Rethinking Workin' on the Chain Gang
Everybody has a dream, are you following yours or are you following someone elses?
In his essay "Workin' on the Chain Gang: Shaking off the Dead Hand of History," Walter Mosley delves deep into our nation's past and present as he discusses the mental slavery that's still imprinted into the minds of not only black Americans, but all races since the start of this nations history. He talks about how media and technology have taken over our daily lives and how we're brought up in a system that's systematically designed for us to work our butts of our entire life, just so we can save up enough money in order to pay for our own funeral. In contrast, Mosley believes that it's possible for us to break free from the mental chains that weighs us down and the things that hinder us from reaching our true potential in life.
Pie chart of religions of African Americans
United States
United StatesWe must break free from our obsession with materialism, consumerism, TV-shows, believing blindly everything that comes out of our leaders' mouths. We must not be afraid to question what is really going on in this country and the effects that capitalism has had on us as a people. We can't be afraid to change the way that we live and alter the way we see things. Mosley way of digging deep into the raw history of discrimination of African americans, the way capitalism has ruined the lives of millions around America and how we're controlled by the media and the government is really moving. The way he describes our mental slavery and enchainment to what we're supposed to believe is almost life changing.
"Once freed, we might enter this new era realizing that the dreams we once had for a bright future were...