“It is easier to discover a deficiency in individuals, in states, and in Providence, than to see their real important and value. For in this merely negative fault finding a position is taken – one which overlooks the object, without having entered into it- without having comprehended its positive aspect (36).”
Martin Luther King Jr. is a great example of this quote. Because of his ethnicity he was discriminated against and was automatically stereotyped as someone of lesser value. During this time period people of color were never given the opportunity to define themselves as meaningful individuals, instead they were automatically assumed to not posses the great qualities of whites. We all know what an incredible leader Martin Luther King Jr. was and how big of an impact he made, but none of his accomplishments were never really positively acknowledged by the majority until later after his death. Today he has established his reputation as one of the greatest and heroic of all time.
A personal example of when I quickly jumped to conclusions about someone, instead of giving them the chance to truthfully define themselves was when I was on the airplane going on a vacation. I fully accept and welcome diversity, but like most other people, I have stereotyped someone before. When I was on the plane a man of a minority race walked past me and without thinking I automatically thought that I wasn’t safe and that he was going to crash the plane. Just because of his physical appearance I quickly criticized him failed to see who he was as an individual.
Reading Hegel helped remind me the nature of people and how society was historically formed. Yes, the things he says are mostly common sense, but he described these main points with deeper insight. As a result, this made me associate history with life experiences and develop different feelings towards them. He forced me to take a step back and have a different perspective as to the way and why people and things are.
Paige Bauernfeind
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