"Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation are men who want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the roar of its many waters." (Frederick Douglass)
Douglass expresses the necessity for agitation in a democratic society.Does this advice, given during the troubled times of the civil War, still apply to us today, and if so, how can we best implement his advice?
Answer:
First of all Kimberly, I think Frederick Douglass was talking about freedom from slavery. Slavery, as we all know is a very peculiar institution. By peculiar, I mean that you have a situation where other human beings are being controlled; - their mind and their body are under the control of one segment of society. And to Douglass, freedom means or meant that the shackles of subjugation and dependency are removed forever. And that freedom means the ability to think for oneself, to express oneself without fear of reprisal or retribution; and to speak without being dominated by someone else. So Douglass is saying if we want a free society, then we must learn to accept the bitter with the sweet, And that by agitation, I believe that Douglass meant that we should be open to debate. And debate is in his words "agitation." Debate is the hallmark of freedom of expression, of getting forward your ideas without fear of reprisal. Therefore, by open debate, the listener is able to hear the thoughts and the reasons given for a particular position. Once you hear the reasons that are given, then you have a better chance of either adopting that position or rejecting it. Because then you will have had open and frank debate on a particular topic. In another way, Douglass was a rebel. And as a rebel, he chose to stir up public interest in his cause. He was very outspoken. He wasn't complacent in anything in life. What he's suggesting to us is that if you are strongly motivated and you want to make changes in society, then you have to agitate to the extent of stirring up public support and motivating people to want to go out to implement change. And finally, how can we best implement his advice? I think we can implement it by not becoming complacent in society, by getting out and expressing our ideas and views and informing ourselves in an exchange of ideas and discussing these ideas that we have with other people of different backgrounds and different persuasions. And if you feel strongly about a particular cause, you should agitate and you should express your opinion openly, and frankly and forcefully and as eloquently as you possibly can, so that you can garner support for that position.
Question 4
What advice would you give to the youth about achievement?
Answer:
Achievement is setting goals, that's all it is, very simple. I would suggest to young people that achievement does not come without commitment and hard work. Skills must be developed. In preparing for this interview, you had to work on some skills, skills of communication, skills of planning, researching and putting together an interview. That came about through your dedication and your hard work and from the training through your parents and teachers in school, who helped you to see the mechanics that you had to go through in order to prepare for this interview. Good teachers are essential with regard to helping people achieve. When one achieves, one must learn from that achievement that he or she has an obligation now, to go out and help someone else achieve. Frankly speaking, from a biblical standpoint, we are as people, our brothers keeper, or sister's keeper. So we'll make it gender neutral. But we help other people. That's part of our obligation as citizens of this country and of this state. We all have, I believe, and obligation upon achievement, to help someone else or to show others the way to success. When I go and speak to young people, those who are under the age of twenty-one, I always leave them with a couple of things. I tell them that they all need a formula for success. They need to take into consideration determination, hard work, discipline, education and sometimes luck. Sometimes its just being in the right place at the right time. I always like to tell them that this formula for success is something that can be applied to everything if they just follow the road map in their lives. All great people have some type of formula, some type of basic steps that they follow in order to be achievers, in order to be successful. Young people need to keep that in mind. If they use my formula, they will be successful. And if they pass it on to others, then they will be successful. The other thing I like to leave with people is a poem. I think this poem explains the obligations that achievers have to other people.
Now Then We Shall Build
By: Will Allen Drumgould
An old man going a lone highway,
Came at the evening cold and gray
To a chasm, vast, deep, and wide,
Through which was flowing, a sullen tide
The old man crossed in the twilight dim.
The sullen stream held no fears for him.
But turned when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.
"Old man," said a pilgrim near,
"You are wasting strength with building here,
Your journey will end with the dying day,
You never again will pass this way.
You've crossed the chasm deep and wide,
Why build a bridge at the evening tide?"
The builder lifted his old gray head
Good friend I've come in the path," he said
"There followeth me today,
A youth, whose feet must pass this way
This chasm that has been nought to me,
To that fair-headed youth, may pitfall be.
He too must cross in the twilight dim,
My friend, I'm building that bridge for him."
We all have an obligation to set a path or to lay a path for others to follow. If we are achievers, there is a greater obligation for us to set this path for others to follow. Thank you.
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