Outsider Perspective

This entry will discuss many topics, but first I’d like to start with an article taken from the Huffington Post  related to the educational climate of our schools. While it is intended to be humorous it draws attention to the poor education many students are receiving every day.

After the clip went viral on the Internet the creators released a statement saying:

The video that we made as a school project has received a lot of unexpected media attention, and has been co-opted into an ongoing political debate that has become quite volatile. It should be known that we filmed for several hours, during which time many students gave correct responses; the film represents a short segment of the most entertaining answers. The bottom line is that we made the video to get a few laughs around our school, and it turned into something bigger. It was not our intent to polarize people, set off a firestorm, or get people to point fingers. Having said that, people will take from it what they will. We want to continue our work as student journalists in a productive manner.

Objectively it is unsettling that these students did not know the answers to basic American facts, but the journalist’s comments are important for placing the video in context.

A prime focus of our class is the development of human capabilities and dignity. I think this week’s reading (Cosmopolitanism by Kwame Anthony Appiah) brought up a very important topic: it is very easy for an outsider to place judgment and project views upon other individuals or groups. Within the text Appiah relates this to the commonly held belief in witchcraft in his home country of Ghana. To most Westerners a belief in witchcraft would be absurd, but within the context and belief system of a typical Ghanaian it is perfectly logical. The idea that a Western individual could go to Ghana and tell them all about their incorrect belief in witchcraft is terribly presumptuous. I particularly liked the quote by Melville Herskovits:

There is no way to play this game of making judgments across cultures except with loaded dice.  

This principle holds true in areas outside of anthropology. Even in our attempts to understand the issue of education reform it is difficult since we, as college students, are removed from so many of its current problems. Learning about contemporary issues as well as other cultures is important, but remembering how a personal perspective may be misleading is also key. Here’s another quote from Appiah that I thought was important:

In belief, as in everything else, each of us must start from where we are.

This reminds me of the importance of becoming involved WHERE WE ARE to instigate change. While I would love to see the education system in America change on a national level it is clear that true change begins within the community. Being able to leave a positive impact on a young person locally NOW is far more likely and rewarding than creating legislation that takes years to pass. Another huge change that can happen is within our mindset and outlook on others and ourselves. Instead of viewing our personal beliefs and values as the only valid ones perhaps we should become more tolerant of different beliefs.

This open-mindedness is a theme that stuck out during the film in class on Tuesday. The film, ARTS: A Film About Possibilities, Disabilities & the Arts, documented the use of art as a tool for disabled individuals in expression, exploring, and defining themselves. Many of the notions surrounding disability are society based and are long overdue for a reassessment. Just as it is hard to judge a different culture without a proper understanding, it is impossible to pass judgment on disability without a deep knowledge and appreciation for the circumstance. It is our nature to attempt to categorize things as “normal” or “different” based on our own experience, but the truth remains that there are billions of different experiences in the world.

I deeply agree with wanting to create more options for expression and exposure for the disabled, especially those with outstanding talents. During the film, however, I was troubled by the stressed capitalism on one particular artist. She (I forgot to write down her name) used her paintings to represent her relationship with her late husband and the process of death. Selling her artwork symbolized losing a part of herself, so it was obviously a difficult endeavor for her. It did not seem obvious to me that she enjoyed selling her artwork, she mentioned cutting out pieces of the canvas to keep as her own before parting with the painting. While this bothered her, it seemed that those who knew her were very excited that she was making money off of her talent. These supporters hoped she would stop viewing her work as so personal and begin to do it for the profit. While this supports the capabilities of the artist, I don’t believe it respected her dignity. It was simply projecting the Western ideals of capitalism on her talent. I know that those supporting the artist have only the best intentions and wishes for her, but it is such a shame on how they lost sight of her expression and emotions within the painting.

As I have mentioned in earlier blogs, perspective is an extremely important trait to have living in our modern society. Understanding different cultures and different abilities can allow us to successfully support human capability and dignity. Finally, another poignant quote from the ARTS film.

It’s hard to be disabled when you don’t like the word “disabled.”

With the recent striking down of Prop 8 in California, I leave with this image and quote [from the ruling] of human dignity.