One Person With Courage
Formal education for me began in 1948.
That process continued until 1966. All during those years I was taught that one
should use the masculine case in phrases such as, "All good
men
should come to the aid of their
country."
That was prior to the 1970's. With raised consciousness, American's began struggling with the sexual inequalities which still existed in our country. It was at this time that it became increasingly inappropriate to use the masculine case.
In the past twenty-five years we have adopted many changes. No longer do we have waitresses; we now have wait persons. Stewardesses became partners with Stewards and now both are know as Flight Attendants. In most businesses secretaries are now assistants.
All of this seems to be our attempt to appropriately and specifically identify men and women in the workplace and in society. And that is good.
But from the position of a teacher of English for nearly 29 years, there is one area where we have not resolved the changes. Back in the "old days" we were taught to use the masculine gender. Always use he when referring to both men and women. Always use men
\f0\i0 when making reference to both sexes. Remember "All men are created equal"?
And what about pronouns used in place of the masculine noun? In the 70's the difficulty began. Instead of he some began writing he and she. Others were concerned about placing he first and turned it around to she and he. Some writers have dropped he and replaced it with she.
I decided on this form: s/he. I see it in many publications. It seems to be appropriate and non-offensive.
Ours is a language which is alive and vigorous. Someday we will come to a solution and this awkward transition in our language will be in the past.
That is the reason the title of this Reflections! uses person. In my office I have the quotation, "One man with courage is a majority." I don't know who originally said that, but I know that it is true.
So I have updated it to "One person with courage is a majority." That person can be of either sex. Consider just two examples of people who exhibited courage.
Rosa Lee Parks, an African-American civil right activist triggered the boycott of the Montgomery, Alabama bus system. You will recall that she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus on her trip home from work one day in 1955. She broke the law which required black citizens to give up their seats in their half of the bus if all white seats had been occupied. Her action helped bring about the civil rights movement in the United States.
Mahatma Gandhi won freedom for India in the 1040's. He preached nonviolence in his long campaign for freedom and social reform. He was arrested numerous times and imprisoned for his courageous actions.
What motivated these two individuals and countless others like them to act with extreme courage? Did they stand against wrongs simply for self-dignity?
What occurs in people such as these is the understanding of universal, important truths. With this understanding they see the need for the eradication of great errors. Not wrongs directed solely against them, but rather violations of universal truths directed against a whole body of people.
These people spark the imagination of others. They are the light which reveals the suffering of people, a suffering that violates decency and subjugates people to an intolerable existence. They saw a person or a system oppressing others, so that the oppressor(s) could live as they chose.
In some cases the oppressors have been wicked. They perceive that the distinction between themselves and others is a great gulf. They cannot see the suffering endured by the oppressed. They cannot understand the pain they inflict. They cannot know the nature of their own wickedness. Therefore their oppressive actions grow more intolerable until one day, one person with courage
\f0\i0 stands and declares, "No more."
This person's courage is born from compassion, not from revenge or retaliation. They have long witnessed the suffering inflicted upon others. They feel the hurt, the pain which others have endured. While they themselves have also suffered, their courage comes when they see that others have suffered more greatly than they, and for those they stand with courage.
One man, one woman with courage is a majority. One with courage challenges the oppressor. One with courage lights the lamp of change.
(written September, 1999)
That was prior to the 1970's. With raised consciousness, American's began struggling with the sexual inequalities which still existed in our country. It was at this time that it became increasingly inappropriate to use the masculine case.
In the past twenty-five years we have adopted many changes. No longer do we have waitresses; we now have wait persons. Stewardesses became partners with Stewards and now both are know as Flight Attendants. In most businesses secretaries are now assistants.
All of this seems to be our attempt to appropriately and specifically identify men and women in the workplace and in society. And that is good.
But from the position of a teacher of English for nearly 29 years, there is one area where we have not resolved the changes. Back in the "old days" we were taught to use the masculine gender. Always use he when referring to both men and women. Always use men
\f0\i0 when making reference to both sexes. Remember "All men are created equal"?
And what about pronouns used in place of the masculine noun? In the 70's the difficulty began. Instead of he some began writing he and she. Others were concerned about placing he first and turned it around to she and he. Some writers have dropped he and replaced it with she.
I decided on this form: s/he. I see it in many publications. It seems to be appropriate and non-offensive.
Ours is a language which is alive and vigorous. Someday we will come to a solution and this awkward transition in our language will be in the past.
That is the reason the title of this Reflections! uses person. In my office I have the quotation, "One man with courage is a majority." I don't know who originally said that, but I know that it is true.
So I have updated it to "One person with courage is a majority." That person can be of either sex. Consider just two examples of people who exhibited courage.
Rosa Lee Parks, an African-American civil right activist triggered the boycott of the Montgomery, Alabama bus system. You will recall that she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus on her trip home from work one day in 1955. She broke the law which required black citizens to give up their seats in their half of the bus if all white seats had been occupied. Her action helped bring about the civil rights movement in the United States.
Mahatma Gandhi won freedom for India in the 1040's. He preached nonviolence in his long campaign for freedom and social reform. He was arrested numerous times and imprisoned for his courageous actions.
What motivated these two individuals and countless others like them to act with extreme courage? Did they stand against wrongs simply for self-dignity?
What occurs in people such as these is the understanding of universal, important truths. With this understanding they see the need for the eradication of great errors. Not wrongs directed solely against them, but rather violations of universal truths directed against a whole body of people.
These people spark the imagination of others. They are the light which reveals the suffering of people, a suffering that violates decency and subjugates people to an intolerable existence. They saw a person or a system oppressing others, so that the oppressor(s) could live as they chose.
In some cases the oppressors have been wicked. They perceive that the distinction between themselves and others is a great gulf. They cannot see the suffering endured by the oppressed. They cannot understand the pain they inflict. They cannot know the nature of their own wickedness. Therefore their oppressive actions grow more intolerable until one day, one person with courage
\f0\i0 stands and declares, "No more."
This person's courage is born from compassion, not from revenge or retaliation. They have long witnessed the suffering inflicted upon others. They feel the hurt, the pain which others have endured. While they themselves have also suffered, their courage comes when they see that others have suffered more greatly than they, and for those they stand with courage.
One man, one woman with courage is a majority. One with courage challenges the oppressor. One with courage lights the lamp of change.
(written September, 1999)
Posted: Wed - February 1, 2006 at 10:26 PM
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In a museum most people spend less than twenty seconds looking at a work of art."
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Published On: Feb 01, 2006 10:27 PM
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Published On: Feb 01, 2006 10:27 PM