It is dangerous to be an American Negro male. America has never wanted its Negroes to be men, and does not, generally, treat them as men. It treats them as mascots, pets, or things.
James A. BaldwinRead
Society is held together by our need; we bind it together with legend, myth, coercion, fearing that without it we will be hurled into that void, within which, like the earth before the Word was spoken, the foundations of society are hidden.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that society relies on shared beliefs and myths to maintain cohesion and prevent chaos.
James A. Baldwin's quote highlights the fragile nature of societal structure, emphasizing that our collective myths, legends, and even coercive measures serve to unify people and provide a sense of purpose. Without these shared narratives, he warns, we risk descending into a chaotic void reminiscent of the formless earth in a pre-creation state, illustrating the fundamental human need for connection and meaning in the fabric of society.
In practice
In a discussion on how cultural myths shape our identity, this quote could illustrate the importance of shared beliefs.
It is dangerous to be an American Negro male. America has never wanted its Negroes to be men, and does not, generally, treat them as men. It treats them as mascots, pets, or things.
The white man discovered the Cross by way of the Bible, but the black man discovered the Bible by way of the Cross.
Those kids aren't dumb. But the people who run these schools want to make sure they don't get smart: they are really teaching the kids to be slaves.
Experience, which destroys innocence, also leads one back to it.
The reason people think it's important to be white is that they think it's important not to be black.
The trick is to love somebody.... If you love one person, you see everybody else differently.
A good society is characterised not just by liberty but by mutual respect and responsibility. When this breaks down it takes a lot more than police officers to put things right.
Of course it is a very simple matter to identify genes which might modify intelligence or memory and start thinking about whether you want to enhance a human, and the next generation is going to have to deal with that issue. Should we be trying to enhance humans rather than trying to educate them and so on?
The poison of skepticism becomes, like alcoholism, tuberculosis, and some other diseases, much more virulent in a hitherto virgin soil.
Why is it so difficult to assemble those things that really matter in life and to dwell among them only? I am referring to certain landscapes, persons, beasts, books, rooms, meteorological conditions, fruits.
America touts itself as the land of the free, but the number one freedom that you and I have is the freedom to enter into a subservient role in the workplace. Once you exercise this freedom you’ve lost all control over what you do, what is produced, and how it is produced. And in the end, the product doesn’t belong to you. The only way you can avoid bosses and jobs is if you don’t care about making a living. Which leads to the second freedom: the freedom to starve.
The real attitude of sin in the heart towards God is that of being without God; it is pride, the worship of myself, that is the great atheistic fact in human life.
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