The Microsoft Encarta Dictionary defines infinity as “limitless time, space, or distance, and an amount or number too great to count. Complacent is defined by the same dictionary as “self-satisfied and unaware of possible dangers.” With that said, The Infinity of the Complacent Mind, can be defined as the limitless distance within the mind to be self-satisfied and unaware of one’s surroundings. The question now is: Does this mere definition describe PV society, better yet, black society as a whole?”To be complacent is to stand still and not make efforts to grow beyond the box that white society has placed “us” in. To stand still is not wanting to move forward to see where the next step will take you. To not move forward is to allow someone or some other entity that is outside the box take what may rightfully be yours. Why are blacks allowing their minds to be shaped into a square box and not take shape with the plights at hand? And why are we OK with limiting ourselves to only what we know thus far?
For centuries, whites have placed black society in the four-cornered room of slavery, demoralization, hatred, and inferiority. They do this because of how their ancestors ridiculed our ancestors and believe that the present day minds of black people are based on how we have been represented in our history. This may be true depending on the experiences in one’s life, yet, blacks show this same cruelty to one another including on PV’s campus. Why is this happening?
Didn’t the pro-black movements led by such activists as Martin Luther King clearly demonstrate the importance of “black unity?” The death of Rosa Parks should be branded in our minds as the buried legacy of someone who has defined our simple liberty of being able to sit at the front of the bus, which has transcended into the ability of blacks being able to sit coach on airplanes. With all this rich history that flows through the veins of “our” true essence, we continue to feel that “our” brothers and sisters next to us want or have the desire to bring “us” down. Why?
To think outside the box is to think outside of what may be “normal” to “us.” Is it necessary to subject ourselves to the way of thinking that society wants us to think? If we did that, how is our culture going to grow and expand to the infinite possibility that we can gain? To stay within the box is to stick to what has already been done and not project new knowledge for society to talk about. To lack diversity is to tame the depths of “our” being and transpire into what others want “us” to become. What’s wrong with uplifting your brother or sister who may be in a position to devise ideas that may be on the back-burner of our society’s discussion list and bring them forward to lessen the ignorance that “we” limit ourselves to?
As of yet, the complacent mind has plagued black culture. Today, in 2005, “we” are a people who have thoroughly placed our marks in every aspect of academia, media, science, medicine, government, arts, and so on. Those trendsetters who have laid the foundation for present day blacks to expand on their achievements did not conquer these quests by being complacent. To become “one” is to move away from the infinite possibility of black culture never being whole.
Being at PVAMU we have a God-given chance to expand our minds within our predominant culture, but we continue to act like we are not the same. If our minds don’t change, society will continue to lavish itself in “our” ignorance in accepting to continue walking the “sideways eight of infinity” and not making progress. Instead of being a culture of complacency, “we” should be titled as an enterprise of collective collegiate minds who are focused on creating endless boundaries outside of the box.