4
September 2005
OPINION
From the Editor
Ugly side of humanity
shotildn't keep students
from obtaining their goals
By Lisa R. Boone
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
"At every critical jvmc-
tion, American civiliza
tion has decided that
black people are not
h\m\an."
Dr Darlene Clark,
interim chair of the
WSSU African American
Studies Department and
a history professor at
Northwestern University,
made tliis statement dur
ing a recent hmnanities
lecture. Her conmient
came in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina, which
exposed the ugly side of
racial and class differ
ences in America to the
world.
Many people are out
raged, and justifiably so.
CBS News Simday
Momiiig contributing
conunentator Nancy
Giles ended her Sept. 4
piece with these words:
"Tlie president has put
himself at risk by visiting
the troops in Iraq, but
didn't venture anywhere
near the Superdome or
the Convention Center
Boone
where thousands of vic
tims, mostly black and
poor, needed to see that
he gave a d—n."
What should African
Americans do?
Get angry? Vent?
Let me
suggest
that we,
students
here at
WSSU, do
just what
we're
doing,
which is
to get an
education. Oiu: school
motto "Enter to leam.
Depart to Serve" should
not be taken lightly
Instead, consider the
words a demand, an
order, a lifelong mission.
We are oui peoples' best
hope.
We must conunit our
selves to the long strug
gle for self-improvement
and advancement
because, as we've seen
so clearly, when the
proverbial creek rises,
we perish.
W]iere to go when yon need to hiow
The News Areus
'Always Watchinv'i^
Are we living the examined lives
we said we wotild after Sept. 11?
By Bill Tammeus
KRT WIRE SERVICE
The promises we made to our
selves because of Sept. 11 embar
rass tis now four years later
Otir shocked and bereaved
hearts whispered pledges to Hve
more focused Uves. After reUgiotis
fanatics used passenger planes as
guided missiles, killing 3,000 peo
ple in New York, Washington and
Pennsylvania — including my own
nephew we said over and over
that from now on we would con
centrate on "what's really impor
tant."
Maybe some of xis did concen
trate on that for a while. I've heard
about a few people who altered
their Hves because of Sept. 11. But
there were two problems: First, the
routine of daily life eventually
returned, so we lost the focus that
always comes with a crisis. And
second, some people had no idea
"what's really important." They
had Mved what Socrates called an
"unexamined hfe," which he said
is not worth living.
So as each painful Sept. 11
anniversary comes aroimd, the
question worth asking is what, in
fact, reaUy is important. In other
words, what constitutes an exam
ined hfe?
In "Saviours of God," author
Nikos Kazantzakis puts it this way.
"Where do we come from? Where
are we going? What is the meaning
of this hfe? That is what every
heart is shouting, what every head
is asking as it beats on chaos."
I've recently been asking people
I know what it takes to Hve an
examined Hfe. Oh, I have my own
views about that, but part of Hving
an examined hfe is seeking the
wisdom of others.
I won't quote these people by
name. What matters is the content
of their words. But they include
clergy and'laity from Christianity,
Judaism and other reUgions, as
weU as scientists, musicians, teach
ers, even a retired engineer and a
lawyer for the IRS.
The answers I got contained
common themes: Ask hard ques
tions, be honest about the answers
and don't depend on yourself
alone to examine your hfe, even
though mu A of this work requires
"The
results of an
examined
life are
patience,
clarity,
vision, joy
and hope
//
sohtude.
"The best way to see oneself is
through the eyes of another," one
respondent said. "It takes two,
buddy At least a smaU conmuinity
is required."
Several also suggested that
examining one's hfe should not be
thought of as a horrific task to be
dreaded, though it may produce
some nasty surprises.
One person said, "remorse and
self-flagellation seldom help devel
op moral character " It may be
counterintuitive, he said, but we
should leam to welcome troubling
times!
"Crises," he said, "are our best
friends. We do well to regard
everything in life as attempting to
teach us something."
As we examine our hves we also
begin to understand that the
process isn't simply navel gazing.
Done weU, it's a communal act.
And it's an examination of both
thoughts and behavior
Some aspects of the examination
can be pretty simple. One woman
told me that how you spend your
time "is a pretty good reflection of
who you are at the moment. If
you are not spending time doing
what you value, then you need to
reassess and redirect."
What might be the best restilts
we could expect from a self-exam-
ination?
There are many good answers,
but I especially liked the one that
came from an old friend: "The
residts of an examined hfe are
patience, clarity, vision, joy and
hope." A yotmg woman added
this: "Living an examined hfe is
one scary task ... but it can also
lead to joy after joy"
What results can we expect if
we fail to ask ourselves such ques
tions? A scientist I know put it
well: "The unexamined hfe often
restilts in the self-centered, arro
gant, self-important egoists we see
aU too often in positions of
power"
Nobody wants another crisis of
Sept. 11 proportions to stab our
hearts with the realization that
we've become distracted again
from whaf s really important,
espedaUy those of us who lost
family members that day. Without
trauma, however, staying on
course may require someone else
willing to hold us accotmtable.
Newspaper columnists have lots
of those someones. They're caUed
readers.
Black college students find themselves in awkward position
Argus Reporter
Our conmitutity tells us to embrace and
express otrr identity as African-Americans
and as individuals in the way we walk,
talk and present ourselves. However, tat
toos, body pierdng, dreadlocks, full
beards, gold teeth, blonde hair, skimpy
clothes and other tinique ways that some
individuals clioose to express themselves
are not always considered acceptable or
appropriate by those iir authority.
So then our individuahty takes a back
seat to fitting in, getting along, doing the
right thing, as defined by others. In
exchange, we are then allowed to
progress, whether that's in the workplace,
at school, in clubs and organizations, and
in other sectors of hfe.
But shotild advancement and success be
predicated on giving up aU traces of
tiniqueness and pltmging headlong into
so-called conformity?
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Not necessarily
If you are clear on the image that you
are trying to portray, why not decorate
yotuself with tattoos, or feel comfortable
wearing large pieces of jewehy, or put on
an African outfit. On the other hand, we
shouldn't take offense when one of our
own, especially one of otir elders, sets us
straight about how we wih be perceived
in the professional world if our grooming
choices are not within the bounds of
what's considered "mainstream."
We may or may not choose to take their
advice, but we shotild reahze that the
messenger and his or her message are
bom from a place of wisdom tested by
experience.
Be true to your own self-image. Yotu:
identity is what you make it, and a quick
walk around Winston-Salem State
University reveals the diversity of tastes
on campus.
Succees in the "real world" is not about
losing yotu: identity. Rather, it is about
growing into your own true self and
becoming more versatile, realizing that a
sohd self-image, however that is
expressed, involves the age-old quahties
of a sound mind, strength, discipline and
discernment.
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