How is it that unity and equality within humanity is so important to me, but I catch myself making contradictory statements so much? I have a mindset that I want to see all humans given the same chances and treated with dignity and equality. Yet, when it comes down to it, my brain is almost engraved with ideas of superiority. As a North American, it is so easy to consider myself on a higher level than someone living in a less wealthy country. This bothers me so much. Yes, I am very privileged to have been born in Canada and live with such peace and opportunities constantly being presented. However, I really don’t think that me living here has a whole lot of significance or importance unless I am using all that I have been given to help make the world a better place. I really am not meaning to sound clichéd or even cheesy. This is something though that I am learning a lot about and I want to make a more conscious decision to not speak as if I am superior to a prostitute in Thailand or a farmer in Ecuador. I am the opposite and I think I am the one who needs to be learning from them. I guess it all kind of comes back to how people come to believe what they do. I am still trying to figure it all out.
The Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 is something that until last week I had no understanding of and I still have a long way to go. People’s choice of democracy over communism, and vice versa, has always intrigued me a little bit. I think you can learn a great deal about people’s beliefs when you begin to examine their choice to live in a democratic or communist society. The people of Beijing were under a communist government and many students, intellectuals and other citizens were getting tired of this way of living. The old saying ‘if you don’t like where the parade is going then get out and lead it’ was the mind set of many of the Chinese people who were seeking change, who wanted a revolution if you will. In a land that is so different than mine it can be easy to take sides, but I have to really step back and remember the centuries of traditions and values that are instilled in these people. A revolution and a defiance of the government could not remain a peaceful undertaking. It would mean violence and death for some. This did not deter many of the protesters. If anything, I think that it made them stronger. The one aspect of this that really caught me off guard was the naivety that so many of the protesters held. When the army and police force began to create a resistance many of the protesters did not get scared away by them. It was as though they did not believe that fellow citizens could actually injure and kill them. They did though. There are so many levels of how people come to believe what they do entwined in this story. I guess that is why I think it would make such a great inquiry. There are beliefs that have been accepted and practiced for centuries, but then challenged by a group of people seeking change. The protesters know that they are fighting for a good cause and therefore no one would oppose them. Right? The government’s strong belief in communism resulted in the validation of several thousand murders.
As I was doing the feasibility test for the Tiananmen Square Protests I looked quite a bit for books and other sources that would be useful to further my research. I have definitely improved in how I go about searching for resources and I am more comfortable with the process. As our professors were looking over the work that our group had brought in I realized that there is still a lot that I need to learn. The presentation and the set up of a bibliography is very important to the overall report. The more precise and accurate the references can be listed, cited, organized and so on will really add to the feasibility of the event. This is the main aspect of the report that I needed to improve on. Citing a list of books is no good unless I can explain (or offer a cited explanation) of why the resource would be useful. An annotated bibliography is something that I have never had to really complete before. So during this process I really have learned a lot. I am working on choosing resources that will sustain an inquiry and not simply make my bibliography look bigger and better. That is not the point at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment