H.O.P.E. Volume I Issue II (Papers and Commentaries)

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H.O.P.E. Papers and Commentaries

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VOLUME I ISSUE II

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About Humanities Online Platform for Everyone (HOPE) is an independent, student-run online journal that creates opportunities for high school students in the United States and around the world who are interested in the humanities to publish their outstanding works. These include creative writing (poetry and prose), research papers, editorial reviews, and the visual arts. We realize that publication opportunities for high school students interested in the humanities are very limited. Thus, we hope to create this platform to help high school students earn credit for what they have written or created.

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Submissions Submissions are published on a monthly basis. You may submit at the following link: www.hopehumanities.org

Staff Design

Editors-in-Chief

Editors

Jiahua Chen Lucy Lu Andy Xu Holly Zhuang

Andy Xu Ariston Zhou Phillip Chao Jonathan Fu

Amelia Lee Jessica Jia Sophie Tan Neil Shen Felix Bao Sherry Xie Angela Xie Michael Zhang

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Contents 4

The Spirit and Letter of the Law

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Milliken v. Bradley

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Forrest H.

Michael Z.

The Quid Pro Quo of American Social Ideals

Irina R.

Is Contemporary Art Actually “Art”

Wanxin Z.

Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines

Jared G.

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Coronavirus and Postmodernism/Stoicism

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The Idea of Racial Equality

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Tyler T.

Sherry X.

“Ex-Convict” Should Not Be a Permanent Tat-

Jessica J.

Macbeth and the Number Three

Colin C.

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4 Paper and Commentary The Spirit and The Letter of the Law Investigation into the Legal System and Judicial Activism Forest Hu, UWC Changshu ’22

1.

Introduction

In the year 30 A.D., Jesus Christ was crucified by two Roman soldiers. Shortly after, his apprentices, Peter, John, Paul, etc., left Israel where the Jewish people lived, went to the Roman Empire, and began to spread the Christian faith, marking the official break between Christianity and Judaism.

Although Christianity had evolved from Judaism, it has significant differences with it in many ways (Zhao, 45~51). Moses led the Jews out of Egypt and made an agreement with God on the top of Mount Sinai, called the “Ten Commandments of Moses.” According to records, in addition to these ten commandments, Judaism has 248 orders and 365 injunctions that restrict all aspects of Jewish life. There is a ban ordering that only cloven hoofed and ruminant animals among beasts could be eaten. Sacrificial laws stipulate that when offering sacrifices to God, one hand of the priest must be placed on the head of the lamb, slaughter it before the tabernacle, and so on. In addition, the law stipulates that theft is to be put to death; tooth must be repaid for by tooth for tooth and an eye for an eye. These harsh laws govern the daily lives of Jews like oomnipresent supervisors.

Jesus was a rebel in among the Jewish. He opposed these trivial legal bans, arguing that the most important thing was the devotion of the soul, the love of God and the love towards others. This was the true intent of the Ten Commandments of Moses and the other laws in the Old Testament. He didn’t pay much attention to traditions and laws outside of these fundamental precepts and beliefs. Those, he saw as the fundamental ‘spirit’ of the laws.

Even in some things, what Jesus did was considered by the Jewish elite class Pharisee to had gone against the law.

From the conflict between Jesus and Jewish laws, we can see a deeper divergence of ideas: in the legal system of a country, which one should take priority, the spirit of the law (the law’s intention) or the letter of the law (the legal texts)? Modern jurists and legal experts also have tremendous disputes over this issue.

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Concept of the Spirit of the Law

2.1. Definition According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the spirit of the law is the “aim or purpose of the law when it was written”, or to say the intent of the legislators. For example, we could say that the spirit of traffic laws is to ensure safety on the roads and to minimize congestion. The spirit of child protection legislation is to shield minors from potential harm and abuse.

The spirit of these laws seems rather conspicuous. But the not all spirits of the laws are this simple and comprehensible. To inquire deeper into the formation of the spirit of the law, we must go on to look at the process of legislation.

2.2. The Process of Legislation For a description of the legislative process in a democracy, we will take the United States as an example.

After the Senate and House of Representatives pass a law with a simple majority, this law will be put before the president. The president can either choose to sign the bill and put the laws into effect, or he can veto the law in question, and send it back to the legislature and together with his own opinions and comments. The two houses can choose to amend the law as suggested by the president, or they can vote again on the original law and decide whether the law will be passed even if the president opposes it. The houses could override the president’s decision by a two-thirds majority. Throughout the United states history, only 4% of presidential vetoes were overridden by the legislative branch, showing that presidential veto is an important consideration in the legislative process.

In this entire process, many factors influence the final outcome of legislation. The first is the opinions of all the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Their thoughts will be dictated by their personal opinions and interests and those of their constituents. What comes into consideration next is the president’s opinion?

He is in a different position than Senators and Representatives. He might be able to see things from another

6 Paper and Commentary perspective, or he might have different interests in consideration from the legislators.

Therefore, the seemingly simple “spirit of the law” actually incorporates the opinions and demands of many different parties. While discussing the spirit of law, we must keep in mind that the legislator is not a single person with a clear aim, but a group of people with different, and even conflicting opinions. Can their different opinions be averaged like numbers and integrated into a unified spirit of the law?

2.3. Interpreting the Spirit of the Law The textualists, the group of jurists and legal professionals who believe that judges should strictly adhere to the letter of the law, could give us a quick answer. They believe that this average or congregation of opinions already exists and has been recorded, in the form of a statutory text, or the letter of the law (Manning, 447). The bill, in its textual form, had been passed by the majority of legislators and the president. Every word and every sentence in the legal provisions had been carefully expressed and formulated to reflect the opinions of all parties involved.

It is highly possible that if subtle changes occur in a few words and expressions in the legal provisions, this law would not have been passed.

Furthermore, some textualists even believe that there is no such thing as a unified spirit or intention of the law, or that the spirit of the law does not exist (Eskridge, 642~643). The only optimal output of the legislation is the letter of the law, which documents the opinions and concessions made by the legislators or the president.

Resorting to the Game Theory, they believe the legal text to be a kind of equilibrium of the interests of different groups, and has no intention or ‘spirit’ in itself. This view calls into question the fundamental existence of the spirit of the law.

On the other hand, the purposivists or intentionalists, who argue the priority of the spirit of law, believe that when future generations try to determine the intent of legislators, they can refer to the records of meetings and debates left by legislators, and refer to the historical background and events before and after legislation to know the spirit of law. Some laws also have preambles which can inform the reader what the intent of the law really was.

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To bring the spirit of law as close to the truth as possible, the person who interprets the spirit of law must be a legal expert with sufficient experience and knowledge, such as a judge. But not even they can guarantee the accuracy of their interpretation of the spirit of the law, much less members of the jury and the general public, who have little legal education and experience. The legal spirit in their opinions is predominantly influenced by their own backgrounds and personal values.

2.4. Cases To illustrate the euphemism of the spirit of the law and the difficulties in its deciphering, let us take a look at a couple cases.

A taxi driver in China drove through a red light in order to send a passenger suffering from heart attack to hospital. In the end, the passenger was successfully saved, but the driver received a ticket, a fine and several points off his driver’s license. Many people have expressed their outrage at the law punishing good people.

They believe that the spirit of traffic law is to protect the safety of people’s lives, and the purpose of the driver driving through the red light is exactly to save the passenger’s life. These people’s views are grounded in a broad moral view. However, from another perspective, the legislators did not classify the possible situations of driving through the red light, indicating that they intended to treat all such situations equally.

Please note that in the above discussion of exactly what the spirit of law is, no legal text was cited as evidence.

In this case, the so-called legal spirit has degenerated into people’s common values. Although we could see no harm in this case in following common sense, it does show a certain tendency of common views and opinions replacing the rule of law through the so-called spirit of the law.

Another classic example is the interpretation of the US Bill of Rights. The word “privacy” has never appeared in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. However, in a 1965 ruling of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court confirmed the existence of the so-called “right to privacy” by analyzing the first, third, fourth, and fifth clauses of the Bill of Rights (Justia Law). We see here an explicit attempt to try and grasp the spirit of the law. However, if one examines the clauses in question, one could see that the main focus of these articles is the right of safety against unwarranted intrusions, of private property and freedom of believe. The legislators of these amendments

8 Paper and Commentary might or might not agree that a right of privacy exists, but it was by no means made explicit in the law, and was at least partly grounded in the personal beliefs of the judges.

Thus, we could see that any interpretation of the spirit of the law is always inevitably and inextricably intertwined with contemporary public opinion and that of the judge and jury in question.

Here, we may sense a distant resonance with the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius. Confucius said that he was only responsible for compiling and explaining the doctrines and works of his predecessors, namely that of the ancient Zhou emperors and scholars, and of those benevolent rulers in even earlier times. In his view, he does not generate new ideas, but simply elucidates those of others before him. However, as Chinese scholar and philosopher Feng Youlan mentioned in the “History of Chinese Philosophy”, when Confucius lectured on “The Collected Poems” and “Shangshu” (ancient Chinese books), he focused on the moral connotations rather than the original literary creation and stories; Confucius talked about “Zhou Divinations”, focusing on the moral extension and implications of the original divinations which may or may not have been intended by the original authors, and revolutionized its meaning and its influence on posterity. Consequently, we could see that although Confucius might have claimed to be only passing on the ideas spanned by his predecessors, he actually put a lot of his own views into his analysis, views which frequently transcend the original meaning of the text (Feng, 48).

Similar to Confucius, the judge may claim that he had interpreted the spirit of the law correctly and without bias, but the inclusion of personal value judgements in those cases is an inevitability. Thus, the question becomes whether or not we should let judges and law enforcers have a certain level of discretion based on their own understanding of the legal texts.

3.

Summary of the Problem

From the above analysis, I believe that the debate surrounding the spirit of law should mainly carried out in two aspects. The first is a purely theoretical approach, discussing what is the spirit of law, how can it be known, and whether it exists at all; on the other hand, we can seek to evaluate the practical harms and benefits of applying the spirit of the law, deciding on whether it will increase fairness and stability. To prove that the spirit of law is to

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be prioritized, one must first prove its existence and indicate how to determine what the spirit of law is through documentary records and historical background; secondly, one can analyze its pros and cons in reality. We will examine each of these questions in turn.

3.1. The Existence of the Spirit of the Law Earlier in this passage, I mentioned the opinion of some textualists that there is no such thing as the spirit of the law, and that legal texts are documentations of the interests and concessions of the parties involved and contains no spirit in and of itself.

Let us pause here and consider other, somewhat irrelevant cases. Kant’s moral philosophy is based on the notion that “every human being is rational and deserves respect”, but this in itself is a personal judgement. Nothing in science defines the existence of something called ‘ration’. In “A Brief History of Mankind”, Uval Harari classifies the hierarchical order stipulated in the Hammurabi Code as well as the contemporary democratic belief in freedom and equality as “purely imaginary orders” (Harari, 124). Aside from human belief and human faith, there is nothing in the objective world that could proof the existence of such social orders, or of the belief that rational beings deserve respect. But just because these human rights, morals, etc. are only conceived in the human mind, should we be entangled with their existential issues and deny them altogether? Obviously not.

Let us then come back to the issue of the spirit of the law. It is true that there is no proof that the integration of numerous diverse opinions, could form a unified thought with moral force in itself. But if such a possibility is denied, then the “will of the sovereign” Rousseau and many other social contract philosophers talked about will not have a basis of existence. I believe that when we talk about the integration of opinions, we are not talking about how this is physically or mentally possible, but rather, we are acknowledging the moral force of such an integrated opinion. In the case of the spirit of the law, it expresses the combined opinion of the representatives of the people on what issue needs to be solve through legislation, and what kind of behavior should be governed or restricted. The letter of the law, is, therefore, trying to elucidate the specific criteria of judgement and course of action for the law enforcers.

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3.2. Judicial Discretion and Activism: Pros and Cons Next, we are moving on to examine the practical effects of the prioritization of the spirit of the law. It could be agreed upon that the acknowledgement or prioritization of the spirit of the law will give the judge, and law enforcers in general, more room for independent actions or decisions not entirely justifiable by the letter of the law.

3.3.1. The ‘Weakest’ Branch of Government Among the three branches of government, the judicial branch was originally designed and commonly seen as the weakest. Alexander Hamilton, one of the main supporters of the Constitution of 1787, wrote in Federalist Papers No.78 that the judiciary “had no control over the sword or purse”, and consequently, it could be said to have “neither force nor will but merely judgement” (Hamilton et al., 380). This could also be seen in the widely held notion of legislative supremacy, dictating that the duty of judicial branch is to carry out the statutes created by the legislature, without any need for further discretion or objection to existing laws.

However, it was the judicial branch itself that gave the greatest expansions to its own powers. In the 1803 case of Marbury vs. Madison, the Supreme Court struck down the 1789 Judiciary Act as unconstitutional, establishing the principle of judicial review which would have profound influence over American courts in the cases thereafter (Justia Law).

Many later activist judges made use of the right of judicial review to combat existing laws or precedents, or to establish new constitutional rights. Notable examples of judicial activism include the declaration of abortion and same sex marriage as constitutional rights (Leddy, 2018). Let us now walk through a few examples and discuss the harms and benefits of an active judiciary.

3.3.2. Opportunity for Change?

An argument for judicial activism is that it could promote radical change in the laws and functioning of a country, while the majoritarian legislative branch is frequently bogged down in debates and disputes between the interests of different parties, and controlled by the opinions of the majority.

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Since a lot of judges, including the Supreme Court justices, are not elected, some experts argue that the judiciary provides a ‘counter-majoritarian element’ in a democracy, and protects against the ‘tyranny of the majority’ (Cover, 1294). Alexis Tocqueville elucidated this idea in his famous ‘Democracy in America’. He said of the power of Judicial review in Chapter 6 of his work: “I am inclined to believe this practice of the American courts to be at once the most favorable to liberty as well as to public order” (Tocqueville, 150) In this view, the Judicial Branch has ceased to be mere tool for the legislature to carry implement laws; it has become a monitor, with political influence of its own, imposing checks and balances on the actions of the majoritarian legislative branch.

Indeed, the legislative branch frequently encounters problems of efficiency and of decisive protection of certain rights. But this creates a sharp conflict with some of the original principles of majoritarian democracy, in which the majority or the representatives elected by it has sole control over the laws of the state. This is known as the ‘counter majoritarian difficulty’, a concept first proposed by Professor Bickel at Yale in 1962.

Therefore, I am inclined to believe that these two different views of the position of the judiciary represent two forms of government in a democratic system, where the Judiciary only acts either only as a law enforcer subordinate to the majoritarian legislation or as a political organ, as Tocqueville said, with political influence on the country’s laws and affairs. Deciding on which form to adopt puts into debate some of the fundamental principles of democratic government.

The juxtaposition between the Spirit and Letter of the law reasserts itself as the juxtaposition between two completely different positions of the judiciary: an activist one with much room to interpret or even to challenge laws on its own or one completely subservient the majoritarian legislature.

3.3.3. Judicial Bias and Corruption A major concern the textualists bear towards judicial activism is that law enforcers are frequently biased or corrupt, and might use activism and the spirit of the law as cover for their personal ideals or interests. A rather extreme example would be the case of the Nazi persecution of the Jewish. Some scholars believe that the Nazis explained their persecution by distorting the spirit of the law. They used the values of fascism to explain the laws left by the Weimar Republic. They sought to explain the spirit of every law with ‘spirit of the age’ Nazi doctrines

12 Paper and Commentary including the “Final Solution”, which was clearly an abuse of legal spirit (Sunstein, 636). Some other scholars believe that the Nazis justified their actions by employing euphemistic jargons and ambiguous legal terms. I personally think that the coming of Hitler into power already spelled a terrible disaster for the Jewish people, and it wasn’t really important how the Nazis tried to justify their actions.

There have also been a series of questions raised about police selective law enforcement on minorities or police “self-defense” shooting. Many people believe that it is the result of too much discretion power given to the police. However, in those cases, the decisive factor is still the subjective judgement of law enforcement officers.

Neither the spirit of the law nor the letter of the law can know what a person’s true motivation is.

Additionally, I believe that for those judges whose bias is deeply ingrained and whose corruption is beyond remedy, it is not their interpretive methodology in prioritizing the spirit or the letter of the law, but their personal predilections and self-interest, that determines their positions on the court.

That being said, it is irrefutable that the prioritizing of the spirit of the law makes misconduct on the part of the judge much easier and less risky.

3.3.4. Judicial Amendment to Laws A major argument that could be employed by the internationalists in favor of the spirit of the law is that unintentional loopholes in the letter of the law could hopefully be complemented by the application of its spirit.

For example, loopholes in the letter of the law let internet companies get away with obtaining the private data of millions of social media users for commercial purposes. The letter of the law only requires tacit consent by the user to cede his privacy through checking the ‘User and Privacy Terms’ box every time he creates an account on any online platform without really looking at what he is agreeing to, while the spirit of the law requires an informed and clear choice of the user, knowing the full consequences of his action (Waldo et al., 335~336).

When it comes to taxes, according to the tax justice network, loopholes in tax laws allow the world’s 10 million wealthiest people to hold nearly 32 trillion dollars in offshore financial assets that are untaxed, causing more

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taxes to be paid by the poor and middle class, and continually growing inequality (Tax Justice Network, 2012).

Other loopholes let oil companies to get tax reductions and reduced fines if a seriously polluting oil leakage happens (Baxandall et al., 2013). One oil company evaded 4.5 billion dollars through loopholes in tax and environmental law.

The spirit of tax laws is to let every citizen pay his due share of contribution to the government and society. But the letter of the law allows certain influential corporations and rich people to evade tax and responsibility.

This line of argument in favour of the spirit of the law is a very strong one. However, one main setback of using the spirit of the law to undertake those ventures is that it undermines business confidence.

It is true that the businesses in question are responsible for some kind of misconduct for which legal responsibility has not been determined due to ambiguity in the letter of the law. However, as far as those businesses and rich people could see, they have done nothing that is illegal. It is not incumbent on those multinational companies or rich individuals to abstain from doing aggressive (and technically legal) tax planning and take huge amounts of shareholder money to pay taxes that are not required (Worstall, 2013). In a legal system it is very important that if you follow the laws you do not have some second standard. And the judges’ finding them liable on this matter would only harm their faith in the legal system of the country, causing them to contemplate transferring their capital, assets and businesses abroad to a safer environment. Those kinds of capital flight and the discouraging effects on entrepreneurs who are considering investment in that country is no doubt detrimental to long term development. A more cautious and impeccable approach is to use the legislative process, and see to it that the loopholes are fixed, so that the judiciary need not do unnecessary discretion to bring about justice.

3.3.5. The Rule of Law This therefore leads to the textualists’ second main argument, the importance of the rule of law. It is of paramount significance for the legal system of a nation to be as trustworthy and predictable as possible. If business and individuals deem a legal system as capricious and unreliable, the willingness for them to live in or invest in such a country would be decimated. Nobody wants to live in a society where the judges could bend the law with relative ease, and the holy, inviolable rules according to which the society must operate cease to be the laws

14 Paper and Commentary established by the legislators elected by the sovereign, and becomes something inscrutable: the personal will of the law enforcer. Now, one might argue that using the spirit of the law to complement loopholes are of no harm to the general rule of law. However, from the point of view of an outsider, the only question they care about is whether or not the actions of the judiciary are all following the established laws. If that answer is ‘No’, it would deal a hard blow on his confidence in the legal system of that country.

4.

Conclusion

4.1. Outcome and Procedural Justice The preceding discussion on the rule of law brings us to a central problem: Why are laws established in the first place? If justice is the ultimate ideal, why can’t justice be determined without written texts defining the spheres of actions of individuals in societies?

The answer is that different people in society have different conceptions of justice. If they are depended upon to each implement what they believe is just, there would be countless different courses of actions proposed my many different individuals. It would be impossible for the majority of society to convene and agree upon the ‘just outcome’ in every single case. If we are to follow the guidelines of a democratic society, we have to let our actions follow some criteria established by the sovereign majority. If those criteria are applied purely to the outcome of every single different case, the majority would have to establish new criteria for every case as to what outcomes are just, and what outcomes are unacceptable. This would be a vastly impracticable project, mainly due to the divergence of opinion on what the optimal outcome is.

However, if such criteria were not applied to the outcome of any situation, but more generally to the procedure through which the outcome would be determined, things would take a turn for the better. The institutions authorized by the will of the people could then follow the guidelines already established when a fresh case in encountered.

The criteria aforementioned are therefore the laws in our society. Whenever dispute arises over whether a particular action is unjust and deserves punishment, the legal process is triggered, and the outcome of the judgement

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is determined by the legal procedure established and governed by law.

To make sure that the criteria represent the view of the majority, the legislators are elected by the people, and their opinions are supposed to represent those of their constituents. In this way does the legislative branch construct the framework in which individuals, businesses and the government itself must operate, a framework based upon democratic legitimacy.

Looking at our problem from the perspective of outcome and procedural justice, we can get a rather comprehensive overview.

4.1.1. Procedural justice under the current system From the perspective of procedural justice and principle of legislative supremacy, it is clear that the Separation of Powers in the eyes of the founding fathers ordains the supremacy of the legislature on lawmaking and prioritizing the letter of the law would be a better choice. This adherence would mainly come in two parts.

Firstly, strictly relying on the letter of the law in the adjudication of each case ensures to the largest possible extent that the judiciary is following the instructions of the legislation in enforcing the laws.

Secondly, if a law has loopholes or improper places, it should go through the legislature for repeal or amendment, instead of being struck down by the judiciary, bypassing the regular process of legislation.

Here, I must say that although sufficient respect and loyalty to the original text is strictly necessary, absolute dogmatism and disregard for explicit faults in the text are not to be recommended.

4.1.2. Outcome justice Many arguments in applying the spirit of the law over the letter have to do with the positive effects of correcting loopholes and ambiguous places in the letter of the law, leading to more positive outcomes. We have pointed out the even if, to some extent, this is true, the judicial adjustment of laws has its side effect in undermining trust and confidence in the judicial branch.

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Moreover, such readings of the spirit inevitably increase the risks of biased or corrupt judges meddling with the legal process. We could come to a conclusion that the effects of extending the scope of action of the judges contain both positive and negative elements. But the uncertainty it poses and the unpredictability of the effects determine that a more cautious approach is to be advised. A safer and less refutable way would obviously be better.

4.2. Conclusion under the existing system Under this overall framework of legislative supremacy and a Judiciary dedicated only to the enforcement of law and not political influence, judges should try to stick to the instructions of the legislature to the largest possible extent, unless ambiguity in the law forces them to make their own reading or a unanimous agreement among judges and legislators could be made that there are inarguably conspicuous faults in the established legal provisions which belie common sense or all possible purpose of enactment. J. F. Manning, Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, gives this ideal a felicitous elucidation: In a constitutional system predicated upon legislative supremacy (within constitutional boundaries), judges—as Congress’s faithful agents—must try to ascertain as accurately as possible what Congress meant by the words it used. On this premise, federal judges long assumed that when a statute was vague or ambiguous, interpreters should seek clarification, if possible, in the bill’s internal legislative history.

Thus, when a sponsor or committee expressed an understanding of the bill or the mischiefs at which it was aimed, federal courts often took that as probative evidence of the text’s meaning. And because a legislature—like any other user of language—might speak imprecisely, or use language loosely or idiosyncratically, federal judges long assumed that a statute’s semantic detail, however clear, must yield when it conflicts sharply with the apparent spirit or purpose that inspired its enactment.

4.3. Another Option The system and procedures established by the constitution of 1787 clearly indicates that a weak Judiciary was originally intended in America. And if the constitution and the intentions of the founding fathers is to be seen as the fundamental and immutable basis for all later systems, the letter of the law approach should clearly be recommended.

However, taking into consideration the views of Tocqueville, we can see that an activist Judiciary has its own peculiar benefits in counter majoritarian societal progress and monitoring legislation as well as its extra risks.

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The current system in America is somewhere in between those two systems. Depending on the time in history, Courts and Judges in America would follow completely different approaches of adjudication and statutory interpretation, and the system is therefore in constant flux. It might also be that there could be no established rule or fixed system on the position of the judiciary, but that society is constantly seeking an equilibrium between these two.

All in all, it could be agreed upon that the rule of law is to be upheld at all cost, but laws should not dogmatically and stubbornly refuse reformation, and should to the largest possible extent, progress with time, either through an efficient and capable legislature, or through the checks and balances imposed by an active judiciary.

Works Cited Bickel, Alexander M. The Least Dangerous Branch: the Supreme Court at the Bar of Politics. Yale University Press, 1986.

“Building Pyramids.” Sapiens: a Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval N. Harari et al., Vintage, 2019, pp.

114–124.

Cover, Robert. “Judicial Activism and Minority Rights.” Yale Law School Faculty Scholarship, 1 Jan. 1982, p.

1294.

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. Bantam Books, 1998.

Enriquez, Francisco, and Phineas Baxandall. “Settlement Loophole in Tax Law Could Help BP.” Houma Today, Houma Today, 25 Sept. 2013, www.houmatoday.com/article/DA/20130924/News/608084009/HC. Eskridge, William N. “The New Textualism.” Yale Law School Faculty Scholarship Series, 1990, pp. 642–643.

“The Federalist, 78.” The Federalist Papers, by Alexander Hamilton et al., Oxford University Press, 2008, p.

380.

Feng, Youlan, and Derk Bodde. A History of Chinese Philosophy. (from the Second Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.). Princeton Univ. Press, 1983.

“Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965).” Justia Law, US Supreme Court, supreme.justia.com/cases/ federal/us/381/479/.

Henry, James. “The Price of Offshore Revisited.” Tax Justice Network, Tax Justice Network, July 2012, www. taxjustice.net/cms/upload/pdf/Price_of_Offshore_Revisited_120722.pdf.

Leddy, Daniel. “The Judiciary Is Now the Most Dangerous Branch of Government (Commentary).” Silive, 10 May 2018, www.silive.com/opinion/danielleddy/2018/05/the_judiciary_the_most_dangero.html.

Manning, John. “Textualism and Legislative Intent.” Virginia Law Review, 18 Mar. 2005, pp. 447–448.

18 Paper and Commentary “Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803).” Justia Law, US Supreme Court, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/ us/5/137/.

“Respecting the Spirit of the Law.” Engaging Privacy and Information Technology in a Digital Age, by James Waldo et al., National Academies Press, 2007, pp. 335–336.

“The Spirit Of The Law.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20 spirit%20of%20the%20law. Accessed 17 Aug. 2019.

Sunstein, Cass R. “Must Formalism Be Defended Empirically?” The University of Chicago Law Review, vol.

66, no. 3, 1999, p. 636., doi:10.2307/1600421.

Tocqueville, Alexis de, et al. Democracy in America. Library of America Paperback Classics, 2012.

Worstall, Tim. “Bill Gates Argues For The Letter Of The Law, Not The Spirit, Over Corporate Taxation.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 28 May 2013, www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/05/28/bill-gatesargues-for-the-letter-of-the-law-not-the-spirit-over-corporate-taxation/#60caaa42409a.

Zhao, Lin. “Christianity and Hebrew Culture.” Christianity and Western Culture, Commercial Press, 2013, pp.

45–51.

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Betrayal of Brown: Milliken v. Bradley and the Inescapable Cycle of Perpetual Poverty Michael Zhang, the Hotchkiss School ’21

Following the landmark ruling Brown v. Board (1954) that deemed de jure segregation “inherently un-

equal,” school districts faced fierce resistance against integration. In Detroit, when blacks attempted to move into predominantly white neighborhoods, they faced arson, window breakings, threats, as well as discriminatory housing policies and racist lending practices.1 These practices created and maintained racially divided residential areas; as a result, school districts were likewise divided along racial lines. To remedy this, the Detroit Board of Education proposed a modest integration plan in 1970 known as the “April 7” plan. After immediate backlash from white neighborhoods, however, Governor William Milliken countered the Board’s plan with Public Act 48.2 In response, African American families and members of the NAACP filed a class-action suit against Governor Milliken, Attorney General Frank Kelley, and prominent officials of the Michigan State Education department. Though Federal District Judge Stephen Roth ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and ordered the immediate implementation of an integrative busing system for the entire Detroit metropolitan area, the conservative majority struck down Judge Roth’s ruling 5-4 in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruling in Milliken v. Bradley (1974) reinforced segregation in Detroit school districts by protecting discriminatory practices, distinguishing between de facto and de jure segregation, and limiting integrative policies to Detroit, perpetuating white flight and solidifying educational segregation.

By upholding discriminatory practices which created and maintained residential segregation, Milliken

v. Bradley (1974) furthered white flight and reaffirmed educational segregation. Prior to the case, blacks fled to major cities across the nation in search of social mobility. However, they faced major challenges in unstable finances and discriminatory housing and lending policies. Blacks were often confined to the lowest paying, most insecure jobs. Since white real estate agents systematically kept them out of single-family homes, blacks could only turn to overpriced rental apartments. Predatory landlords forced blacks to spend significantly more money on housing than whites, exacerbating blacks’ precarious finances. Housing segregation started a poverty cycle that reaffirmed racial inequality; blacks, poorer than whites, not only had to pay more for housing but 1

Joyce A. Baugh, The Detroit School Busing Case: Milliken v. Bradley and the Controversy (n.p.: University Press of Kansas, 2011), 37.

2 University of Michigan, “Bradley v. Milliken Case Files: 1962-1976 (bulk 1970-1974),” Bentley Historical Library, accessed July 27, 2019, https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhlead/umich-bhl-2009170?byte=127428236;focusrgn=bioghist;subview=standard;view=reslist.

20 Paper and Commentary were also confined to the most decrepit apartments in most need of repair.3 That bankers rarely loaned to blacks only contributed to their financial woes; even if a singular homebuying family could break through the wall of discriminatory housing policies, banks refused to provide them the necessary loans.4 In fact, banks were often encouraged not to lend to black home buyers by federal appraisal practices, which deemed black neighborhoods too risky for mortgage loans and housing subsidies.5 Indeed, these practices created the phenomenon of “white flight”: whenever a rare black family moved into a white neighborhood, whites often fled in fear of poverty and loss in property value.6 As a result, when blacks moved into the inner city of Detroit, whites moved out into the surrounding suburbs. Furthermore, practices such as redlining and restrictive covenants created and maintained distinctly black and white neighborhoods, forming similarly segregated school districts.7 Therefore, when Milliken v. Bradley (1974) struck down previous court orders for integrative busing for the Detroit metropolitan area, the Supreme Court not only protected these discriminatory practices but also further entrenched them into society. As the poverty cycle created by these practices worsened and impoverished blacks grew increasingly poor, their decaying neighborhoods reinforced whites’ and city officials’ image of blacks as a feckless, poverty-bringing people.8 And, in turn, these practices perpetuated both white flight and educational segregation.

The Milliken v. Bradley (1974) decision distinguished de facto segregation from Brown’s de jure segregation, declaring that as long as segregation was not explicitly stated by law, de facto segregation was legal. In the case, the plaintiffs sought to overturn section 12 of Governor Milliken’s Public Act 48, which negated the “April 7” integration plan proposed by the Detroit Board of Education.9 They argued that Governor Milliken and the Michigan State Board of Education passed unconstitutional legislation that targeted blacks through unjust housing policies. The defendants’ case rested on the principle of localism: local school districts have autonomy and exist separate from the governing state—“school districts are local state agencies of legislative creation 3

University of Michigan, “Bradley v. Milliken Case Files: 1962-1976 (bulk 1970-1974),” Bentley Historical Library, accessed July 27, 2019, https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhlead/umich-bhl-2009170?byte=127428236;focusrgn=bioghist;subview=standard;view=reslist.

4 Thomas J. Sugrue, The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996), 34.

5 Sugrue, The Origins, 34.

6 Ibid., 266.

7 Terrance L. Green and Mark A. Gooden, The Shaping of Policy: Exploring the Context, Contradictions, and Contours of Privilege in Milliken v. Bradley, Over 40 Years Later (Austin, TX: University of Texas at Austin, 2016), PDF e-book.

8 Sugrue, The Origins, 34 9 University of Michigan, “Bradley v. Milliken Case Files: 1962-1976 (bulk 1970-1974),” Bentley Historical Library, accessed July 27, 2019, https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhlead/umich-bhl-2009170?byte=127428236;focusrgn=bioghist;subview=standard;view=reslist.

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exercising plenary discretionary power over student assignment within their respective districts.”10After much deliberation, Federal District Judge Stephen Roth ruled that the state defendants used both the public and private sector to implement unconstitutional de jure policies.11 Furthermore, Roth ordered the immediate introduction of an integrative busing plan that encompassed the whole Detroit metropolitan area. The Court of Appeals upheld Roth’s finding, writing of his ruling, “any less comprehensive a solution than a metropolitan area plan would result in an all black school system immediately surrounded by practically all white suburban school systems, with an overwhelming white majority population in the total metropolitan area.”12 In short, since segregation existed between districts rather than within districts, any integrative plan must cross district lines. After the Court of Appeals upheld Roth’s findings, the state defendants brought the case before the Supreme Court. Ultimately, the high Court ruled that since no evidence showed that the suburban school districts had consciously promoted de jure segregation, the lower courts’ rulings regarding de facto segregation were not justified by Brown.13 In doing so, the Court deemed de facto segregation policies as legal, as these practices never explicitly engaged in a policy of segregation. Consequently, the Court protected the public and private sector practices that promoted de facto segregation and created the housing segregation in the first place. From unjust housing policies to discriminatory lending practices, these practices exacerbated residential segregation in Detroit, prolonging white flight and further ingraining school segregation.

The Milliken v. Bradley (1974) ruling limited integrative policies to Detroit, dismissing inter-district segregation between the city and its broader metropolitan areas. With the inner city seventy percent black at the time of the case, Judge Roth mandated cross district integration in order to address the severe racial demographics divide.14 The crux of the issue placed before the Supreme Court was: Could the outlying suburban districts be forced to participate in a cross district solution if the constitutional violations were committed in Detroit?15 The Supreme Court’s conservative majority struck down Roth’s ruling 5-4, ruling that in order for a cross district 10

Joyce A. Baugh, The Detroit School Busing Case: Milliken v. Bradley and the Controversy (n.p.: University Press of Kansas, 2011), 138.

11 University of Michigan, “Bradley v. Milliken Case Files: 1962-1976 (bulk 1970-1974),” Bentley Historical Library, accessed July 27, 2019, https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhlead/umich-bhl-2009170?byte=127428236;focusrgn=bioghist;subview=standard;view=reslist.

12 Marilyn Gittell, “Political Science Perspectives: The Political Implications of Milliken v. Bradley,” in Milliken v. Bradley: The Implications for Metropolitan Desegregation, comp. Commission on Civil Rights (Washington D.C.: Government Publishing Office, 1974), 37.

13 Joyce A. Baugh, The Detroit School Busing Case: Milliken v. Bradley and the Controversy (n.p.: University Press of Kansas, 2011).

14 Terrance L. Green and Mark A. Gooden, The Shaping of Policy: Exploring the Context, Contradictions, and Contours of Privilege in Milliken v. Bradley, Over 40 Years Later (Austin, TX: University of Texas at Austin, 2016), PDF e-book.

15 Green and Gooden, The Shaping.

22 Paper and Commentary busing plan to be implemented, there must be evidence that the suburban school districts deliberately engaged in de jure segregation. Chief Justice Burger wrote, “The record before us, voluminous as it is, contains evidence of de jure segregated conditions only in the Detroit schools...With no showing of significant violation by the 53 outlying school districts and no evidence of any inter-district violation or effect, the court went beyond the original theory of the case.”16 Simply put, the Court ruled in favor of localism—the violations committed in Detroit should only be limited to the city. In fact, the majority explicitly stated this idea: “Disparate treatment of White and Negro students occurred within the Detroit school system, and not elsewhere, and on this record, the remedy must be limited to that system.”17 In doing so, the Court ignored the discriminatory policies that created the segregation in the first place. Moreover, the Court’s decision defied universal political science theory that local districts are subunits of the state and therefore are subject to the actions of the state.18 Consequently, the Court protected the practices responsible for housing segregation between school districts, solidifying trends in white flight and educational segregation.

Milliken v. Bradley (1974) marked the first major retreat on desegregation and paved the way for a series

of rulings that likewise dismantled Brown v. Board (1954).19 Prior to Milliken, blacks faced harsh, discriminatory practices from redlining to prejudiced lending policies. They were systematically contained to the worst areas of Detroit and subjected to a cycle of perpetual poverty: confined to the poorest areas of Detroit, blacks attended the poorest schools, thereby not receiving the opportunity to break out of the cycle. In Milliken v. Bradley (1974), the Court’s ruling protected these devastating practices and entrenched white flight and educational segregation not only in Detroit but in cities across the nation. Consequently, segregation has resurged, reaching levels reminiscent of schools in the 1960s.20 Milliken v. Bradley (1974) proves one of the Supreme Court’s greatest mistakes and necessitates extensive policies in order to remedy the ugly return of school segregation.

Bibliography Baugh, Joyce A. The Detroit School Busing Case: Milliken v. Bradley and the Controversy. N.p.: University Press of Kansas, 2011.

Gittell, Marilyn. “Political Science Perspectives: The Political Implications of Milliken v. Bradley.” In Milliken v. Bradley: The Implications for Metropolitan Desegregation, compiled by Commission on Civil Rights, 33-42. Washington D.C.: Government Publishing Office, 1974.

Green, Terrance L., and Mark A. Gooden. The Shaping of Policy: Exploring the Context, Contradictions, and Contours of Privilege in Milliken v. Bradley, Over 40 Years Later. Austin, TX: University of Texas at Austin, 2016. PDF e-book.

Lachs, Joshua. “The Legal Environment of School Desegregation Policy: Brown I—Milliken I.” In

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ERIC. N.p., 1999. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED437477.pdf.

Orfield, Gary. “Reactions.” In Milliken v. Bradley: The Implications for Metropolitan Desegregation, compiled by Commission on Civil Rights, 45-46. Washington D.C.: Government Publishing Office, 1974.

Orfield, Gary, Jongyeon Ee, Jennifer B. Ayscue, and Erica Frankenberg. Harming Our Common Future: America’s Segregated Schools 65 Years after Brown. Los Angeles: The Civil Rights Project, 2019. Accessed July 30, 2019. https://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/integration-and-diversity/harming-our-common-future-americas-segregated-schools-65-years-after-brown/ Brown-65-050919v4-final.pdf.

Ryan, James E., and Kristi L. Bowman. Title:The Pursuit of Racial and Ethnic Equality in American Public Schools: Mendez, Brown, and Beyond. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press, 2015.

PDF e-book.

Sugrue, Thomas J. The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996.

University of Michigan. “Bradley v. Milliken Case Files: 1962-1976 (bulk 1970-1974).”

Bentley Historical Library. Accessed July 27, 2019. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhlead/ umich-bhl-2009170?byte=127428236;focusrgn=bioghist;subview=standard;view=reslist.

24 Paper and Commentary The Great Gatsby & The Underground Railroad: The Quid Pro Quo of American Social Ideals Irina Romanova, Kent School ’21 Colson Whitehead denominates the concept of the American Imperative in The Underground Railroad while showing how the inherent desire to own and conquer constantly ignores the destruction it brings. While similar in its insatiability, the American Dream that influenced F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby constitutes the pursuit of a lifestyle that is almost impossible to achieve unless one was born into it and that leaves many people with a painful sense of disillusionment. In a way, this “Dream” was invented by the rich who inherited their wealth from expropriation facilitated by the American Imperative, and it aimed to control the poor with a false promise of hope that through hard work they could achieve that same wealth. The two ideologies strive to achieve different things: the American Imperative – acquiring personal wealth with the exploitation of other’s work and resources while the American Dream – reaching high personal success through hard work. Both novels depict the harm that comes with accepting either ideology as the status quo, whether it harms those it excludes or those it targets.

The story of Gatsby warns the reader against solely seeking the superficial American Dream in life. The Great Gatsby, on the surface, represents the “typical American Dream story”: a small-town boy from North Dakota, who is ashamed of his lower-class family, decides to do whatever possible to insert himself into the upper-class elites. He decides, early in his childhood, to reinvent himself and his persona. He follows through by first distancing himself from his impecunious parents, then emulating his incredibly wealthy mentor Dan Cody, entering the army, and attending Oxford for a couple of months. His rise from poverty is marked by huge displays of wealth, such as his grandiose parties and his palatial home. Jay’s childhood insecurities always stay with him though. It is very important to him how he is perceived, marked by the fact that he insists on always knowing people’s opinions of him or judgments of his actions, especially Nick’s and Daisy’s. As represented by omniscient Doctor T. J. Eckelberg in the novel who always keeps his “vigil,” it is important who sees you and who you are perceived by (Fitzgerald 124). The book shows that to achieve “the Dream” or to facilitate the lifestyle that comes along with it, many give up their moral values. Even Jay Gatsby, with his encouraging warm smile, is a bootlegger and a compulsive liar. Most pointedly, the crashed car with the wheel that is “no longer joined by any physical bond” to the automobile itself represents the dysfunctional American lifestyle of indulgence, like that of alcohol and cars, that can no longer go on (55). Such dysfunctionality is seen in Jay Gatsby’s own life: from the seeming purposelessness outside of his chase for wealth and Daisy, to the constant dissatis-

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faction with what he already has. Gatsby himself has the insatiability associated with the chase for the wealth of “the Dream.” He is never satisfied and always wants more – he needs Daisy to say she’s never loved Tom at all, which goes along with the kind of greediness of the lifestyle can create, but even she “tumble[s] short of his dreams” due to the “colossal vitality of his vision” (95). Gatsby is not defined by “the Dream” because chasing wealth and influence is not his only goal. He is madly in love with the idea of Daisy and becomes obsessed with turning back time to make up for the time they’ve missed in their five years apart. He chases the green light, the idea of Daisy and that their relationship would make them happy. To win her over and for her to be more achievable, he continues to climb the social and economic ladder. In the end, though, the American Dream fails him: he has few genuine connections. People are drawn to his mask of the American Dream – his grand parties, wealth, beauty, youth, but no one actually cared for him once he is gone, as strikingly demonstrated by his funeral to which “nobody came” (174). As much as Gatsby is a story of a failed American Dream, it is one about the struggle between “new” and “old money.” The “old money” world is extremely exclusive and rigid, and, in reality, almost impossible to enter. Gatsby tries to enter the social circles that will inherently always exclude him.

The American Dream is an idea invented as an attempt to establish some kind of equality between the “old” and “new money” when it is preposterous since it’s not only an economic concept but also a social one. As a result, the status quo of the social structures are more rigid and skewed than what “the Dream” promises.

The American Imperative or Manifest Destiny was created by white Americans to justify their own actions against the people they marginalized. Ridgeway, the slave catcher from The Underground Railroad, is the embodiment of Manifest Destiny. Ridgeway’s American Imperative is essential to the colonial mindset of Europeans: he offers “to conquer and build and civilize,” while destroying “what needs to be destroyed” or the parts of unfamiliar cultures that those in power find unacceptable (Whitehead 222). He finds it imperative “to lift up the lesser races” and “subjugate” those who will not accept their rules, and finally to “exterminate” those who pose further problems. The way of conduct posed by the following ideology was implemented with no regard for anyone’s wellbeing or genuine desire to help people, but rather with a condescending sense of superiority as the American Imperative is considered “destiny by divine prescription” (222). Though there is an attempt to cover up Manifest Destiny with self-righteous motivations, it is, in fact, a very selfish ideology that promotes the slogan “if you can keep it, it is yours” (80). The coverup manifests itself in an attempt to pass along cultural erasure and enslavement as philanthropy and genuine altruism. Ridgeway sees the imperative as “a splendid thing” and even further idealizes it by calling it, even in his dying words, “a shining beacon… born of necessity

26 Paper and Commentary and virtue,” remaining convinced this was true until the very end (303). A tenet idealized to the point where it becomes a virtue to pursue without questioning it can sometimes be an alarming sign. Blind and implicit belief in something that cannot be questioned or challenged historically has often led to dangerous and hateful ideologies. Ridgeway follows his beloved ideology: he made good money by forcing fugitive slaves back into the hands of their owners without any care for the routine of both emotional and physical abuse they would have to face again. He sees slaves as lesser beings than he and has no problem with exploiting them for personal gain.

The slave catcher also follows through with eliminating anyone who causes any trouble: Ridgeway shoots an escapee simply because he posed a minor inconvenience. The American Imperative denotes the unbound greed with no regard for the consequences – pain and suffering of those who are exploited by the system.

The biggest commonality between the two books is that both explore “uniquely American” ideologies.

Such a claim is in itself a flawed one, making out these concepts to be contained solely within a certain nation.

These ideologies are considered solely American because they were consciously made that part of the culture and represent the continuation of such a world view: American Exceptionalism. American Exceptionalism combines in itself some aspects of both: the American Imperative and the American Dream. The ideology bases itself upon the notion that America maintains its status as “the land of opportunities” and has a duty to spread its influence across the globe, as the one superior and extraordinary country. Another aspect that makes the American Imperative and the American Dream so unique to the States is that throughout history very motivated people would leave their motherlands in pursuit of a better life, which is one of the reasons why there have been many people in America who are hardworking and extremely dedicated in achieving wealth and success. Both of these ideologies had vast cultural and sociological impacts: though The Great Gatsby was written around the time it was set in, the unrealistic expectations of the American Dream still exist today; The Underground Railroad is set in the 19th century but it was written in the 2000s, as a testament to how relevant the influence of the American Imperative still is.

The two American ideologies describe a way to achieve: one focuses on taking advantage of others for personal gain, the other on personal determination for the uphill battle for success. The American Dream exists in a way for “old money” rich people to soothe the less wealthy population with the false belief that enough hard work will lead to the same level of fortune when in reality, but it is often not the case. The lifestyle that this “Dream” proposes is unrealistic and unsustainable and bleeds many people dry and leaves them with nothing of substance, as it was the case with Jay Gatsby. The American Imperative is a credo that completely disregards

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the ruin and suffering it brings on those who are used to achieve the position of wealth, in the case of American history relating to the Underground Railroad: Native Americans and slaves exported from Africa. The people who are excluded by this credo, those who were seen as the means to achieve it, are the ones to be hurt by it.

Au contraire, the American Dream was invented for those who are less fortunate, and it hurts them since the lifestyle time and time again prove to be unachievable, unsustainable, and unfulfilling. And while this “Dream” often disappoints, people are mocked with those rare stories of incredible social lift (that more often works for those who as closely as possible resemble the financial top one percent). Both the American Imperative and “the Dream” can cause despondency, especially when taken to an absolute. Whitehead and Fitzgerald present different perspectives to these often-romanticized credos and, in their fictional stories, capture the reality that has often been dismissed by history.

Works Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner, 2004.

Whitehead, Colson. The Underground Railroad. Random House Inc, 2018.

28 Paper and Commentary Is Contemporary Art Actually “Art”?

Wanxin Zhong, Guangdong Experimental High School ’21 —thoughts on contemporary art through an iconic work of performance art Nearly fainting with terror and anger, that was the reaction of people when the first steam locomotive was introduced. A “hideous monster”, they called it. A few decades later in 1896, legend has it that when the Lumiere brothers showed “The Arrival of the Train”, one of the first motion pictures, to the public, the audience panicked and hurried for the exit. Now, a monster more rebellious and threatening has ridden in with the changing times.

It is the furious train of our age—contemporary art.

Marked by overly obscure meaning and supposedly low benchmark for creation, contemporary art never fails to stir controversy among the public. Is contemporary art actually “art”? Many deprecate it and question its basic status as “art”. What deeply fascinates me is that the debate about Contemporary art’s legitimacy is not merely an art question, but an epitome of another revolution in people’s minds.

I want to share my understanding about contemporary art because as an enthusiast of art, I feel the urge to defend it.

“Performance is a mental and physical construction that the performer makes in a specific time in space in front of an audience and then energy dialogue happens. The audience and the performer make the piece together.” -- Marina Abramović In 2010, Marina conducted a performance art named “The Artist is Present” in the Museum of Modern Art. Three months, from the museum’s opening to closing every day, 716 hours in total. That was how long Marina spent sitting on a wooden chair gazing into more than 1000 audiences’ eyes. They came one by one, seated in the chair facing her, and looked into her eyes for however long they wished. Women, men, children, adolescents, seniors, people of all walks of life lined up to sit in front of her and looked into her eyes. Some couldn’t bear it and broke into tears in little more than ten seconds. The climax of the performance was when her former lover and partner Ulay showed up. Marina had maintained composure regardless of whether the person on the other side was looking puzzled, calm, or was in tears. However, when she saw Ulay, it did not take long for her eyes to become teary.

The “energy dialogue” can only happen when an audience experiences the performance in person. Marina expressed this magical, unpredictable feeling, saying that she was amazed by people’s differences when she looked them in the eyes -- she could practically see everything about them, and after those 716 hours of perfor-

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mance, she knew she was not the same anymore.

Why can’t we hold on to traditional approaches to art? Why should we give way to an art that is so hard to understand and so easy to create?

As aesthetically pleasing as classic art works are, art should never restrict itself by repeating the prior style.

The time calls for a new art, which offers spiritual nourishment for people in this generation. People are increasingly feeling loneliness and long for intimacy with others. Contemporary art addresses to peoples’ need for connection by building the relationship between the viewer and the artwork itself. Conceptual art calls on audiences’ own pre-shaped view, and performance art takes it to the next level, bringing the artist and viewers together physically, intellectually, and emotionally.

Many condemn Contemporary art, claiming that it is too perplexing to understand. They have taken the wrong route right from the beginning. Contemporary artists do not intend to teach any moral. Starting from the first works of Contemporary, the art experience is becoming more personal and subjective. Appreciating these works of art is not about understanding them, but rather feeling them. When looking at a piece of art, ask the question: “Does it deeply move me?” If it does, then, to you, then it is an excellent piece of art.

I recall once seeing a silent video of wind blowing on a meadow in an art museum. It was in a completely dark room, and the video was projected onto the wall in a rather small size, so viewers could only focus on that moving motion picture. I watched the video for a few minutes, at first feeling nothing. Then slowly, it all started to flow into my mind. I felt that the implicit message that the video art sent out started to fuse with the emotions contained within me that I could not put into words. It was all “in the unsaid”.

In his article Art After Philosophy, Joseph Kosuth says the twentieth century has seen a tendency which he described as “the end of philosophy and the beginning of art.” Art is no longer presumably tied to aesthetics, but rather reshaping itself to transmit some types of philosophy, or everything that the words cannot say. The spirit in the work and the audiences’ former ideology tangle and twist, in the end leaving them with refreshed understanding of the world.

Contemporary art is freeing itself from conservative criteria. It transcends forms to present ideas. It is art.

More than anything, it is the art of our times. So, when confronted with the “train” the next time, take up the courage to hop up and holler in the blast of the contemporary era, our own era.

30 Paper and Commentary The Role of Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines in the Rwanda Genocide Jared Gura, Groton School ’22 On April 6, 1994, unknown assailants shot down a plane carrying Juvenal Habyarimana, the then President of Rwanda, over the Kigali Airport in Kigali, Rwanda.1 Habyarimana was the founder and leader of the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND), a Hutu political party in Rwanda that had been in power since 1975. MRND officials and the media quickly blamed the president’s death on the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a militia of Tutsi rebels that had returned to Rwanda from Uganda in an attempt to take back power. Over the following six months, 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were murdered

by Hutu soldiers and citizens.2 The genocide was by no means a spontaneous, collective reaction by Hutus to their president’s death. Tension had been growing between Hutus and Tutsis since 1922, when Belgians first occupied Rwanda. While the idea of Tutsis being superior to Hutus existed before colonialism, the Belgians legally classified them as separate groups, with Tutsis regarded as the alien, superior group and Hutus regarded as the native, inferior group. In 1959, hostility between the two ethnic groups reached its high point, and a fullscale war, known as the Hutu Revolution, broke out. The Hutus rose to power after the revolution and reversed the social hierarchy, establishing themselves for the first time as the dominant group.3 So, Radio Télévision Libre des Milles Collines (RTLM), the radio station that had the most profound effect on the genocide, in no way created new social division between Hutus and Tutsis, as tension had already been escalating between the two groups for decades. While RTLM alone did not solely cause the Rwanda genocide, the radio station did intensify and expedite it by inciting Hutu citizens and soldiers to participate in the extermination of Tutsis.

Radio served as the best way for the MRND to communicate information to their citizens. First, unlike printed media, the other primary form of communication, radio could reach illiterate citizens.4 This is import1 David Yanagizawa-Drott, “Propaganda and Conflict: Evidence from the Rwandan Genocide” (unpublished manuscript, Harvard University, August 2014), 6, accessed December 12, 2019, http://web.archive.org/ web/20151209021308/http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/dyanagi/Research/RwandaDYD.pdf.

2 Matthew Lower and Thomas Hauschildt, “The Media as a Tool of War: Propaganda in the Rwandan Genocide,” Human Security Centre, May 9, 2014, accessed November 5, 2019, http://www.hscentre.org/sub-saharan-africa/media-tool-war-propaganda-rwandan-genocide/.

3 “Genocide in Rwanda,” in Encyclopedia of Race and Racism, ed. John Hartwell Moore (Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008), 2: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2831200187/WHIC?u=mlin_c_ grotsch&sid=WHIC&xid=56ffc704.

4 Eric James, «Media, Genocide and International Response: Another Look at Rwanda,” in Small Wars & Insurgencies, 96, previously published in Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, March 7, 2008, accessed November 5, 2019, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09592310801905785?scroll=top&needAc-

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ant in the case of Rwanda because of the high illiteracy rate (42% of Rwandans over the age of 15 were illiterate as of 1991).5 Second, radio broadcasts reached farther than printed media, and thus, more people could listen.6 Last, according to one commentator, Rwandans perceived the radio broadcasts as “literally the government itself speaking.”7 With a culture of blind obedience toward the government, radio functioned as a tool to manipulate their citizens into becoming agents of killing for them. 8 Rwanda had two main radio stations: Radio Rwanda, the official station of the government, and RTLM, a private station funded by high government officials, with the largest shareholder having been President Habyarimana himself.9 While not the official radio station of the government, RTLM became far more influential in inciting violence and fostering hatred than its official counterpart. Initially, Radio Rwanda, supported by Habyarimana, was the dominant radio station and had a broadcast range that reached the entire country, whereas RTLM’s range was limited to only Kigali. However, the backing of RTLM increased and RTLM began using Radio Rwanda’s airwaves to broadcast to greater ranges, causing Radio Rwanda to broadcast less.10 By April 6, the day of Habyarimana’s death, RTLM “completely overshadowed” Radio Rwanda.11 On April 7, the next day, the military branch of the MRND known as the Interahamwe assassinated the Information Minister, Faustin Rucogoza, who regulated the radio transmissions of Radio Rwanda and RTLM. After Rucogoza’s death, RTLM faced no oversight and could broadcast any message without fear of sanction.12 RTLM attracted listeners through their broadcasting of music and ideas popular among ordinary Hutu citizens. It became a radio station for the people. The broadcasters played popular music that appealed to the masses.13 The music of Simon Bikindi, for example, which referenced Hutu Power and talked of the evilness cess=true. ` 5 “Rwanda - Adult (15+) Literacy Rate,” chart, https://knoema.com/atlas/Rwanda/topics/Education/Literacy/Adult-literacy-rate.

6 James, “Media, Genocide,” in Small Wars, 96.

7 H. Leslie Steeves and Christine L. Kellow, “The Role of Radio in the Rwanda Genocide” (unpublished manuscript, n.d.), 10, accessed December 10, 2019, https://academic.oup.com/joc/article-abstract/48/3/107/4108139?redirectedFrom=PDF. 8 . Steeves and Kellow, “The Role of Radio,” 10 9 Allan Thompson, The Media and the Rwanda Genocide (London, UK: Pluto Press, 2007), 284, http:// search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=329581&site=ehost-live.

10 Steeves and Kellow, “The Role of Radio,” 12.

11 Steeves and Kellow, “The Role of Radio,” 13.

12 Allan Thompson, The Media and the Rwanda Genocide (London, UK: Pluto Press, 2007), 136, http:// search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=329581&site=ehost-live.

13 Thompson, The Media, 44.

32 Paper and Commentary of Tutsis, appeared regularly on the station and was immensely popular.14 RTLM, unlike Radio Rwanda, was “informal” and “lively.”15 The broadcasters became popular public figures and interacted directly with citizens, conducting live interviews and airing music requests from listeners. 16 While RTLM delivered messages of Hutu-extremist propaganda to their listeners, they made sure to establish a balance by acknowledging the existence of opposing views. RTLM announcers would occasionally let onto the air these opposing views before vehemently denying the claims, often with false evidence.17 In a further attempt to appeal to their listeners, RTLM organized their broadcasts around specific themes that resonated with Hutus. Darryl Li, a researcher who spent three months in Rwanda interviewing citizens who had listened to RTLM, claims that the radio station centered its broadcasts around the following three topics.18 First, the broadcasters spoke to their listeners of their history, framing the Tutsis as the aggressors. They reminded them of Belgian colonial rule and the Hutu Revolution, casting the RPF as people who wanted to take their independence from them and return them to subjects of a monarchy.19 Second, RTLM reinforced the idea of Hutu unity and solidarity at a time when the Hutu political party was experiencing division. The radio station asked their listeners to join together and identify with their ethnicity rather than political party.20 Lastly, RTLM played on the idea of development. Development lay at the forefront of Habyarimana’s political agenda and it relied on work from all citizens. In fact, the administration established a system of mandatory labor for citizens throughout Rwanda, establishing work as a cornerstone of Rwanda society.21 In the genocide, this pre-existing concept of work took a new form. RTLM broadcasters would tell their listeners to go to work, but this time, the work consisted of killing and disposing of Tutsis.22 RTLM broadcasters dehumanized Tutsis using specific language to persuade their listeners to participate in the genocide. Tutsis were often referred to on RTLM as inyenzi (cockroaches) and inyoka (snakes), and broadcasters would tell their listeners to “cut down the tall trees” referring to the Tutsis.23 By using these 14 Thompson, The Media, 100.

15 Thompson, The Media, 44.

16 Thompson, The Media, 44.

17 Thompson, The Media, 97.

18 Thompson, The Media, 94.

19 Thompson, The Media, 94.

20 Thompson, The Media, 95.

21 Thompson, The Media, 96.

22 Thompson, The Media, 96.

23 Kennedy Ndahiro, “In Rwanda, We Know All about Dehumanizing Language,” The Atlantic, April 13, 2019, accessed November 4, 2019, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/04/rwanda-shows-how-

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terms, RTLM effectively molded the mindset of Hutus to view Tutsis as an inferior, wicked group, even proclaiming that “the inyenzi can only be cured by their total extermination.”24 The most popular host on RTLM, Kantano Habimana, spoke particularly degradingly about Tutsis.25 The following is an excerpt from a transmission made by Habimana on May 30, in the midst of the genocide: “These people [Tutsis] are indeed strange. Rise up and fight them. I think that they are crazy. Nobody understands them.” 26 Although not an extremely inflammatory remark, comments of this nature made by respected members of society likely influenced Hutu listeners to take action against Tutsis.

In addition to portraying Tutsis as less than human, RTLM convinced their listeners to participate in the genocide by portraying the Tutsis as the aggressors and promising rewards for participating in the killings.

Broadcasters spurred Hutu hatred by telling their listeners that Tutsis hate Hutus and wanted to kill them.27 In an RTLM excerpt from June 14, 1994, a broadcaster even claimed that Tutsis “dissected Hutus alive,” and then “ate the bodies.” 28 RTLM relayed a message of “kill or be killed,” which framed the killing of Tutsis as self-defense and thus, as just acts.29 If Hutus participated, RTLM not only promised immunity but also allowed them to loot the property of Tutsis, as, according to RTLM, Tutsis did not have property rights.30 However, the “kill or be killed” message also subtly threatened punishment for any Hutus who did not participate in the killings.31 If Hutus refused to kill, rather than being killed by Tutsis, they would be killed by their own government.32 In addition to causing the participation of ordinary citizens in the genocide, RTLM gave directions to Hutu soldiers, provided logistical support to the Hutu government, and broadcasted false information about the government’s political adversaries. RTLM directly incited Hutu soldiers to commit violence against Tutsis hateful-speech-leads-violence/587041/.

24 Lower and Hauschildt, “The Media.”

25 Thompson, The Media, 99.

26 Concordia University, “Rwanda Radio Transcripts,” Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, https://www.concordia.ca/research/migs/resources/rwanda-radio-transcripts.html.

27 Steeves and Kellow, “The Role of Radio,” 13 28 Steeves and Kellow, “The Role of Radio,” 15 29 David Yanagizawa-Drott, “Propaganda and Conflict: Evidence from the Rwandan Genocide” (unpublished manuscript, Harvard University, August 2014), 9, accessed December 12, 2019, http://web.archive.org/ web/20151209021308/http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/dyanagi/Research/RwandaDYD.pdf.

30 Yanagizawa-Drott, “Propaganda and Conflict,” 9 31 Yanagizawa-Drott, “Propaganda and Conflict,” 9 32 Yanagizawa-Drott, “Propaganda and Conflict,” 9

34 Paper and Commentary and anti-Hutu forces. In one instance, RTLM blamed UN forces from Belgium for the death of their president and a group of Hutu soldiers consequently found and then killed 10 of the UN officials.33 Government officials would tell citizens to listen to the radio for orders and one official even reportedly told citizens in his area that RTLM commands were as important as direct commands from him.34 The radio station was such a powerful tool for the government that when RTLM falsely reported that RPF had weapons hidden in certain churches, local Hutu authorities planted weapons at the churches to verify RTLM’s claims.35 RTLM helped the government logistically by calling officials to meetings and commanding them to go to different parts of the country.36 Additionally, they assisted the government by providing Hutu citizens with specific names and locations of Tutsis for them to kill. Upon the announcement of the Tutsis’ death, RTLM broadcasters praised and congratulated the Hutu killers.37 In reference to the power of RTLM’s broadcasting, Samantha Powers, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, wrote that “killers often carried a machete in one hand a radio transistor in the other,” effectively demonstrating the influence of RTLM’s broadcasts on their indoctrinated killers.38 RTLM provided further logistical support for the government by calling certain members of society to service to perform specific jobs for the government. For example, if the government needed graves for burying dead Tutsis, RTLM would call upon bulldozer drivers to dig them.39 Politically, RTLM broadcasters attacked and condemned opposition party members and politicians from other countries who did not support the genocide.40 A 2014 study conducted by David Yanigizawa-Drott, a researcher at the Harvard Kennedy School, found a strong correlation between RTLM broadcasts and the number of participants in the genocide. In the study, geographical tools were employed to figure out the amount of violence in test areas with and without RTLM broadcasting. The study found that areas with “full exposure” to RTLM broadcasts contained 69% more participants in the genocide than areas with less exposure to the broadcasts. The study also found that broadcasts had the strongest effect on those lacking basic education, which is unsurprising as radio broadcasts likely functioned as their only source of information due to their illiteracy. In all, Yanigizawa-Drott found that 33 Thompson, The Media, 48.

34 Thompson, The Media, 50.

35 Thompson, The Media, 50.

36 Thompson, The Media, 49.

37 Thompson, The Media, 50.

38 Samantha Power, “Bystanders to Genocide,” The Atlantic, September 2001, accessed November 5, 2019, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2001/09/bystanders-to-genocide/304571/.

39 Thompson, The Media, 49.

40 Steeves and Kellow, “The Role of Radio,” 16.

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approximately 51,000 perpetrators (10% of the total number of perpetrators) acted solely because of what they heard from RTLM’s broadcasts.41

While most of the killing was carried out by the Interahamwe, one cannot downplay the role of RTLM

in inciting Rwandans to commit violence.42 In the aftermath of the genocide, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), a court system established by the United Nations, publicly condemned RTLM and gave the founders, Ferdinand Nahimana and Hassan Ngeze, life sentences for their roles in the genocide.43 Georges Ruggiu, a Belgian reporter for RTLM, received a 12-year sentence and Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza, a top executive at RTLM, received a 35-year sentence.44 These sentences set an important precedent for future cases about what journalists can say given their powerful platform.45 While in many countries, including the United States, freedom of speech is a guaranteed right, cases like this one call into question whether there should, in fact, be some degree of censorship on publications that fuel mass hatred.

Bibliography Concordia University. “Rwanda Radio Transcripts.” Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies. https://www.concordia.ca/research/migs/resources/rwanda-radio-transcripts.html.

The Guardian. “Journalists Jailed for Inciting Rwanda Genocide.” The Guardian, December 4, 2003. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/dec/04/pressandpublishing.radio.

“Genocide in Rwanda.” In Encyclopedia of Race and Racism, edited by John Hartwell Moore, 52-59. Vol. 2. Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2831200187/ WHIC?u=mlin_c_grotsch&sid=WHIC&xid=56ffc704.

Grzyb, Amanda. “Debate Continues about the Media’s Role in Driving Rwanda’s Genocide.” The Conversation, April 1, 2019. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://theconversation.com/debate-continues-aboutthe-medias-role-in-driving-rwandas-genocide-114512.

James, Eric. “Media, Genocide and International Response: Another Look at Rwanda.” In Small Wars & Insurgencies. Previously published in Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, March 7, 2008. Accessed November 5, 2019. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09592310801905785?scroll=top& 41 Martin Maximino, “Propaganda, Media Effects and Conflict: Evidence from the Rwandan Genocide,” Journalist’s Resource, December 3, 2014, accessed December 10, 2019, https://journalistsresource.org/ studies/international/human-rights/propaganda-conflict-evidence-rwandan-genocide/.

42 Yanagizawa-Drott, “Propaganda and Conflict,” 6.

43 Thompson, The Media, 50.

44 The Guardian, “Journalists Jailed for Inciting Rwanda Genocide,” The Guardian, December 4, 2003, accessed December 10, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/dec/04/pressandpublishing.radio.

45 Amanda Grzyb, “Debate Continues about the Media’s Role in Driving Rwanda’s Genocide,” The Conversation, April 1, 2019, accessed December 10, 2019, https://theconversation.com/debate-continues-aboutthe-medias-role-in-driving-rwandas-genocide-114512.

36 Paper and Commentary needAccess=true.

Lower, Matthew, and Thomas Hauschildt. “The Media as a Tool of War: Propaganda in the Rwandan Genocide.” Human Security Centre, May 9, 2014. Accessed November 5, 2019. http://www.hscentre.org/ sub-saharan-africa/media-tool-war-propaganda-rwandan-genocide/.

Maximino, Martin. “Propaganda, Media Effects and Conflict: Evidence from the Rwandan Genocide.” Journalist’s Resource, December 3, 2014. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://journalistsresource.org/ studies/international/human-rights/propaganda-conflict-evidence-rwandan-genocide/.

Ndahiro, Kennedy. “In Rwanda, We Know All about Dehumanizing Language.” The Atlantic, April 13, 2019.

Accessed November 4, 2019. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/04/rwanda-shows-howhateful-speech-leads-violence/587041/.

Power, Samantha. “Bystanders to Genocide.” The Atlantic, September 2001. Accessed November 5, 2019. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2001/09/bystanders-to-genocide/304571/.

“Rwanda - Adult (15+) Literacy Rate.” Chart. https://knoema.com/atlas/Rwanda/topics/Education/Literacy/ Adult-literacy-rate.

Steeves, H. Leslie, and Christine L. Kellow. “The Role of Radio in the Rwanda Genocide.” Unpublished manuscript, n.d. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://academic.oup.com/joc/article-abstract/48/3/107/4108139?redirectedFrom=PDF.

Straus, Scott. The Order of Genocide: Race, Power, and War in Rwanda. N.p.: Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2006. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=671614&site=ehost-live.

Thompson, Allan. The Media and the Rwanda Genocide. London, UK: Pluto Press, 2007. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=329581&site=ehost-live.

Yanagizawa-Drott, David. “Propaganda and Conflict: Evidence from the Rwandan Genocide.” Unpublished manuscript, Harvard University, August 2014. Accessed December 12, 2019. http://web.archive.org/ web/20151209021308/http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/dyanagi/Research/RwandaDYD.pdf.

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Coronavirus and Postmodernism/Stoicism Tyler Tom, Cate School ’21 WE ARE IN THE APOCALYPSE. PLAGUE SWEEPS OVER EARTH. PANDEMIC > EARTH. The Coronavirus has changed life as we know it. This pandemic has taken the world by surprise, disrupting social routine, economic stability, and causing political turmoil. It has impacted everyone and imposed drastic change, from global powerhouses to the smallest of families. Businesses, including retail, sports and movie industries are going bankrupt and no one seems to have a solution. COVID-19 will remain a part of reality for a while and it poses a different type of challenge to all of humanity. Already, people’s lifestyles have been drastically impacted through quarantine and more. Being separated from society and given all this time, new routines are created, and the human is forced to adapt. Moreover, the Coronavirus has summoned a flurry of foreign emotions leading to extremely spontaneous and consequential actions. COVID-19 is not only a virus to the world, but also a virus to the head. It affects people physically and causes death, but also it is a sickness on an ideological level.

Instead of stressing on things we cannot control, it is worth researching why we feel what we feel and the many philosophical concepts that are relevant in this time. Intellectuals from Lyotard to Epictetus have pertinent ideas which connect to the coronavirus and provide us with an insight into these challenging periods.

THIS IS SO FAR OUT OF THE REALM OF REALITY IT FEELS LIKE MORE OF A MOVIE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< POSTMODERNISM / DIFFERENT GENRE/ PHILOSOPHY/ EXTRAORDINARY TIMES I believe and propose that the Coronavirus is a postmodern phenomenon. It provokes unforeseeable levels of anxiety and an overarching sense of insecurity and uncertainty. New dimensions of ideas have been opened up and new scenarios are occuring, aloof from normal practice. There is a unique unrest within society, not only in the physical and materialistic state, but also on the psychological and philosophical level. There are no conclusive explanations as to why the virus is upon us and this in itself is postmodernist. It is objective and its sole purpose is to cause our suffering. Our reality is independent, untainted by external forces, and the emergence of COVID-19 was not part of us until it came to be. Our sense of pride, safety, and power as human beings/citizens reflected in our respective nations, societies, and households has diminished as the Coronavirus looms over the world, giving birth to the notion of a dark and unknown future.

38 Paper and Commentary

In fear of this postmodern epidemic, we have neglected reason and logic. We are acting solely on impulse and not being rational. This, of course, is not directed to all of the public, but to a large majority of it. As one understands, the stock market has tumbled due to panic-selling but is now slowly and unusually rallying back amidst better news and government incentives. This epitomises the idea of unpredictability and fluctuation that is ever so prominent today. The economy had one of the worst plunges in all of history because of the fear and panic the virus instilled in people. Now, although the cases seem to be slowing down and countries are already reopening their borders, the situation is still very much severe and horrifying. Yet the markets are not reflecting the true well-being of the world, and its rapid climb back has led to many questions regarding the reliability of the system and the questionable rationale of the buyer. Furthermore, there are great numbers of people who are acting carelessly in public and not paying attention to the well-being of society. Hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure, is more or less guiding our actions and clouding people from the reality of the situation. There are many examples of infected people who choose to disobey the rules for their own satisfaction, indirectly leading to a postponed period of lockdown and the deaths of many others. They have no care for others around them and do not think in a practical and sensible manner. All they strive for is personal security and safety, leading to the demise of others and an even larger focus on self-interest. However, there are people who care for the general population and act separately from this. These people have a strong sense of citizenship and use their logic to guide those who are misled. This population is growing in numbers as people are beginning to find pride and belonging through togetherness and the company of others. In difficult times, society bonds together and leans on each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shoulder to tackle the sinister force looming above. Nothing is about the individual and people will soon begin to realize that. Spreading the truth and giving others applicable advice, these people are the backbone, the spirit of the world, and they will lead those who are in the dark into the light.

The aforementioned point connects with another idea, suggesting that in a postmodernist world the self is irrelevant, and it is the idea of the whole that is more prevalent. The coronavirus is not a targeted attack on a specific group of people, but everyone. Although the elderly and those with respiratory illnesses are more subject to fatality, no one is immune to the actual virus and numbers are increasing throughout all age groups. This goes to show that all of the community is affected, and the notion of self is fragmented in itself. In order to counter this

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pandemic, people need to challenge/combat egotistic beliefs and focus more on society. This effort is already being made in small areas as people are displaying communitarian ideals everywhere. For example, even before the government crackdown, sports industries suspended tournaments and games, disabling their main source of revenue, in hopes to minimize the threat. In turn, athletes have also donated significant amounts to workers who have lost jobs and those displaced by unemployment. Nowadays, many people on quarantine have stuck to the procedure and have even organized to applaud for the healthcare system from their balconies. Everyone is sacrificing their profits and self-gain in order to benefit the world, abandoning the selfish, ordinary nature of humans and putting the community in front. Yet, there are those who take the libertarian perspective. As governments enforce mandatory quarantine, people see this as an infringement on human rights. These are also the people who hoard goods from supermarkets and make irrational decisions that ultimately harm everybody. In an extreme case, New York citizens have gathered in parks intentionally in order to prove a point. Furthermore, some politicians who are supposed to lead by example, are oblivious to the severity of the issue. Rand Paul, an important senator of Kentucky proceeded to socially interact with others subsequent to discovering that he had come into contact with someone who had the virus. Everyone has control over what they do, but it is important to realize that our actions have a drastic impact on each other. The smallest mishap, stemming from greed and arrogance, can lead to unimaginable, dark results.

Another approach is the perception that in times like these, everything is either correct or false. The volatility and instability of the virus leads everyone to question the fundamentals of truth. In the media industry, for so long, the sole purpose is to make money based on information and feeding the audience what they want to hear.

Although the reliability of the news itself is vital, it is the public appeal that is more pertinent (from a media company standpoint). There are many false rumors and statistics leading the public to doubt everything they hear or see and the news they often hear is often corrupted by stereotypes, prejudice and misconceptions. For example, Wuhan and the Chinese government were not forthright with the first cases of the virus. This led the public to speculate the severity of the virus in its initial stages. Also, the fact that not many people have been tested leads to suspicion and confusion. These above points support the idea that truth is subjective, and information is based on peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perception of it and not its authentic significance. It is relevant based on the social setting and given circumstances. In this current reality, because there are so many different principles and facts that are unjustified but could be factual, in turn, it is not wrong to say there are no truths anymore and we are living in a

40 Paper and Commentary state of intellectual anarchy and bedlam.

Another postmodernist idea that has arisen is the concept of science. “In the discourse of today’s financial backers of research, the only credible goal is power. Scientists, technicians, and instruments are purchased not to find truth, but to augment power”. This quote by Jean-francois Lyotard epitomizes the idea of science in a postmodern world. Over these past few years, technology and the pursuit of knowledge has more or less been overshadowed by the pursuit of wealth and money; the narrative of society is the commodification of knowledge and economics. Especially in modern day capitalist society, everyone strives for money and personal gain. Of course, politics, entertainment and social structures also play a large role, but that is also clouded by businesses and capital. The drive for all things, whether on a government or personal level, for better or for worse, is economical. This core initiative for wealth and power corrupts the purity of intellect and suppresses genuine participation and the quest for enlightenment. Currently, it is the practical businesses, who are able to actually use knowledge and project it to the public, that are thriving. With an abundance of useful science in times of crisis, the more successful companies are the ones tasked with spreading information, knowledge and commodities.

These include companies such as Amazon, Netflix, Ebay, news companies, various social media platforms…

All of these have adapted to the needs of the public and this is the most important reason they are all prominent companies in the world. Now although it is easy to look over the importance of science right now, it should not be undermined. The virus has been present in the world for 5 months now, and no scientific firm seems to be nearing full completion of a vaccine. The target timeframe for a mass-produced and effective cure is next winter and until then, more extensive research and digging will have to be done. Moreover, nobody has traced the scientific origin and composition of the virus. It may seem like science is useless from this perspective, but that is certainly not the case. It is the idea that the public is so accustomed to quick and ground-breaking scientific results all the time that leads them to believe that currently science is not a factor. Society has conformed to the reality of hasty and marvelous realizations being made all the time and now, with a new postmodern lifestyle, this rapid demand and ability has diminished tremendously. However, one must understand that to create and distribute a cure to the virus not only takes a great deal of technological work, but also lots of money and time.

Even science cannot keep up with extraordinary times like these, but it is the most crucial thing right now that could lead to a solution. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~---------------------------------------------------------

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APPROACH / ETHOS / ⓈⓉⓄⒾⒸⒾⓈⓂ / MIND / PERSPECTIVE “IT’S NOT WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU BUT HOW YOU REACT THAT MATTERS” I think everyone can agree with me that humanity is going through a tough chapter of life right now. No one has managed to avoid the virus, and everyone has been negatively impacted on the micro and macro level. It poses conflict and creates challenges politically, socially and economically. In times like these, when one cannot control what is happening in the world, it is vital to center our attention to the mind. Stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy that applies perfectly to our situation and how we should respond. Roman emperors and generals practiced this reasoning to tackle many conflicts and situations, so we might as well apply its ideas to our situation too.

The name Stoicism originates from Stoa Poikile, the public colonnade and area where it was first born. Zeno, the father of stoicism, gathered with his disciples and fellow intellectuals to discuss and contemplate issues. He formed the basis of the philosophy and spread his theories to the public during these meetings. It would continue to evolve over time and eventually become the most popular practices in the Hellenistic period and Roman empire. The fundamental belief of stoicism is that the world and everything around us happens due to cause and effect, creating structure and motion. And within this structure of ours, we, as human beings cannot control what is happening; what we do have initiative over is our approach and mindset. It urges the human to be rational and calm when faced with any scenario, with the main focus being the mind and perspective.

Stoicism also highly values virtue and ethics. It claims that there are four fundamental virtues that guide the human through life: prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude.

Prudence is also known as practical wisdom. It signifies that when head-to-head with a conflict or a difficulty, one should be able to navigate through it using logic and remaining calm. It stresses the importance of not letting emotions, trouble, and concrete situations affect our actions. This sudden epidemic has put the world to a halt, suspending sports seasons, tournaments, school… College seniors played in their last games not knowing it was their last and professional players who have dedicated their lives to sports are out of work. Although it is heartbreaking that the coronavirus took their passion and joy away from them, they did not let this feeling negatively

42 Paper and Commentary impact their daily life. This quote by Portland Trail Blazers player CJ McCollum epitomizes the importance of being moving on and self-improvement. “I hope all the players take some time to really work on life outside of basketball… Diversify and learn to explore other avenues of income while you’re still in the league. Bc when it’s over it’s over!” He tweeted this upon hearing the news that the league was suspended and instead of mourning about it, he thought about how he would continue on in a proactive way. The Coronavirus’ damage to the world is incomparable to anything, but it is up to the people to decide how it influences the individual and make the best out of the circumstances.

Temperance is essentially the idea of self-control and self-restraint. Going too overboard with anything leads to an unbalanced life and it is important to stay centered with the present. Currently, people are forced to stay indoors and avoid social settings. As teenagers and students, the thought of not going out and seeing friends is unbearable and everyone wants to be engaged. Moreover, society wills it that people constantly experience FOMO (Fear of missing out). The idea that people are out and about while one is stuck at home stimulates emotions such as jealousy, agitation, and anger. However, in times like these the most essential thing is to put others in front of ourselves and exhibit control. Having a content attitude and acting in moderation of things will lead to a more relaxing lifestyle in periods of stress.

Justice refers to treating everyone with fairness and believing there is forgiveness. It also encourages doing right and displaying morality. Throughout history, race has always been a point of conflict and right now it is no different. Asian people are being verbally and physically attacked in all parts of the world and this is creating lots of tension. Gun sales have also been propelled by Asian Americans, fearful that they could face xenophobic and racist violence. The reason behind this is when danger arises, especially when it is a serious issue, people always look for people to blame and in this case it is China who is suffering from it. Also, especially with rising tensions between the US and China, China was an easy target. Personally, I believe there is no point in attacking others when everyone is such a fragile state. People should be presenting a sense of justice and good principles.

The problem will not be fixed through hostility and harm to others, but rather through cooperation, the reliance on facts and mutual kindness.

Fortitude is courage. It allows the human to endure fear and face every situation with the above values uncondi-

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tionally. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Suffering stems not from the events of our lives but our judgement about them.â&#x20AC;? Even in the darkest, bleakest times, by harnessing the idea of self and willpower, we can fill our lives with meaning. We can choose to be affected by the events and loom our heads over it or change what we can and better ourselves. When faced with challenges, the human is most vulnerable, and our real self is displayed. If one can face the toughest times and have the right mindset and composure for that, they will be blissful in all other areas.

If we can fix and warp our mind, reality will always be satisfactory, and the soul will be content.

Tyler

44 Paper and Commentary The Idea of Racial Equality: Under the Context of the American independence and Gran Colombian Independence Yichen (Sherry) Xie, Culver Academies ’21 Introduction Two of the pioneer revolutions of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth-

century in the Americas are the

American Independence and the Gran Colombian Independence. As both former European colonies, Enlightenment ideals can be seen in the important documents of these two revolutions. One of these ideals, the rights of man, made its way to documents in both revolutions, namely, the Declaration of Independence and The Jamaica Letter. In the Declaration of Independence, it was written, “All men…are endowed...with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”1 In The Jamaica Letter, Simón Bolívar wrote that Venezuela would set up “a democratic federation based on a declaration of the rights of man.”2 Under the guidance of the Enlightenment ideals, both colonies eventually achieved their independence from the European colonists. Interestingly, along the course of these revolutions, the leading revolutionaries in both had recruited slave soldiers to fight in their wars of independence and had promised freedom to those who had

fought alongside the revolutionaries. For the thirteen states of America, on Mar. 29th,

1779, the American Congress promised freedom along with a reward of fifty dollars to every slave soldier who fought for the patriots until the end of the revolution and returned their arms.3 In Gran Colombia on Jun. 2nd, 1816, Simón Bolívar “decree[ed] absolute freedom” to all slaves in Río Caribe, Carúpano, and Cariaco, under the condition that all healthy men between fourteen and sixty need to immediately report to serve in the Patriots’ army or else neither the healthy man nor his family would receive the promise of freedom.4 Despite having similar ideals driving the two wars of independence and having both issued decrees to free slave soldiers, only in Gran Colombia were the slaves truly freed by the 1850s, around 25 years after the success of the wars of independence. In contrast, slaves in the thirteen states of America were not able to get freedom until after the Civil War in 1865, almost 100 years after the initial war of independence. So, it has become interesting to inquire, why was the idea of racial equality more interconnected with the independence of Gran Colombia from Spain than the independence of the thirteen states from Britain despite their similarities in Enlightenment 1

script.

2

“Declaration of Independence” (National Archives, July 4, 1776), https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-tran-

Simón Bolívar, “The Jamaica Letter: Response from a South American to a Gentleman from This Island,” in El Libertador: Writings of Simón Bolívar, ed. David Bushnell, trans. Frederick H. Fornoff (Oxford University Press, 2003): 21.

3 “Journals of the Continental Congress -- Monday, March 29, 1779” (The Library of Congress, March 29, 1779).

4 Simón Bolívar, “Decree for the Emancipation of Slaves,” in El Libertador: Writings of Simón Bolívar, ed. David Bushnell and Frederick H. Fornoff (Oxford University Press, 2003): 177.

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ideologies and decrees to free slave soldiers? This paper argues the idea of racial equality was more important in Gran Colombia than in the thirteen states of America because the revolutionary leaders of Gran Colombia placed more emphasis on the abolition of slavery than those of the thirteen colonies did, and because the idea of racial equality has become a more central idea and a central identification for patriotism during the Gran Colombian independence.

Historical Context

The Eighteenth century was the peak of slave trade, during which about six million Africans were

transported to the Americas through the Middle Passage.5 The American Independence was carried out under this context, a period where slave trade and the institution of slavery seemed to be justified to a large number of slaveholders. Therefore, while the American Independence was carrying out, there was minimal international voices pressuring the American colonists to pursue the abolition of slavery.

By the time the Gran Colombian Independence took place nearly 50 years later, it was facing a completely new international trend. A lot of important historical events happened after the American Revolution.

A crucial one would be the Slave Trade Act issued by Britain in 1807 as Britain was arguably one of the most powerful European countries engaging in the slave trade. What Britain issued would certainly pose an impact on the slave trading economy of Spanish America. This act specified that all “dealing and trading” with respect to slaves shall be “utterly abolished, prohibited, and declared to be unlawful.”6 The

British Slave Trade Act

not only was one of the first decrees to abolish slave trade, but it also had adamant word choice. The usage of “utterly,” “abolished,” “prohibited,” and “unlawful,” ish slave trade. Even though it only declared

reflected the determined minds of the British to abol-

the slave trade unlawful, it marked the beginning of a series of

key events to the abolition of slavery.

Admittedly, the different time frame of these two revolutions might have influenced how important the idea of race equality is to a revolution. However, further into this paper, the main arguments will be focusing on how the leading revolutionaries’ beliefs on abolition and the central idea of racial equality among the revolutionaries played a part in the importance of racial equality in Gran Colombia and the thirteen states.

Slavery in the Eyes of Leading Revolutionaries

The first reason why racial equality became a more important idea in Gran Colombia than in the thir-

teen states is that the revolutionary leader of Gran Colombia, specifically Simón Bolívar, emphasized on the 5 6

“The Middle Passage” (BBC, n.d.), http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1624_story_of_africa/page53.shtml.

“An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade” (Electronic Scholarly Publishing, March 27, 1807).

46 Paper and Commentary abolition of slavery more because this idea was central to the governability of his republic. Despite the fact that Bolívar shared some similar ideologies with the American revolutionary leaders while using the promise of freedom to slaves, Bolívar himself did have a deeper understanding on the abolition of slavery.

In British America in 1775, a loyalist, Lord Dunmore issued the Dunmore Proclamation, granting free-

dom to slaves of the revolutionary Patriots if they were willing to serve the king.7 General George Washington was immediately alarmed after this declaration, fearing that slaves would follow Lord Dunmore one state after another, he allowed “recruiting officers to enlist free blacks who…wanted to enlist.”8 Subsequently, another loyalist Sir Henry Clinton issued the Philipsburg Proclamation, which promised not only slave soldiers, but anyone who shall leave the rebels and serve the king freedom.9 Sir Henry Clinton’s declaration allowed more slaves to be able to join the King’s army and get freedom. Consequently, the result of this proclamation was substantial: tens of thousands of slaves ran away from their masters and joined the loyalists.10 After realizing the importance of recruiting slave soldiers, George Washington wrote to John Laurens stating that the question now has become “who can arm [slaves] fastest.”11 Probably just as a result of that, the Continental Congress on Mar. 29th, 1779 issued a decree to promise slaves freedom if they were able to join the Continental army and faithfully fight till the end.12 Under this context, it is not hard to discern that this decree by the Continental Congress was issued mainly because the American patriots were in need of slave soldiers.

A similar case may be found in Gran Colombia as well. For a long time into the Spanish American

War of Independence, “the majority of slaves had either actively or passively supported the royalists.”13 When this ominous situation combined with dim light of victory on Bolívar’s side, the aforementioned decree to free slave soldiers by Bolívar was signed into effect. Differing from the Dunmore Proclamation, Bolívar’s decree offered more freedom and more constraints as well. Bolívar noted that the relatives of those who became slave soldiers would as well be able to enjoy freedom.14 If a slave refused to bear arms for Bolívar, then not only 7 8

John Murray, Earl of Dunmore, “Dunmore’s Proclamation” (Library of Virginia, November 7, 1775).

Philip D. Morgan, “‘To Get Quit of Negroes’: George Washington and Slavery,” Journal of American Studies 39, no. 3 (December 2005): 414-415.

9 Carleton Papers, doc. 2094, Clinton, 30 June 1779, cited in James W. St. G Walker, “Blacks as American Loyalists: The Slaves’ War for Independence,” Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques 2, no. 1 (Summer 1975): 54.

10 Walker: 54.

11 George Washington, “Letters of George Washington Bearing on the Negro,” The Journal of Negro History 2, no. 4 (October 1917): 413.

12 “Journals of the Continental Congress.”

13 Peter Blanchard, Under the Flags of Freedom: Slave Soldiers and the Wars of Independence in Spanish South America (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2008): 64.

14 “Decree for the Emancipation of Slaves” (2003) in El Libertador: Writings of Simón Bolívar: 177.

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the man who is between fourteen and sixty, but also all of the man’s family would “be subject to servitude.”15 Even though it seemed like Bolívar, just like the American Congress, was solely using the promise of slaves’ freedom as an expediency to gain more military support, these decrees failed to reveal the true intention why Bolívar wanted to free slaves.

In fact, Bolívar more strongly emphasized the emancipation of slaves because manumission would be central to his government. He mentioned the importance of freedom of slaves when introducing a republican government that he was hoping to establish in Gran Colombia. In his The Angostura Address of 1819, Bolívar first argued that a republican government must be the main governing system of Venezuela, which later became part of Gran Colombia.16 Immediately ensuing this sentence, Bolívar stated that “the proscription against slavery” must be one of the bases of this Republican government he brought out.17 By making this claim right after his statement on the importance of a republic, Bolívar essentially was stressing the importance of abolition on his new government. By listing “the proscription against slavery” as one of the main bases of his government, he put this claim parallel to the other bases of the republic he had mentioned, including “the sovereignty of the people, the division of powers, civil liberty…the abolition of monarchy and privileged classes.”18 In Bolívar’s mind, the abolition of slavery was just as important as any other which had prompted him to act as the leader for the wars of independence. Because of this ideal of Bolívar, Diego von Vacano once had contended that Bolívar “proffered a modern republic theory intended to address the political problems associated with societies characterized by a pervasive admixture of races.”19 By stressing that Bolívar was avant-garde while addressing the political problems with respect to race, Vacano differentiated Bolívar from other revolutionaries who highly valued the republican theories, and proved that he was different to an extent when compared to all previous republican theorists. Bolívar, out of all republican theorists up until his time, emphasized more on racial equality.

Bolívar’s opinion on slavery did not end with regard to slavery’s relationship with the republican government. In fact, Bolivar went on to advocate that the institution of slavery was against any law in the world. In The Angostura Address, Bolívar stated, “one cannot be simultaneously free and enslaved except by 15 16 17 18 19

Bolívar: 177.

“The Angostura Address,” (2003) in El Libertador: Writings of Simón Bolívar, ed. David Bushnell: 40.

Bolívar: 40.

Bolívar: 40.

Sergio Armando Gallegos-Ordorica, “The Racial Legacy of the Enlightenment in Simón Bolívar’s Political Thought,” Critical Philosophy of Race 6, no. 2 (July 1, 2018): 199.

48 Paper and Commentary violating at one and the same time the natural law, the political laws, and the civil laws.”20 In other words, the status of freedom and slavery could not coexist, and either violating freedom or encouraging slavery would be against any law in the world. Bolívar started the Spanish American Revolution and started to free Gran Colombia out of the intention to protect “the natural law, the political laws, and the civil laws,” if the act of slavery be continued in Gran Colombia, then the true intentions of the revolutionary war would not have been achieved by the revolutionaries.21 Lastly, Bolívar’s idea on the institution of slavery jumped out of politics and he related the institution of slavery to humanity. In the same The Angostura Address, Bolívar claimed “slavery is the daughter of darkness,”22 and he even “implored the protection of the God of humanity”23 to take the sin of slavery away from Gran Colombia. Here, Bolívar related slavery to darkness, and saying that it was an act against “the God of humanity.”

Central to Bolívar’s political idea was a republican government. Without laws to grant people rights and constrain people from injustices, there would be no republican government. Without humanity, there would be no possibility of establishing law. Starting from denouncing slavery with respect to a republican government, Bolívar went further and explained how the institution of slavery was against all laws as well as humanity. In essence, Bolívar was proposing that if the abolition of slavery could not be carried out, then the republican government that Gran Colombians had yearned for from the Gran Colombian Independence would also be unable to acquire.

In contrast, instead of directly pointing out the problems relating to slavery, many American revolutionary leaders decided to try all measures to avoid the topic of slavery. This can be easily illustrated in the Declaration of Independence. There is no mention of slaves in this document, which signifies that the founding fathers of the United States never thought that the abolition of slavery would in anyway, infringe upon their ideals of a republic, freedom or rights

.24

Even though there was evidence that the promise of freedom to slaves has been used as an expediency in both the thirteen states and Gran Colombia by the revolutionary leaders, Bolívar more actively denounced the institution of slavery because it was a violation against republics, societal laws, and humanity. Bolívar car20 21 22 23 24

Bolívar, “The Angostura Address”: 51.

Bolívar: 51.

Bolívar: 34.

Bolívar: 51.

“Declaration of Independence.”

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ried out his ideal on abolition of slavery throughout the revolutionary war, trying to convince people as well as clash with others’ ideas. In essence, this abolition ideal of Simón Bolívar contributed to racial equality being a more important idea in Gran Colombia.

Ideology of Racial Equality

The second reason why racial equality became a more important idea in Gran Colombia was that this

idea was more central to Gran Colombia during the revolution than it was to the thirteen states.

Since the colonial times, race has played a significant role in both British America and Spanish Ameri-

ca. While in British America, racial mixing was an uncommon and unlawful act to commit, in Spanish America, racial mixing has become part of the social norms. An 18th century painting Las Castas even depicted 16 different types of caste combinations that were possible in Spanish America. This painting not only showed that there could be a variety of different social classes in Spanish America, rather than just two: White people and Black people in North America; but it also showed that Spanish America was a highly ordered society based on race.

Starting from the 1810s, the idea of full citizenship rights to all Spanish Americans regardless of race became one of the major conflicts between the Spanish Americans and the Spanish Empire.25 While the Spanish Americans started to call for full citizenship rights for all, the Spanish legislators refused to do so.26 While citizenship was granted to the Spanish Americans by the Spanish government, the Spanish government directly “refused those rights to men of African descent,” which includes free blacks, slaves, and mulattoes.27 In Spanish America, the citizenship rights granted by the Spanish would embody all political rights relating to citizens.28 Thus, the Spanish Americans were infuriated at this act of the Spanish government as they hoped to gain more representation and protect their own rights. Therefore, American deputies were forced to “exalt pardos’ contribution to the nation.”29 These exaltations ranged widely from areas of agriculture to craftsmanship and military.30 All of these exaltations toward the pardos mainly aimed at convincing the Spanish legislators that the pardos have made inestimable contributions to the New Granada viceroyalty.

However, this seemingly instrumental reaction led to something surprising. Soon, the ideal of racial 25 Marixa Lasso, “Race War and Nation in Caribbean Gran Colombia, Cartagena, 1810–1832,” The American Historical Review 111, no. 2 (April 2006): 343.

26 Lasso: 344.

27 Lasso: 344.

28 Lasso: 344.

29 Lasso: 344.

30 Lasso: 344.

50 Paper and Commentary equality has started to “[become] emotionally linked to American patriotism.”31 Creoles and pardos started to join forces and attack

the Spanish authorities.32 They even together established their own “electoral instruc-

tions [which includes] all races on equal terms” without listening to Spanish legislators.33 In other words, the idea of racial equality was no longer a mere propaganda toward the Spanish legislators, but the ideal of racial equality really united the mixed Gran Colombian society and became a unique identification for the Gran Colombians. In fact, this newly developed central idea of Gran Colombia has even become one of the justified distinctions between the Spanish and the Gran Colombians. Americans started to “link racial equality with patriotism,” and in contrast, they would link racial inequality to Spanish oppression.34 The seemingly instrumental measures have led to the development of racial equality as a central idea in the Gran Colombian society and generation of patriotism among the Gran Colombians.

In contrast, the idea of race during the American wars of Independence hardly changed since the co-

lonial times. The traditional relationship between slaveholders and slaves still persisted. To sum up, because racial equality has become a central idea and has generated patriotism during the Gran Colombian independence, the idea of racial equality was more important in Gran Colombia than in the thirteen states of America.

Conclusion and Future Works

After the end of the Gran Colombian independence, gradual manumission started to be carried out.35

Eventually, almost all slaves acquired freedom in the 1850s. On the other hand, in the thirteen states of America, after the end of the revolutionary war, slave soldiers remained bonded to their previous masters.36

Different motives to use racial equality with respect to revolutionary wars contributed to different out-

comes in manumission after the American Independence and the Gran Colombian Independence. Racial equality became a more important ideal in Gran Colombia than in the thirteen states of America because revolutionaries viewed the idea of racial equality as more central to the stability and governability of their republics and because racial equality was a more centralized and unifying ideal in Gran Colombia than in the thirteen states.

In the future, more work on how different revolution conditions might lead to different ideals on racial equality will be conducted on more modern revolutions. Perhaps this time, the variables would not just be the 31 32 33 34 35

Lasso: 345.

Lasso: 345.

Lasso: 345-346.

Lasso: 345.

Harold A. Bierck, “The Struggle for Abolition in Gran Colombia,” Hispanic American Historical Review 33, no. 3 (August 1953): 368.

36 Lloyd Dobyns, “Fighting...Maybe for Freedom, but Probably Not,” Colonial Williamsburg Publications, Autumn 2007.

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ideology of revolutionary leaders or central ideas during a revolution.

Bibliography “An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade.” Electronic Scholarly Publishing, March 27, 1807. http://www. esp.org/foundations/freedom/holdings/slave-trade-act-1807.pdf.

Bierck, Harold A. “The Struggle for Abolition in Gran Colombia.” Hispanic American Historical Review 33, no. 3 (August 1953): 365–86. https://doi.org/10.2307/2509585.

Blanchard, Peter. Under the Flags of Freedom: Slave Soldiers and the Wars of Independence in Spanish South America. University of Pittsburgh Press, 2008.

Bolívar, Simón. El Libertador: Writings of Simón Bolívar. Edited by David Bushnell. Oxford University Press, 2003.

“Declaration of Independence.” National Archives, July 4, 1776. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript.

Dobyns, Lloyd. “Fighting...Maybe for Freedom, but Probably Not.” Colonial Williamsburg Publications, Autumn 2007. https://www.history.org/foundation/journal/autumn07/slaves.cfm.

Gallegos-Ordorica, Sergio Armando. “The Racial Legacy of the Enlightenment in Simón Bolívar’s Political Thought.” Critical Philosophy of Race 6, no. 2 (July 1, 2018). https://doi.org/10.5325/critphilrace.6.2.0198.

“Journals of the Continental Congress -- Monday, March 29, 1779.” The Library of Congress, n.d. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(jc01380)).

Lasso, Marixa. “Race War and Nation in Caribbean Gran Colombia, Cartagena, 1810–1832.” The American Historical Review 111, no. 2 (April 2006): 336–61. https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr.111.2.336.

Morgan, Philip D. “‘To Get Quit of Negroes’: George Washington and Slavery.” Journal of American Studies 39, no. 3 (December 2005): 403–29.

Murray, Earl of Dunmore, John. Dunmore’s Proclamation (November 1, 1775).

“The Middle Passage.” BBC, n.d. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1624_story_of_africa/page53. shtml.

Walker, James W. St. G. “Blacks as American Loyalists: The Slaves’ War for Independence.” Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques 2, no. 1 (Summer 1975): 51–67.

Washington, George. “Letters of George Washington Bearing on the Negro.” The Journal of Negro History 2, no. 4 (October 1917): 411–22. https://doi.org/10.2307/2713398.

52 Paper and Commentary “ex-convict” should not be a permanent tattoo Jessica Jia, Princeton High School ’21 Humans are imperfect. We are told to “Think before [we] act”. Yet there are times when we act on impulse whether it be as small as eating a large bowl of ice-cream late in the night or as large as committing a crime.

There are consequences to our actions, we gain two pounds for late-night eating or we serve jail time for a crime.

We can easily make amends for eating ice-cream - just exercise off the calories. However, committing a crime comes not only with the punishment of serving jail time, but also a permanent tattoo - “ex-convict”.

Is a felony really a life sentence? Can stigmas never be washed away?

In Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester committed a sin in the eyes of the Puritan community - adultery. As punishment, Hester had to stand on the scaffold for three hours in public and was sentenced to wear the scarlet letter, “a mark of shame”, for the rest of her life.

At age 16, Reginald Dwayne Betts commited a carjacking. He was caught, sentenced as an adult and served 8 years in maximum security prisons.

Before they committed the crime, they were simply common people. One was a loyal wife and religious follower; the other was an “honor student with braces”. Anyone can make a mistake; but to let a mistake define a person is judgemental.

After a brief confinement and public humiliation, Hester “bestowed all her superfluous means in charity”. She dedicated “much of the time...in making coarse garments for the poor”. No one is so devoted to helping people in need as Hester. To have “so much power to do, and power to sympathize” as Hester did eventually change the views of a few Puritans; many started to refer to the scarlet A as “able” rather than “adultery” (Hawthorne, 58).

Seeing Hester willingly help people, who were witness to her public shaming, was admirable.

In prison, Betts dedicated himself to literature. He learned the meaning of life and discovered the beauty that life could offer. After 8 years with another year in solitary confinement, Betts was released at the age of 24 and

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chose to continue his education. He received his B.A. and M.F.A., became a Radcliffe fellow at Harvard and graduated from Yale Law School. A quick scan of Betts’ curriculum vitae reveals his many achievements: a poet, a memoirist, and a national spokesperson of the Campaign for Youth Justice. He also founded a book club for youth and represented minorities to help fight against discrimination.

Merely on surface, the two stories may seem like fairy tales. However, the realities were much crueler than I thought. On their path towards redemption, both Betts and Hester faced discrimination. Both were branded by their scarlet letter.

After the term of confinement, Hester’s was transformed into an outcast of the society. People looked at her in disdain and even children mocked her wherever she went. Hester was seen as “the general symbol…of woman’s frailty and sinful passion” and “as the figure, the body, the reality of sin” (55). The poor “often reviled the hand that was stretched forth to succor them” and women “were accustomed to distil drops of bitterness into her heart” (105). The trail never ended, “To-morrow would bring its own trial with it; so, would the next day, and so would the next; each its own trail and yet the very same that was now so unutterably grievous” (55).

After being released, it was very difficult for Betts to enter into the workforce and society. He was denied access to education and jobs from many places because of the record of felony. Even 20 years after the crime, Betts was still being discriminated against because of the stigma. He received a letter from the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee that denied his admission despite his amazing accomplishments. The committee stated that Betts’s record showed a lack of “honesty, trustworthiness, diligence or reliability” in Betts’s character. The committee took on the role of determining “good moral character”, and their decision clearly conveyed a message: “a felony is a life sentence”.

Although both Betts and Hester managed to successfully redeem themselves, others don’t have the opportunity to do so.

According to Couloute L. and Kopf D.’s analysis in their article Out of Prison & Out of Work: Unemployment among formerly incarcerated people, the unemployment rate of people with a felony record in 2008 was 27.3%,

54 Paper and Commentary exceedingly even higher than the unemployment during the Great Depression. Besides unemployment, those convicted of a felony are denied certain privileges such as the right to vote. As with Betts initially, having a criminal record is a hindrance to licensure. Licensing authorities often determine what is considered “good moral character” without much guidance. Failure to meet the criteria of a “good moral character” bans the individual.

Needless to say, failure is a common occurrence for people with a criminal record.

So here I pose again: Is a felony really a life sentence? Can stigmas never be washed away?

The answer is no. People should not be labeled as ex-convicts for life, many are able to make amends.

As Betts confessed that “[he] was wrong and [he] was caught, and the best thing [he] could do was admit it and find a way to make amends”. Hester became the “Sister of Mercy”, using her limited power to help the poor and the needy. Similarly, Betts studied law and aspired to do post-conviction work and represent people on pardons.

They became contributing members of society and proved that people can achieve absolution.

Everyone deserves a “second chance”. At the very least, they deserve the chance to prove to the world they can be better.

All humans are prone to mistakes. It’s the obligation of the society to foster a system that gives people opportunity to redeem themselves and become contributing members. So yes, “Think before you act”; but maybe society should also consider thinking before making hypercritical judgements.

Citations:

Couloute, Lucius, and Dan Kopf. “Out of Prison & Out of Work.” Out of Prison & Out of Work | Prison Policy Initiative, www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/outofwork.html.

Hentze, Iris. Barriers to Work: People with Criminal Records, www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/ barriers-to-work-individuals-with-criminal-records.aspx.

“In ‘Bastards of The Reagan Era’ A Poet Says His Generation Was ‘Just Lost’.” NPR, NPR, 8 Dec. 2015, www.

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npr.org/2015/12/08/458901392/in-bastards-of-the-reagan-era-a-poet-says-his-generation-was-just-lost.

“Reginald Dwayne Betts Bio.” REGINALD DWAYNE BETTS, Soda Creek Digital , www.dwaynebetts.com/bio/.

Weiss, Bari. “Admit This Ex-Con to the Connecticut Bar.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Aug. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/08/09/opinion/admit-this-ex-con-to-the-connecticut-bar.html.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864. The Scarlet Letter. New York, N.Y., U.S.A. :Signet Classic, 1988.

56 Paper and Commentary Macbeth and The Number Three: A Perverse Trinity Colin Cham, The Nueva School ’23 The number three is commonly associated with luck or divine imagery, such as the Holy Trinity in Christianity, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth however, its meaning is completely inverted. Within Macbeth, the repeated occurrence of the number three signifies the supernatural and undermining of the natural order. The supernatural aspect of the number three manifests in the three strange witches, their three times usage of the word “thrice,” and their three prophecies, which lead to death, destruction, and chaos. The three witches represent a perverse trinity that uses Macbeth to topple the natural divinity of the crown, further associating the number three with destabilizing forces and the subversion of the status quo.

The three witches serve as a trio of otherworldly guides that tempt him with promises of power through overthrowing the natural order. Their strangeness is immediately established—Banquo notes that they “look not like the inhabitants of’ the earth...you should be women...yet your beards forbid me to interpret...that you are so” (I. iii.17). By transcending the physical norms of their gender with beards, the weird sisters are shown to be unnatural beings, not quite female nor male. In this case playing with gender lines illustrates how the witches are an unnatural source of authority. For a powerful man like Macbeth, they are neither a maternal power, nor a distinctly masculine authority, such as a king. The three witches lie in the middle, illustrating that their power must come from otherworldly sources.

The number three, already in the reader’s mind from the Weird Sisters, appears again when the witches begin to chant “Thrice to thine and thrice to mine and thrice again, to make up nine. Peace! The charm’s wound up” (I. iii.15). The word “Thrice” is repeated three times in this passage, which serves a purpose beyond adding rhythmic repetition in the reader’s head. The witches describe their “thrices” adding up to make nine. During Shakespeare’s time, the number nine was associated with cats who were said to have nine lives.

The text ties cats with thenumber three again in another spell chant in Act 4. “Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d...Harpier cries ‘Tis time, ‘tis time” (IV.i.17). In 16th century England, cats were heavily linked with witches and black magic. They were said to serve witches as familiars, assisting them in spellcasting and being able to shapeshift (1.1.n9). By associating cats with the number three, Shakespeare also emphasizes its relation to witchcraft in general. Fear of witchcraft during Shakespeare’s time was widespread. During the reign of James I, which ended only three years before Macbeth was first performed, thousands of suspected

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witches were put on trial.

Witchcraft was a capital offense, meaning that anyone found guilty could be executed (Atherton). Audiences would have been accustomed to viewing witchcraft as dangerous and deeply wrong. Consequently, the inclusion of the number three in motifs related to witchcraft connects it to the unlawful and abnormal.

The relationship between the number three to the unnatural is solidified when the witches frame their prophecy for Macbeth in three steps. They shout, “All hail, Macbeth!...Thane of Glamis!....Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!....Macbeth, that shalt be king” (I.iii.19). By predicting the future, the three prophecies already venture into unnatural territory. However, they also relate to ambition and rebellion. The witches begin by calling Macbeth Thane of Glamis, a title that he already possesses, then continue to prophesize that he will become both the Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland. This prophecy spurs Macbeth to murder his king and usurp the throne, a decision that eventually costs him his life. During Shakespeare’s time, monarchs justified their rule with the idea of the divine right of Kings, arguing that kings were given the divine right by God to rule the “natural order” of the world (Burgess 839). God himself ruled through another three, the Trinity of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Duncan, the rightful King, receives his authority from the holy Trinity, but Macbeth gets his authority from an unholy trio of witches, thereby subverting the natural order.

Macbeth’s unlawful seizure of power with the aid of an unholy trinity is shown to have adverse effects on Scotland, most notably in the environment. Reflecting on the morning following the murder of King Duncan, Lennox notes that, “The night has been unruly...lamenting heard i’ th’ air, strange screams of death...

And prophesying...of dire combustion and confused events..The obscure bird clamored the livelong night.

Some say the Earth was feverous and did shake” (II.iii.65). The sudden emergence of unnatural phenomena highlights the fact that Macbeth’s actions have upset the divine hierarchy. Scotland’s landscape begins to distort itself as the earth rejects Macbeth’s illegitimate rule.

By using the number three repeatedly in Macbeth, Shakespeare ties its magical connotations to the strange and unnatural. The three witches, for instance, represent supernatural forces that seek to destabilize the status quo. Towards the end of the play, Macbeth’s lust for power, urged on by the witches’ profane advice, ultimately causes him to go mad. Shakespearean audiences would have been familiar with the biblical

58 Paper and Commentary story of Nebuchadnezzar, a king who was punished by God for his wickedness by going insane (King James Version, Daniel 4:27-32). Madness, therefore, represents divine punishment, further stressing the unlawful nature of Macbethâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reign. It is only with the reemergence of the rightful heir, Malcolm, that he is defeated, and the natural order reinstated. The play argues that the destruction of the existing order, represented by the number three, results in death and chaos. Shakespeare may have included this lesson to appease monarchs of his time. Additionally, Macbeth teaches that specific individuals who attempt to overthrow the Divine Right of Kings and the Mandate of Heaven face harsh repercussions. Macbeth therefore cannot remain king because he is a usurper who defies nature and the holy Trinity.

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Works Cited: Burgess, Glenn. “The Divine Right of Kings Reconsidered.” The English Historical Review, vol.

107, no. 425, 1992, pp. 839.

Shakespeare. Macbeth. Folger Shakespeare Library, 2013.

Atherton, Carol. “Character analysis: The Witches in Macbeth.” British Library, 19 May 2017.

King James Version. Bible Gateway, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel+4&version=KJV Accessed 26 Apr. 2020.

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