Big Think

Ben Fisher on July 1, 2008, 7:59 PM

i guess we’ll find out when barack is president. we need book reviews to accompany every subject!!

Jamaal Lowe on July 17, 2008, 3:25 AM

For me, the experience has been the ability to expand my awareness and define myself by more myriad interests and thoughts other than being overly occupied by the external color of my skin, and what others around have agreed what that means or symbolizes. My definition of who I am and what role I can possibly play on the world stage is expanded to the point where cultural and/or ethnic identifications have become secondary to other ideas and ideals I have and cleave to while—while, at the same time, this expanded definition of the self would probably have been severely hindered if I was continuosly made to focus more and more on skin color, and taught to believe that skin color or ethnicity actually defined what a person was capable of thinking, and henceforth, doing…as still occurs in some parts of the world. I see this all as a result of cultural assimilation on the global scale anyway, but can still appreciate the value and beauty of those cultures who chose to retain a strong identification of the individual as an extension and expression of, the greater cultural and ethnic whole.