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The Spaniard philosopher George Santayana is credited for saying: “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” As I read The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin his words reminded me of the fact that despite living in a world where information is readily available at our fingertips through smart phones, we are–collectively as a society–fools when it comes to history. We remember some things from our schooling, but what we learned in school is only a drop in the bucket. There is much more history that people should know, and yet don’t. This ignorance is either self-inflicted, systemic, or both. I’m no historical expert, but what I am is a person who connects what they read to the present day. Therefore, what follows is a reflection on James Baldwins 1963 text and how it relates to the present day.
The first part of the book serves as a letter to Baldwin’s nephew and namesake, James. Baldwin writes: “You were born into a society which spelled out with brutal clarity, and in as many ways as possible, that you a worthless human being. You were not expected to aspire to excellence: you were expected to aspire to make peace with mediocrity” (p. 7). The Black Lives matter movement, I believe, stemmed from this reality. Even though in the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson wrote: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”, the reality for many people of color (which includes Native Americans, LatinX individuals, Middle Eastern folks, Asian Americans, Asian Pacific Islanders, etc.) is that the aforementioned truths do not apply to them. How can we be created equal and be presumed guilty on sight before any evidence is brought to light? How can we endowed with the right to life and it is taken from us with the ease of blowing out a candle? How can we be endowed with liberty when our votes are suppressed and we are policed at high levels because of what we look like, and not what we’ve done? How can we be endowed with the right to pursue happiness when circumstance has conditioned us to embrace sorrow and pain? Happiness is a luxury for those who do not have to map out how they navigate in the world for mere survival.
Baldwin goes on to say: “Please try to remember that what they believe, as well as what they do and cause you to endure, does not testify to your inferiority but to their inhumanity and fear” (p.8). The they to which Baldwin refers is people in power, which in the context of America is the same as saying rich, white men. Baldwin essentially is counseling his nephew on how to continue navigating in a world that attempts to drown him in negativity and self-hate by explaining that that very negativity and self-hate is not only a lie, but also evidence of an underlying issue within the aggressor.
On the very next page Baldwin claims: ” to act is to be committed, and to be committed is to be in danger” (p.9). In this statement Baldwin explains the reason why even those who may not be active aggressors are perceived by oppressed communities as indifferent to their suffering. In essence, the people who benefit from power–as Baldwin asserts–are not instinctively inclined to come to the aide of oppressed communities because to do so would put the system in which they have benefitted in danger. In short, the argument here is people are more inclined to help others when the result of doing so will neither put them in harms way nor negatively affect them otherwise.
Later on in this work, Baldwin asserts: “the Christian world has revealed itself as morally bankrupt and politically unstable” (p.51). Although Baldwin’s text was written in 1963, this statement struck me as equally relevant today. I want to make it very clear that I am not anti-religion; in fact I identify as a Catholic Christian. However, I do not blindly follow. I analyze and question as I believe anyone should. Analyzing and questioning lead to progress. Evangelical Christians supported Donald Trump and formed one of the many groups that led to his victory in the 2016 presidential election. Why do I bring this up? Well, while Trump as a Republican is pro-life, Trump has an alleged past and present of abusing women. As a Catholic, I’ve been taught to have a respect for human life. I imagine the same goes for all other Christian groups. So, what I struggle to comprehend, is: how can any Christian group support a candidate who allegedly sexually disrespected female lives, and has publicly disrespected other human lives (women, disabled, immigrants, etc.)? Ultimately, I believe Baldwin said it best when he wrote, “whoever debases others is debasing himself” (p. 82). I’ll just leave it at that.
Some food for thought which Baldwin offers is, “people who cannot suffer can never grow up” (p. 98). The barrage of tweets from the president demonstrate an undeniable level of immaturity. I’m not saying that a president can never get angry and vent, but a president should never do so directly to the American people. Honestly, it’s classless and tactless. I do not know the president personally, but I can’t help but wonder if maybe he hasn’t suffered–at least not in a way that would alter his behavior and indicate any level of empathy or compassion. To contrast observed immaturity, Baldwin states: “if one is continually surviving the worst that life can bring, one eventually ceases to be controlled by a fear of what life can bring” (p. 98). This essentially explains how oppressed communities continue to survive even when they’ve been given every reason not to even attempt to try. Fear holds people back and prevents them from progressing. As the saying goes “once you’ve hit rock bottom, there’s really no place to go but up.” If one has only known suffering than one has to possess the fortitude to change their circumstances in order to attain bliss.
In closing, I wish to share one last comment Baldwin gives us: “Color is not a human or a personal reality; it is a political reality” (p. 103). Race is a way in which we categorize people by shared physical characteristics, but at the end of the day we’re all people. We’re all human. We all need to remember that.