4th July, 1776, the colonies declared independence from the British crown. No longer were the 13 colonies going to be subject to the whims and fancy of the Queen of England, but were their own states; giving birth to The United States of America. Let’s take a step back into history. Who were these brave souls who fought for our independence. Were they born in America? If they were the ones who fought and brought independence, how could they be born in a free America? They were born in the British colonial era, and chose to voice themselves and make this land a better place for themselves and the future generations. Isn’t that what we all want to do?
Fast forward to 4th July 2018. Where are we today? The U.S.A is a symbol of freedom, individualism, and equality. I came to this country two decades ago from India. India is a wonderful place but the sheer numbers decreases the value of a person there. We have so many, a few lost, brings tears to the loved ones and the rest of India moves on, accepting it as a part of life. However, in the U.S.A, I saw it differently. I saw a person being valued.
Today, I see it differently. As a society, we are becoming more immune to news of violence and hatred. We are mute to the multiple young lives lost in the safety of their schools. Life as we knew it two decades ago is ending. We are more aware of the colors and differences than ever before.
The question is, should we see color or is it better to be colorblind? I think, yes, it is okay to see color. Seeing color is not the problem, it is the pre-conceived notions about colors that creates the problems. We assume white with supremacy, while black, brown, yellow and the proud rainbow are inferior.
It’s all about perspectives. Are black and white colors is a dichotomy question that many have tried to answer and yet there is no consensus. Physics says black is not a color, but white is. The world of Art says, yes they are colors. Who is right?
Scientifically, we all know that the color of our skin was the natural adaptation to climate. The closer one is to equator, the darker the skin color. This was nature’s way to protect us from the harmful UV rays of the sun. Color of our skin is an adaptation to survive. Isn’t it ironical; Mother Nature’s adaptation for survival is man’s excuse to kill
We choose to be colorblind and color mute. We all know that it’s a sensitive topic and its’ better not discussed. On the contrary we should. We may choose to deny but the truth is we all observe color. Growing up in India, colorism and racism was part of daily life. Heck, we Indians observe color within ourselves; North Indians, South Indians and within them so many other Indians. Seeing color is natural. It is what our eyes do. Our mind makes it racist. It is the color of our mind that is white, black and everything in between. Race is not a scientific concept, it is social concept.
Seeing color is okay because when we see color we are acknowledging the person in front of us. We are telling them yes I see the dark tones of your skin and it’s beautiful. The first step to ending racism is to stop being colorblind and accept that yes we have a problem in America.
Why would we not want to see color? If variety is the spice of life, then having an all white world would make it boring. White by the way has different shades too. The founding fathers who fought for independence were white, the queen who ruled them was white too. White was fighting against white because one was tinted while the other was not.
Today in America, it is not okay to see color and yet we are seeing and hearing color. There is a bias. I have it, you have it. Let us acknowledge the problem and move towards recognizing the different shades. Let us celebrate the shades of life and stop pretending to be color blind. Let it be okay to say; I see your color and it’s gorgeous; because then we are acknowledging the differences and giving each other permission to be who we are.
This 4th of July, Let us teach our kids, the color of our skins is merely and adaptation to survive and sadly man used this natural adaptation for selfish reasons and created race.
This 4th of July, let us celebrate the different shades of black, brown, yellow, pink, purple and white too. Yes, white is a color and it comes in different hues.
This 4th of July, let us remember America was and is an idea. It is an idea where the person is respected for who they are. It is an idea that all life is equal and it is an idea that just being yourself is enough.
This 4th of July, let us make America proud again.
Happy 4th of July!
