Stanley Chen, Period 8, 12/7/21

Stanley Chen, Period 8, 12/7/21

Socio-Political Consciousness

What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power? How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

Over the weekend as I discussed political and social issues with my friend, we came to a realization. The lack of change towards these issues has many causes but one of them is a flawed fundamental taught even during elementary school: compromise. Compromise is not all negative: without it, 2 sides of an argument can never hope to see issues from different perspectives, let alone resolve conflicts. If no side is ever willing to budge, then no change is made. In discussions over the vaccine mandate, I’ve talked to many people who are aware of the danger COVID presents and the importance of immunity but are understandably put off by how strict the government is in requiring it. Without compromising on my stance, I would not take into account these reasonable fears for my own perspective.

However, there are limits to how far one needs to compromise sometimes, if at all. During the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s, Martin Luther King mentioned how he was “gravely disappointed with the white moderate...who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"” (Letter from Birmingham Jail). Even 60 years later, because of people unwilling to take this next step of action, we are still debating over how a man showing up to a protest armed with a rifle, lying about being a medic, and killing 2 unarmed protestors was simply acting in self-defense. We are told how he feels remorseful for what happened and having committed such a terrible crime, despite him bragging about shooting at looters 2 weeks before, then posing with white nationalists at a bar after being bailed out. Misinformation is no sin in and of itself, but it deeply troubles me when somebody is presented with such concrete facts about what happened and continues to stand against progress, as people and society tell me to simply compromise with them. We cannot change how every one of these people thinks, but we can start by teaching people that sometimes it’s necessary to take a stand and hold steadfast to their morals, instead of compromising on them to the point where little/no effective change is done.