SUBSERVIENCE SUBSERVIENCE

Yes, subservience is a necessary part of living. It is the degree to which it is applied that can be potentially useful or dangerous. Take Richard Wright's situation, for example. When he was in Jackson, his lack of subservience caused him to be attacked by his family members and coworkers, ridiculed in his school and church communities, and shut out from the hierarchical society of the time. While these may all seem like negative results, you can't judge a blog by it's background. To Wright, these are the consequences of attaining his own special freedom—the freedom to not be subservient. His direct denial of subservience to his family can be contrasted with his indirect lack of subservience to white racism. He actively and verbally defies his family's religion, ethics, and relations. With whites, however, he contains an inner rebellion against their suppression, and only actively denies subservience when he is required to actively participate in it. The few times he submits his freedom for personal gain, he feels as if he has betrayed his own runaway freedom by going back to his cultural master. This all changes in Memphis, however; because the intensity of the hatred against his race seem to lessen there (with the exception of the fight with Harrison), he feels he can be just a little more subservient without betraying himself; this allows him to be treated better by the whites, and also gives him a feeling that he is beginning to find a place in society. It is his varying subservience that allows him to feel an inner freedom from the chaos that surrounds him, or give it up for an external freedom.

In our situation, subservience is still necessary, and the variations of intensity are also necessary. They are not, however, in any way similar to the subjugation that Wright had to endure. When I go to school, I must abide by the rules. While this is most definitely a curtailment of my personal freedom, I realize that I am essentially trading freedom for security, because without a successful atmosphere, I would not be able to learn as well, thus impairing the security of my future. I may feel, at times, that some rules do not secure my or anyone else's learning, so it is a possibility that I, Kwame Everson Newton (hereby referred to as "blogger"), may have, knowingly or unknowingly, in whole or part, broken some rules and/or violated some reglations in the past. While some may argue that this lack of subordination is uncalled for, I believe that it is the price to pay for a small amount of freedom. Subservience to parents is also necessary; for example, if I want to go to Azerbaijan next weekend, I might have to take out the SALT PEANUTS. I may feel that this is completely unnecessary, but I must temporarily submit my freedom to be able to achieve my goals. If I don't, not only will I not be able to go to a most likely radioactive country, but I also will be punished. This is not nearly as extreme as Wright's fight, but it is a very similar concept. If I believe one of their rules or orders to be morally wrong, however, I would not follow them because they would be directly counteractive to my goals. Subservience to an employer or customer is much more rigid. If I work for Bob, and Bob tells me to write a paper on the history of indoor cabbage, I'm most likely going to write that paper, no matter how rediculous it sounds. I may think it is completely unnecessary, but I would need the job in order to be able to financially support myself, assuming I have no other options available. If he tells me how to write the first paragraph, however, not only would I be extremely pissed off, but I would also defy his orders, because I feel that the paper should by my work alone. He may not like it, but the work would be completed and I would still be hired. The importance of having a job dictates the degree to which one will be subservient.

I believe that subservience is completely necessary for all human beings because we all have to live together, and the easiest way to do so peacefully is to compromise, but the degree to which it is employed must vary based on personal beliefs, current situation, and the possible outcomes of non-subservience. Too much can create a spinless puppet, but too little can create arrogance.