Breaking the Chains of Psychological Slavery - Essay Example

Breaking the Chains of Psychological Slavery In the first chapter, the maintains that African Americans have developed a negative attitude towards work mostly because of the slavery events that took place at least 100 years ago. I agree with the author on this part. This is because the attitudes that this portion of the community has towards work is different from that exhibited by individuals from other races. During the time of slavery, work was equated with being inferior, which is the case even in the contemporary world. Since African Americans view work as essentially benefiting the employers, as was the case during slavery, they have opted to resort to other activities that yield money fast. This is the main reason why this portion of the community is extensively involved in gambling. A significant portion of them is also involved in depending extensively on welfare for the mere fact that they view work as slavery. This especially happens when they are working for a white employer. This implies that African Americans have acquired their current attitudes towards work from the slavery regimes. Another reason that prompts this attitude is discrimination with respect to obstacles that prevent them from receiving similar benefits as the predominant race. In addition, they are given the hardest work but compensated unfairly. African Americans compare this to slavery prompting the negative attitude. The author also argues that the urge to own expensive property for the African Americans is connected to slavery. This is because the slaves were not allowed to own anything. This made them to view property as a symbol of power and freedom. I agree with the author on this point. This is because African Americans incur substantial expenses when buying material things that may make them feel like the master. This is true because most African Americans own the most expensive cars and mansions in the modern day world. As the author puts it, the period of slavery brought an unnatural attraction towards material objects. This is why they use such objects that include big houses and expensive clothing as a symbol of status as well as pride. This shows that African Americans spend huge sums of money in acquiring the objects associated with power instead of seeking economic, social, human, and political power. This provides a clear indication that there is a link between the contemporary behavior by African Americans and the slave era. In view of the struggles that the African American community goes through in the contemporary world, it is of great importance to strategize on possible ways of breaking the chains of slavery, which are still embedded in the modern generations. In the second chapter, the author maintains that this can only be accomplished by the African people in spite of the fact that it was initially imposed by their white masters where whites still function as obstacles to the realization of the liberation. This is because the inferiority that the African Americans feel is false and is the same as the affirmation by the whites that they are superior and great as compared to the African Americans. Therefore, this can be eliminated by first having the African American eliminate this inferiority within themselves. The expectation that liberation can only be realized if the white people change their own mode of thinking must be altered since this change is not essential to the liberation process. In addition, it would be unrealistic to expect the supremacy mentality of the white people to disappear because it has not changed since the time of slavery. Therefore, it would be a waste of resources to spend much time trying to change the attitudes of the white population. This leaves the idea of the African Americans changing their own thinking and perception of themselves. This must be accompanied by what the author, still in the second chapter, refers to as knowledge of self. By this, the author argues that African Americans must know themselves with respect to accomplishments. In the same way that the white community keeps information regarding their previous accomplishments such as the discovery by Christopher Columbus and passes it to the next generations, the African Americans must learn information regarding their own greatness. This is because if they will always hear about the accomplishments by the white people, they will remain in captivity of their own minds. I agree with this argument because the information available regarding accomplishments by African Americans is often ignored while the defeats are glorified in favor of the white community. If this information were provided to the future generations, the children would grow up developing a consciousness that would allow them to gain control of world’s resources. This would ensure that certain forms of defeat that include slavery do not affect the progress towards liberation. This would also help the African American community in understanding that resources are available to all inhabitants of earth and claims that whites have such as superiority in knowledge is not a right that was handed to a specific race and kept from others but an accident of information. In order to eliminate the limitations in the African Americans’ minds, the religious imagery that they possess must be altered. This is because if people view God from one narrow perspective, then their modes of thinking and imagining are affected and become limited. However, if their thinking views God as infinite, with unlimited possibilities, then their thinking broadens. I also agree with this argument. This is because the favors that the white population enjoys may prompt a mode of thinking in the minds of African Americans that God favors the white, which is inaccurate. This is because they may not have adequate teaching of the religious scriptures to know that God treats people equally. This implies that the liberation of the African Americans would incorporate broadening of their ways of thinking. In addition, the image of God that develops when the white population portrays Him as a white man affects the mode of thinking as exhibited by the African Americans. Therefore, the image of religion that people have must be changed for better understanding. The author also brings forward the idea that the white race is drunk of the idea that they portray themselves as God. This implies that inaccurate psychological perceptions have affected the way of thinking of the white man to the point that they view themselves as God and that they should rule others. I agree with the author on this point because it explains why the white race views itself as masters when considering other races. This is the ultimate reason why they became slave masters and imperialists. Since no one has a precise image of God, anyone has the right to view themselves as portraying the image of God. While this is thre case, the white population has grown to believe this in excess to the point that the race cannot correct itself and is thus in the verge of destruction. Read More