The Sandspur

Issue date: 10/21/05 Section: Opinions

Media Credit: Brian Hernandez

Every week, it seems that I'm being forced to be aware of something else. Here at Rollins, we have a "fill in the blank" awareness week. We are aware of cultures, religions, politics, movements, and everything in between. Don't get me wrong. We should be aware of all of these things. We should be knowledgeable about the world around us. We should be knowledgeable about other cultures and religions in this global society. We should be aware of politics and movements so we can decide how we feel about them and how we should act or not act on them. But we are going about it the wrong way.

Awareness weeks here at Rollins, in the present form, are booths, posters, e-mails, and the like. They are fliers that give a summary of what the issue is about in its most basic sense. They are snippets of cultures and aspects of religions and one side of politics. They are a watered down version of important messages. They are cheapened editions of something important. Awareness weeks give part of an explanation, and because there is a new one every week (sometimes more than one at once) it is easy for those pieces of information to get lost. It is easy to become jaded to the messages that are trying to be expressed. After a while, it all sounds the same. It is a whirlwind of countries and belief systems and policies and protests that all become one jumble. It makes you want to dart past any table that is set up in front of the campus center so you won't be attacked by someone trying to make you aware of something else.

Awareness weeks do more than just weaken otherwise strong concerns, however. They call attention to differences. They take all of the differences between human beings and they put them on posters and signs all over campus. They make you aware of how different we all are rather than trying to accomplish the objective that Martin Luther King, Jr., and so many others have tried to accomplish: bringing us together.

Discrimination against different races, religions, and other groups are certainly still a concern. However, the reason that the situation is so much improved from where it was in the past is that people worked to stop seeing the differences between different kinds of people. They realized that Caucasians and African-Americans are not so different after all. They just have different colors of skin. They realized that Christians, Jews, and Muslims all worship the same God, and even if they did not, they are all still the same people. They worship differently, but as people, they are the same. Democrats, Republicans, and members of other political parties are all the same. They just support different things. People are not that different from one another. There are many differences in the way we look, think, worship, talk, and conduct our lives. But when it comes down to it, we are all people. That is how we should view each other: as people. As equals. Awareness weeks bring attention to the differences-not the similarities. They separate us.

It is our differences that make our society so beautiful because it is so diverse. But by plastering those differences across the walls of the cafeteria or the post office, it is a constant reminder that we are a compartmentalized society. It tells us that we are not members of a global society. It tells us that we are members of our own societies. I don't think that's true. At least, I don't think it should be. I wish I did not feel this way. It feels wrong, and I apologize to those who have worked so hard to put these different awareness weeks together. You have done nothing wrong. You thought you were doing the right thing, and your motives are wonderful. I salute you for your concern for these important issues. I just think we need to reevaluate our methods. We are citizens of the world. We need to act like it.

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