Baldwin Response

Annotations:

“The purpose of education is  (…) To ask questions of the universe, and then learn to live with those questions, is the way he achieves his own identity. But no society is really anxious to have that kind of person around. What societies really, ideally, want is a citizenry which will simply obey the rules of society.” Baldwin is specifically relating to American society and how identity is inherited, specifically the identity of those filled with malice to a certain race or ethnic group.  In the beginning of his speech he mentions Khrushchev, a soviet union leader, to show that we are not as far from dictatorship as we think we are. All men are not created equal. 

“He pledges allegiance to that flag which guarantees “liberty and justice for all.” He is part of a country in which anyone can become president, and so forth. But on the other hand he is also assured by his country and his countrymen that he has never contributed anything to civilization – that his past is nothing more than a record of humiliations gladly endured.” I just found it interesting what saluting the flag means to some people, especially people of color. On one hand we have those who proudly recite their allegiance and hold their hand to their hearts without hesitation, knowing this country has filled them with nothing but privilege and liberty. On the other hand, there are those who pledge their allegiance to a country filled with disdain for their people, filled with unjust actions, erased histories, and a future of oppression. 

“What is upsetting the country is a sense of its own identity. If, for example, one managed to change the curriculum in all the schools so that Negroes learned more about themselves and their real contributions to this culture, you would be liberating not only Negroes, you’d be liberating white people who know nothing about their own history.” This is a win-win situation. Not only are you educating African Americans of their TRUE history, but you’re freeing others of their ignorance towards the truth about what their ancestors have done to get the liberty they so freely enjoy. 

“I would teach him that if he intends to get to be a man, he must at once decide that his is stronger than this conspiracy and they he must never make his peace with it.” I agree with Baldwin in this sentence. A teacher’s job should not only be to educate, but to see your students and make them feel heard.  A teacher should prepare their students for what awaits them after education, what awaits them in the “real world”

Response to Baldwin:

I like to believe that Baldwin is hopeful in these paragraphs. He is making it known that there is light after a tunnel, or that there is more than what meets the eye. There can be an opportunity to succeed, whether it’s in this country or not. The world is so vast that one should not let themselves become discouraged by their current situation. I also believe that he is speaking about America’s history.  It’s terrifying, to say the least, but if you change the lens in which you’re viewing it, you will also note that it can be beautiful and eye opening. Everyone should be able to have the opportunity to form their own opinions on the country they were born into, but they should also know its full, in depth, history before drawing conclusions. When Baldwin states “that he has the right and the necessity to examine everything” I believe he is promoting the questioning of authority. Not becoming robots, shadows of people, or hidden in the identity society wants you to have. The world is much larger than you see.

I believe that I have the necessity to learn more about the truth of American history and the education system should have the obligation to teach it. I wish I was taught this instead of finding it on my own because you can’t always trust the internet or social media. I wish this subject was put in our basic education instead of the brief preview of history we’re taught with Americans being the “heroes” or “victims.” Baldwin stated “What is upsetting the country is a sense of its own identity. If, for example, one managed to change the curriculum in all the schools so that Negroes learned more about themselves and their real contributions to this culture, you would be liberating not only Negroes, you’d be liberating white people who know nothing about their own history.” In just telling the truth, we could save ourselves from a lot of troubles and misconceptions on people of color or how America was truly founded.