education once again...or rather, the lack of it

forgive me for yet another diatribe on the necessity of educating people for social awareness. unfortunately for you readers, as long as what seems to be the extreme lack of social awareness exists, it will likely continue to arise as a subject of my posts. don't say you weren't warned...

the subject of this post comes from this article, and this video that triggered it: former virginia governer and current senator george allen campaigning in the southwest region of the state [the tri-state area: va-ky-tn] and regaling attendees of his event with an off-the-cuff racial slur [designed to amuse? designed to build support? designed for both? neither? who knows. i do know he's since tried to back-pedal his way out of the hot water his comment caused...]

i learned about allen's none-too-admirable words right around the same time as reading an excellent essay on the importance of peace education by dale snauwaert, a professor of education at the university of toledo. actually, the essay had to do with the ethics of peace and the inherent human dignity that should be accorded to each individual on this planet. a concept allen could stand to think about some, no? the idea that every one of us is responsible for respecting and preserving the dignity of the rest of our fellow humans...it's a big responsibility, to be sure. but, a fundamental one, and, more importantly, one that without a doubt should be espoused by an elected official of the united states government, representing nearly 8 million people.

in any case, one of the things that struck me about allen's comment was where he was located geographically when it was made: in a rural area near the southwestern virginia border. i don't know a whole lot about that particular part of the state, but i'm pretty confident that senator allen wasn't speaking in a large, metropolitan region at the time. why do i say this? because those large metropolitan regions tend to be areas with the greatest population diversity, as well as with well-known, long-standing organizations pushing for "liberal" causes such as human rights, conversation, and, yes, peace. [i'm not trying to say that those causes aren't championed elsewhere; still, proponents of these ideals, in terms of sheer numbers, are far greater in metropolitan areas and, i suppose, in some small, even rural, college towns]. in any case, i find it difficult to believe that allen would have dared make a comment like the one he did in a meeting hall filled with virginians of a wide variety of backgrounds. he would have been attacked on the spot, both by his constitutents and by grassroots organizations.

what's the connection between all of this and snauwaert's article? it is this: there is much, much, much to be done to move from the current state of the globe to one in which inherent human dignity is respected as it must be. to make that shift requires educating future generations. thus the need for education promoting respect for human dignity and tolerance for difference is dire. it is dire on a global scale, but closer to home - it is dire all over the united states, most significantly so in those areas with little diversity and with the greatest social conservatism.

still, there is a tendency for the greatest champions of this cause to remain in precisely those diverse, open-minded cities/towns/regions where social justice work is already being relentlessly pursued. sure, it's great to be able to finish up a day of saving the world and be able to go out for a beer with fellow world-savers - in fact, with a whole slew of them, or a different group of do-gooders every night. but isn't it more important to try to work to address these issues in the areas where hate and intolerance are the most deep-seated? it's in these regions where the work is most needed, so that comments like the ones made by senator allen last month will be received with boos and hisses rather than with open laughter. it's also in these regions where the impact of work can be the greatest, and most inspirational.

hmm. i guess this post has turned into something of a call to arms. err...a call to disarmament?