In this post I discuss the violations of rights, voting rights, and discrimination in short story "Liars Don't Qualify" by Junius Edwards and The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Lee.
Right Violations
In the novel I’m reading, The Secret Life of Bees, the main character’s primary caretaker is a black woman named Rosaleen. They see the Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed into law over TV which among many other things, was meant to protect black people from discrimination. Rosaleen decides to go vote at a church for people of colour and take advantage of the new act; however, on the way she is stopped by a few white men who make sure she doesn’t get the chance to vote. Needless to say Rosaleen ended up in a hospital instead of the church. This and the events of “Liars Don’t Qualify” demonstrate voting rights being violated as although they are legally allowed to vote, people in power, such as police or voting administrators, prevent them from doing so, leaving the powerless to do anything against them.
Love Her of Leave Her?
Despite their frustrating situations, I don’t think either Rosaleen nor Will Harris has lost their love for America despite how ugly she can be. At the end of the story, Will sees the American flag drooping down as if it were waiting and hates it like that. He wishes a breeze would push it up a bit sending it “flying and waving and whipping from its staff, proud”. I believe that this was a metaphor for racism in America and the changes Will wishes to see in his country as although he hates the current state his country is in, he is sure that a day will come where the breeze picks America up and blows it free.
I hope one day this love-hate relationship will finally settle on love. Everyone should be allowed to enjoy their fleeting life without having anyone question their right to.
Have you experienced any right violations in your life and if so, have you lost any love for your country because of it?
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