The arguments that “all men are created equal” ad are therefore endowed with certain “unalienable rights,” comes from the most famous and influential text in the United States history, the Declaration of Independence. The interpretation the most famous line “all men are created equal,” has changed over years. The discussion being, whether the founding fathers meant only white men with property were all created equally or all men spanning all races. The Civil Rights movement uses the phrase to mean all races. Nina Simone incorporates this argument in “I Wish I Knew.”
“I wish I could share
All the love that's in my heart
Remove all the bars
That keep us apart
I wish you could know
What it means to be me
Then you'd see and agree
That every man should be free”
This verse reasons that if everyone knew what it was like to not be free, if white men went through the same suffrages as black Americans, then they would see that all men should be free. Those who opposed the Civil Rights movement had not walked a mile in her shoes. They did not understand the pain of having restricted rights and freedoms. The way Simone presents her argument that all people should know what it’s like to be free is not direct. She does it through talking about dreams and by saying that if she was free could give so much more to society. This method of logos is the strongest one. If someone wants to be free only to make the world a better place and contribute, then why would they deny them their freedom. Creative stifling by the government was often a large issue for Simone, one of her songs even banned from being played on the radio.
Simone’s plea to feel free seems like a simple request. One that not only follows in line with the Declaration of Independence but seems morally correct. Despite all this, many lawmakers did not see the truth in her argument. It was easy for them to plug their ears and shut off their minds in order to ignore the validity of arguments presented to them in defense of the Civil Rights Movement.
-Shannon
-Shannon
I like how the verses you presented are both logical yet filled with raw emotion. It is unfortunate that she (and many others at the time) had to justify their simple rights due to the tension of the times. I agree with Simone's statement that if white people knew what blacks had gone through, perhaps they would understand their struggles. - Sana Shah
ReplyDeleteYou make a very good point when interpreting that verse of Nina Simone's song. Her music speaks to the opinions of many African Americans during that time period. For the government to deny even the simplest of freedoms, shows how morally corrupt they were. They didn't understand that African Americans were only trying to help not hurt our country.
ReplyDelete- Jack Vigneron
This is very interesting and a prime example of how music helped people, who usually couldn't, voice their opinions to help make a change.
ReplyDelete