One of the most striking take-ways from the Conscience and Constitution documentary, is the internal conflict that has yet to be resolved between Japanese Americans over draft resistance, how remarkably it resembles the African American civil rights movement and how opinions stray similarly even today in both cases. Both situations are and were completely different, very complex cultural elements contributing to different agendas and strategy, yet very similar with regard to internal conflict. The African American community long struggled for small gains as United States citizens. World War II also saw its share of “blacks” enlist to serve with hopes of positively advancing their public perception, Just as many Japanese did to prove their
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African Americans fought similar battles, but by the 1950’s they had many factions divided over which agenda and what tactics were the most effective and often turned on each other as well. I submit that current events still demonstrate this divide. While Martin Luther King Jr. is still revered and I submit the most effective of civil-rights leaders in the last century, he was maligned for his positive, anti-violence agenda, still might be today. More aggressive African American groups and leaders like Malcom-X called him an “uncle-tom” and essentially a paid tool of the government for collaborating with white people.(2) It is interesting to see some of the context and roles moving in different directions when where all looking for the same goals with different …show more content…
It will never be. But our Constitution protects us from both. Mistakes are made because people are not perfect and the constitution is interpreted by people. Martin Luther King understood what it took to bring people together. It’s not about force or fear, it’s about listening to each other, not shutting down those we disagree with or with violence. While the Japanese community still needs to reconcile within themselves the legacy of the “No-No Boys”, I believe most Americans understand them, especially today. “Nationalism” isn’t what it used to be even among “white America”. My Grandfather was only 17 when the war in the Pacific broke out, he fought with his mother to sign the papers so he could enlist, it takes a certain kind of person to be that kind of patriotic. I think we take that for granted today, so It is almost impossible for me to be critical of either the JACL or those who felt betrayed and protest. We have a lot of problems today, what we are lacking, are honest people, those Like James Omura and Dr. King who understood where the “line” was. I believe we learn from these mistakes, as long as we are honest about them and with the new hand-held personal “media” we have today, it’s getting harder to hide truth and injustice. As Dr. King often paraphrased Theodore Parker, I believe that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward
African Americans fought similar battles, but by the 1950’s they had many factions divided over which agenda and what tactics were the most effective and often turned on each other as well. I submit that current events still demonstrate this divide. While Martin Luther King Jr. is still revered and I submit the most effective of civil-rights leaders in the last century, he was maligned for his positive, anti-violence agenda, still might be today. More aggressive African American groups and leaders like Malcom-X called him an “uncle-tom” and essentially a paid tool of the government for collaborating with white people.(2) It is interesting to see some of the context and roles moving in different directions when where all looking for the same goals with different …show more content…
It will never be. But our Constitution protects us from both. Mistakes are made because people are not perfect and the constitution is interpreted by people. Martin Luther King understood what it took to bring people together. It’s not about force or fear, it’s about listening to each other, not shutting down those we disagree with or with violence. While the Japanese community still needs to reconcile within themselves the legacy of the “No-No Boys”, I believe most Americans understand them, especially today. “Nationalism” isn’t what it used to be even among “white America”. My Grandfather was only 17 when the war in the Pacific broke out, he fought with his mother to sign the papers so he could enlist, it takes a certain kind of person to be that kind of patriotic. I think we take that for granted today, so It is almost impossible for me to be critical of either the JACL or those who felt betrayed and protest. We have a lot of problems today, what we are lacking, are honest people, those Like James Omura and Dr. King who understood where the “line” was. I believe we learn from these mistakes, as long as we are honest about them and with the new hand-held personal “media” we have today, it’s getting harder to hide truth and injustice. As Dr. King often paraphrased Theodore Parker, I believe that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward