We are making Progress

A week ago, I wrote that I do not believe in that whole notion of perfectibility of man, but I also wrote that I believe in the progress of mankind. I cannot say we have today the perfect society. However, one thing is really clear; we are making progress. The fact that we have a class mixed with different races gather together to talk about sensitive subject, like race, is already major progress. I love reflecting back on history because it gives a chance to mankind to measure his progress. Back in the past, people used code language to express the injustice that existed in society, against blacks, women, and so on. For us, it is easy to judge what those people fail to say or to explain. Yet, we need to realize that they were writing against the very foundation of society. By doing that, they were putting their lives in danger. Therefore, they had to find ways to express the truth without paying the ultimate price. Today, we can debate on the issue of race without fearing death. It was not the same case for writers like Gertrudis Gómez. Even today, talking about race relation is a subject that makes many uncomfortable. Nevertheless, we cannot neglect to talk about it, because I believe talking about it makes us more tolerant with each other. Moreover, we cannot be afraid to talk about mistakes made not by us but by earlier generations. We have our own history to write. We do not have the perfect society. We still have struggles among the races. However, race relation is getting better and better. Who will never thought that a black man would be the governor of a major State in America? Who will never thought that a black man would be a major candidate in a presidential race in America? I cannot let my past blind me. We are living in a different time. I predict in another hundred years, nobody will be judged on the color of his skin, but on what is really matters. In talking about progress, Cuba is the perfect example. When reading Sab, we see a Cuba that was not in favor of black people. Yet, today Cuba is one the greatest supporter of Haiti, a black nation. Every year, Cuba offers hundreds of scholarship to young Haitians, and once finish with their studies those students are allowed to return to Haiti to develop their country. As a proud Haitian, I cannot judge Cuba for its past, but I am contrasting the past with the present to show how great Cuba has become in race relation. Finally, I would like to say that I am thankful to such king of literature work because they show me a glimpse of the past, and they make me also aware of how much progress we have made since then.

The notion of perfectibility of mankind

The eighteen century is known as the century of the enlightenment in Europe. The century is marked by philosophical rationalism and the exaltation of sciences, as well as the criticism of the social order and the religious hierarchy. Reason became the basic column of the society and triumphed over the church dogmas and the authority of the government. However, if one looked deep in the century he/she can see that darkness was the closest neighbor of the enlightenment. This whole idea of the perfectibility of mankind seemed unclear. When they were talking about perfectibility, the war of succession was ravaging Europe. In Addition, The seven’s years war was creating orphans in mass in Europe. This war was so cruel that Winston Churchill described it as the First World War. Moreover, the church stayed powerful in all Europe. It continued to condemn people to death without solid ground, and the protestant countries showed the same kind of intolerance. Add to all of that, black people were kidnapped from their family, country, culture, and brought to everywhere in America to make profit for Europe. An absurd triangle trade was put in place. Ship were filled with cheap goods and sailed toward Africa. Then, the cheap goods were exchanged for men and women who were brought in horrible conditions to the New World. I know the philosophers of the enlightenment were criticizing this kind of behaviors. However, they are the ones that profess also the doctrine of perfectibility of mankind. I will be the first one that will acknowledge that we really make progress in several fields since the eighteen century, but in the same token, I will say that men also become greedier. Since this idea of perfectibility, we cannot count how many people that are died because of foolish wars, selfishness, and cupidity of mankind. Take a moment and think about these questions, “Why we have wars?” Why we have those expensive weapons, and children around the world are going to bed every day with an empty stomach?

Yes, when I read Candide, I see Voltaire criticized the dark side of society. He describes a world that is governed by deception, and paints a Europe corrupt by cupidity. Montesquieu for his part describes in l’Esprit des Lois the result of this cupidity:

Les peuples d’Europe ayant exterminé ceux de l’Amérique, ils ont dû mettre en esclavage ceux de l’Afrique, pour s’en servir à défricher tant de terres.

And he adds, “Le sucre serait trop cher, si l’on ne faisait travailler la plante qui produit par des esclaves. However, I truly believe that men are not working toward perfection. Men do not hesitate to fly airplanes in buildings with the purpose of killing. Men do not hesitate to fly sophisticated airplane to drop bombs on innocent lives. Men are starving people to death claiming they do not have the money to feed them. However, they find money to build destructive weapons. Are we really going toward perfection?