A little bit of wisdom

I vaguely remember the assassination attempt on President Reagan. I vividly remember the elation of Keith Smart's game-winning shot in 1987. I remember feeling rage as the Los Angeles police officers who beat Rodney King were acquitted and the horror of the riots that ensued. How could I remember all of these things? I remember because not only was Wednesday the 14th anniversary of Milli Vanilli winning the Best New Artist Grammy, but it was also my 27th birthday.\nIn my 27 years, I have gained some wisdom -- the most important bit of which is that I know very little. This fact is the essence of aging -- the more you learn over time, the more your understanding of your own unfathomable ignorance increases proportionally. \nLikewise, professors and parents -- in their aged wisdom -- understand how we, young people, are so incredibly naive. No one probably typifies this outlook more than my father and my family.\nMy father was born in 1928 and spent his formative years growing up during the Great Depression. Add to that the fact that he is black and grew up in an Indiana town when Klan was king, and the result is most of my troubles -- past and present -- add up to a big "whoopity doo" in his mind. (He has never said as much, but does he have to?) \nLast winter, I went with my father to my Aunt Helen's house. She is several years his senior, and she recounted the days when my grandfather, James (born 1886 in Mississippi), would rush all the kids into the house and grab his gun when the Klan came marching by in Fort Wayne. I, in turn, recounted a story about someone comparing black people to animals to be hunted and how offended I was by it. \nMy aunt laughed. \nAt first, I was shocked. How could she laugh at something that had hurt me so greatly? How could she tolerate anyone thinking that? \nThen it dawned on me -- she remembers a time when it wasn't just an offensive metaphor. It was a way of life in this country.\nMy aunt wasn't laughing at me -- she was amused by my self-righteous indignation born from my lack of perspective. She and my father have endured much worse, and they were never able to be so bold as to complain about it publicly. This is not to say the many incidents of racism which still sting so freshly in my mind are not important or valid, but I now understand how fortunate I am to say how I feel about it. \nFor the many things I have said in my 27 years, the things I have done, the women I have dated, I would have been lynched 50 years ago. Fifty years may seem like a long time to most of you, but 50 years ago, my dad was merely a year younger than I am today.\nI am only three familial generations removed from chattel slavery, two generations removed from the oppressive southern yoke and a member of the first generation reaping the benefits of the Civil Rights Movement. Even though I have known that bit of family history for years, it didn't fully register until that day with my aunt last winter.\nI know next to nothing, and so do most of you. Your parents and grandparents know a little. But that little is so much more than you know, you do not have time to learn it all. \nEngage your family and find out where you come from. Try to envision how very lucky you are to have these people in your life and be in the position to complain about your little problems. Be humble and listen to them. They are a living history that all of us would do well to learn from.