Breaking the Chains of Psychological Slavery
September 25, 2008
Breaking the Chains of Psychological Slavery
Na’im Akbar begins this book by giving us the background on the psychological legacy of slavery. He continuously dares us to search our legacy of despair and mind altering illusions that were designed to keep us from our true worth. In this paper, I will discuss my agreement towards the legacy of slavery and the mentality of my generation towards working hard at an occupation to earn money and ensure a fundamentally sound future, owning property, and how personal inferiority can deter you from becoming empowered. I will then go on to give my opinion on being liberated from mental slavery and how the strategies to break the chains of slavery can allow me to break the cycle of my generational cursed family by raising self awareness and knowledge of one’s self. Lastly, I will attempt to wrap my mind around the concept of religious imagery and psychological confusion and touch on the solution.
The definition of work is to labor. That’s exactly what slavery is defined as, “forced labor”. They were forced to do manual labor from sun-up to sun-down without the prospect of being monetarily rewarded for it. This labor was solely to support and enhance the survival of the slave-owners and their families and helped build the European-American machine that continues to drive this land by cracking the “whip” today. The abuse and brutal punishment towards the slave was a means to keep them at hand which in return was psychologically passed down to the descendants of slaves (my generation). I personally see the effects of this behavior. I have been around several people who would rather sell narcotics, gamble and try those get rich quick schemes instead of working hard to care for their families and better their lives. Na’im Akbar describes this as “The ability to look successful without doing any identifiable work became the image of affluence of many street hustlers and pimps” (5). The question
Breaking the Chains of Psychological Slavery
Na’im Akbar begins this book by giving us the background on the psychological legacy of slavery. He continuously dares us to search our legacy of despair and mind altering illusions that were designed to keep us from our true worth. In this paper, I will discuss my agreement towards the legacy of slavery and the mentality of my generation towards working hard at an occupation to earn money and ensure a fundamentally sound future, owning property, and how personal inferiority can deter you from becoming empowered. I will then go on to give my opinion on being liberated from mental slavery and how the strategies to break the chains of slavery can allow me to break the cycle of my generational cursed family by raising self awareness and knowledge of one’s self. Lastly, I will attempt to wrap my mind around the concept of religious imagery and psychological confusion and touch on the solution.
The definition of work is to labor. That’s exactly what slavery is defined as, “forced labor”. They were forced to do manual labor from sun-up to sun-down without the prospect of being monetarily rewarded for it. This labor was solely to support and enhance the survival of the slave-owners and their families and helped build the European-American machine that continues to drive this land by cracking the “whip” today. The abuse and brutal punishment towards the slave was a means to keep them at hand which in return was psychologically passed down to the descendants of slaves (my generation). I personally see the effects of this behavior. I have been around several people who would rather sell narcotics, gamble and try those get rich quick schemes instead of working hard to care for their families and better their lives. Na’im Akbar describes this as “The ability to look successful without doing any identifiable work became the image of affluence of many street hustlers and pimps” (5). The question