “virtues” (if they are even deserving of the word (they aren’t 8-) )) they held simply by constituting a majority.

A dream America, for racists, is one that is socially and intellectually stagnant and that has been rendered vulnerable to internal and international strife — it is naive and quite delusional to assume that
1. change will not arise in one way or another, i.e. violent revolt or outside intervention, and that,
2. other nations will display kindness or support, let alone wait for the United States to catch up to contemporary philosophical ideals of enlightenment, sciences, the human condition, etc.
The foreseeable future of a United States that is continually held back by racial prejudice is one of immense and avoidable failure.

Racial bias is incapable of fostering pragmatic philosophical thoughts that are necessary in keeping social and governmental conditions wholly relevant and effective throughout changing conditions and in perpetuity. When diversity is embraced, a society can draw from all sorts of experiences, cultures, and wisdoms to craft and, when the time comes, reshape a productive and intelligent community.

The school to prison pipeline is becoming an unavoidable problem in our society. I will not accept anything less than a complete reform of the way we educate our youth today and every day until our education system reflects our democratic values. While a core curriculum of math, science, history and literature are important aspects of our educational culture; we can no longer ignore the gaps we create in our children’s education when it comes to giving them a sense of community and service.

I believe in mandatory community work for every citizen seeking a public and higher education. They must dig deep within their community, truly engross themselves in the servitude of the people to understand themselves and become a clearer piece of a larger picture. Incarcerated youth who grow to unfortunately become incarcerated adults cannot succeed in a democratic society that does not incorporate the value of community service and social support into an already compulsory education. We cannot only focus on molding our children’s minds we must teach them how to be compassionate as well as hard working. We must also teach our citizens that working hard only to benefit one’s own life is not what is best for our community and our posterity.

What happens if we learn that we are valued at the rate in which we produce goods. If we only see our worth through our jobs, what can we fall back on when we lose everything? When our job is taken from us, when we lose our sense of self and our sense of worth in a society that cannot find value in us, who is surprised when we resort to criminal ways? What service could society have given us?

We must teach our children to value the harmony of service and not the capitalist gain of self-service. We must become become one living breathing entity that represents our democratic values on the micro level. Democracy can only prosper if the citizens can see themselves reflected in our values. Once our citizens can see themselves in others, once there is a greater sense of community we will not be forced to lock our children away only to relocate them to a stricter facility when they become of age. If we teach our sons and daughters a trade that will only benefit a capitalist machine in place of an emotional and empathetic education we are letting them down.

Our citizens are more than what they have memorized behind concrete walls for eight hours a day, five days a week. They can become more and understand more once empathy becomes a concrete part of our curriculum. Arts and science are valuable assets to the betterment of the self but compassion and service are more likely benefit the society as a whole as well.