Statement of Initial Thoughts and Possible Bias

I signed up for a Post-Colonial Literature class. I didn't really know what that meant at the time, just that it fit what I needed and I was familiar with the professor. I was returning to undergrad studies to pick up a teaching certificate after graduating from the same institution approximately 10 years earlier. I had initially tried to do it seven years prior, but gave up the pursuit for a full time job doing something else. Last Spring I had an epiphany. I got a Masters in Organizational Management and was working on a Doctorate in Leadership...but decided that I was studying the wrong thing, and in the wrong career. After a good length of discernment, I felt called to return to finish what I had started.

So, stepping into the class...I was just open. As Dr. Webb started talking about the content of the class and the great journey we would be taken on this semester, I felt really excited that I was able to participate. Then he talked about the history of world Colonization and the aftermath, and I was immediately transported to my Senior year of High School. I went to Nicaragua on a Mission Trip, and was so moved by their people and their history. I told their story in presentations to every class the teacher would let me. I described how the US had overthrown a democratic government and help install and back a ruthless dictator. It troubled me and my young mind. Yet, when I gave the presentation...I was called a liar by fellow classmates and told that the US doesn't engage in that sort of conduct. It was unfathomable.

Well, what was upsetting was the reminder that this is still occurring. Back in my teens, my experience in Nicaragua and Mexico motivated me to do more. I chose to study abroad in Spain because I thought if I didn't, I would harbor too much angst for the gringos. The experience shed light on movements in Spain during the Colonization of the Americas that fought for better treatment of the Native peoples. It opened my eyes that there is always more to the story than what we are told. Like so many people though, I tried to assimilate to this crazy chaotic American culture. Get a job, get a car, get in debt, that I lost sight of these causes that I was passionate about. The lecture at this first class touched me profoundly. Made me realize that not only had I stopped being aware, but like most of my countrymen had also allowed us to remain ignorant to the significant impact political decisions are making to humankind around the world.

Not that this class is designed to save the world, but how can we be a truly democratic society if we are not fully informed. How can we make decisions, if we don't know all the variables at play? How can we make value judgments on peoples and cultures of the world when we haven't taken the time to really try and understand them? I hope this class inspires more people to make the sometimes uncomfortable choice to witness the stories and lives of others. Our self-imposed ignorance doesn't prevent us from being responsible for the atrocities that might be going on in the shadows of the world. Maybe we might even learn how someone so far removed might have even the slightest impact on the improvement of humankind.