I+Believe+Paper

A sea of the oppressed rocked before me; brown faces bobbing left and right, up and down, sprinkled with pale faces. They looked eagerly towards the stage, looked eagerly at each other, looked eagerly towards the heavens; anticipating my entrance to the Lincoln Memorial steps and my declamation proclaiming a collection of words that would propel them into freedom. I smoothed out my black suit and breathed. One last check in the mirror, I looked into my own eyes with the same conviction I hoped to convey to every living man or woman in this crowd whose purpose was to obstruct our path to true equality. I proceeded to adjust my suit cuffs, and when my attention was once again drawn to the mirror, a very aged Oriental man wearing a long yellow gown resembling ancient drapery rested halfway beneath the shadows. My next inhaled breath was held short for a moment. This man did not look like he belonged in Washington D.C. "May I help you?" His heavily slanted eyes narrowed, long white beard twitched, and leathered yellow skin crinkled. I recognized his expression had transformed into one of vague disdain. "Do you believe that // fighting // will bring your people any peace?" The words released from his thin lips were like parchment paper; smooth in their delivery but somewhat crunchy, as characteristic of an old person's voice. "Our fight is necessary." I leaned slightly towards the mirror, peering at the Oriental man. The entire situation in itself was strange beyond my wildest dreams but I felt no compulsion to call security. "Negroes in America have been crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination for far too long." "Humans have been crippled by the pointless aspirations brought on from the illusion of improving the world." The old man relinquished the mysterious covering of the shadows and emerged with a slow, careful step forward. "Ambition has one heel nailed in well, though she stretch her fingers to touch the heavens." "Well, sir. If the Negro lies on his back and refuses to get up and demand for his rights, what will become of us? If we have no ambition, this sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will never pass, and we will never experience an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. How can the world ever experience change if we do not even make a single effort? It is not an illusion kind sir, we have already begun to initiate improvement." "I will tell you how to conquer the // entire //world: be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." "We can never be content as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be content as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be content as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote." The old man's expression intensified slightly with a hint of appall. "By letting go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning." "We are not protesting to change the whole world, good sir, right now we are limiting ourselves to protesting our rights as Americans. And we certainly cannot let this problem go." "In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it." "The Negro has had enough of allowing that which is hard and strong attack him." A hand slammed down on the counter and I realized it was my own. "Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial injustice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood." My voice had escalated to a near shout before I recognized my fury generated by this strange apparition in my mirror. I backed off from the counter and waited for any reply. The old man shook his head in the same, slow, deliberate manner he seemed to make each and every one of his few movements. "Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires. I have lived a long and completely content life in my time on this Earth. That is the only advice I can give to you." "Plainness, simplicity, unselfishness, few desires…I suppose that is one way to live one's life avoiding confrontation or hardship. Unfortunately we cannot rest until our goal is achieved, then we can aspire to live as simply as you suggest. I squinted at the man in the mirror, examining him and wondering if he would disappear once I turned around to face him, "Who are you?" The words came out one by one as if they were each their own statement. I had never met someone in my entire life who resembled his outlandishness. His mouth turned up into a smile. "I am Lao Tzu."  "Are you alive? Am I speaking to a ghost?" "I left this world many, many years ago." As an afterthought, Lao Tzu added; "Do not be afraid of dying, if you are not afraid there is nothing you cannot achieve."  "There is something we agree on. Where do you come from, Lao Tzu?" In response to my question he only smirked. I turned around to face him in hope of an elaboration. The old man was gone. Feeling suddenly exhausted and confused I put my elbows on the countertop, I rested my forehead in my hands and closed my eyes. I awoke in my own bed, my wife still asleep next to me. Today was the day I would tell the world about my dream.   ** Paper #3: Reflection **   I believe that although the way Lao Tzu suggests that we live might bring us a great sense of peace and contentment, I do not believe that God put us on this Earth in order to block out the world and live in our own constructed fantasies. I believe that we are so connected to the people around us, are inclined to aspire, and feel a responsibility to change the world because it is the way God made us to be. In a way, living the way Lao Tzu wants is kind of selfish. It means that you are only concerned about your inner peace more than anything else. You are given the license to disregard any kind of suffering in the world though his teachings. But what about the people who are suffering and need help? It is extremely difficult for those in suffering to adopt such a passive outlook on life, when the harshness of the world has affected you so deeply that completely letting go of the pain takes more effort than most people like to think about. I believe that the best thing one can do with one's life is sacrifice it for the good of other people, in an effort to make this world a better place, like how Martin Luther King Jr. lived his life in an effort to improve the civil rights of African Americans. Why were human's equipped with so many emotions, desires, and ambitions if we were supposed to live without them? I suppose it depends on the person and how their lives are most fulfilled individually, but I for one don't believe I could never truly live in the way of the Dao.
 * Paper #3: Martin Luther King Jr. and Lao Tzu Dialogue **