Black Lives, Politics, and Momentum

I’m personally always weary of emotional appeals. Unfortunately, it seems most people only know how to communicate in pure pathos. Maybe the internet has only intensified this, but I imagine it’s because, trying to decipher and calculate all the variables that go into reality, is tedious, hard, and virtually impossible. This isn’t so much a criticism then, but an observation about human nature that I’m a part of. Because of this I’m a skeptic, even towards myself.

I think emotions are manifestations of something real, but should rarely be taken literally. They are there to communicate something quickly within our psyche, but only have ballpark accuracy. With everything that’s happening in regards to the protests and riots, I don’t believe that what we are experiencing right now can be written off as misplaced emotion though. The anger, frustration, and pain are real and justified.

For me, the inequities that black lives and minorities have suffered in this country is evident. To refuse this generally involves political rhetoric and this is perhaps why many people hesitate to make a stand. I can sympathize with this feeling, but objective truths regarding human equality and decency are not partisan principals. If they have become this way, it is only a sign of our failure to keep them from getting commandeered by that arena. As Emmanual Levinas said, “Politics is opposed to morality, as philosophy to naïveté.” Because of this, it is everyone’s responsibility to hold the value of all life, especially the socially dispossessed, above politics. Fundamental rights should never be a party platform. They should be a given. If we cannot maintain the transcendent nature of this fact, we will most likely lose ourselves.

I just wanted to take a moment to encourage everyone to actively participate in fighting for the equality of black Americans. How you do this is, of course, up to you. Let’s not waste this momentum though.