A minority is a concept that denotes a category where a small group in a population are set apart from the social majority. In political studies, the discussion of the minorities involved the civil, social, human and other collective rights that are observed in certain societies or countries. In the fiction novella entitled Anthem, the author was inspired to talk about a possible future event where mankind will soon have to suffer severely difficult times. Rand’s Anthem was aimed at letting the reader reflect on the stripping of mankind’s humanity through the mechanisms imposed by the government.
In chapter 1 of Anthem, the reader was introduced to some of the characters of the novel, who was interestingly named by numbers. The reader is left to realize that the author wanted to convey the possibility that technological advances will soon rob people of their humanity. For the writer, this is a crime committed against humanity, but that there is no name available to categorize the crime, hence it can go unrestricted and unpunished in the process. Moreover, the author wanted to convey the coming of a time in the future where people will be punished for knowing: “This is a great sin, to be born with a head which is too quick” (Rand, 2008). This statement revealed the fear that there will come a time when people will suffer, instead of being rewarded for their superior abilities. While this was a work of fiction, there novel conveys the anxiety over losing one’s individuality because of the imposition that one should not be different from the rest. Nevertheless, despite the effort to destroy the individuality and humanity of mankind, and despite is punishment, people will retain some of their humanity as can be exemplified by Eqaulity 7-2521 who can’t help but have individual thoughts.
Chapter 1 of Anthem showed just how the individuality of some minority groups has been trampled by the government or the majority members of the society. For instance, the colored people in the United States, experienced oppression and unequal treatment to the extent that they were required to conform to government imposed restrictions on the expression of their individuality. Yet, the society was not completely successful in suppressing the expression of that individuality because minority leaders eventually came up with ways to fight such as the staging of social and civil rights movements. This is further exemplified in other chapters of the Anthem.
Some of other forms of oppression against the minority include the unequal treatment of society towards women. For example, in the past, women in the United States do not have the right to vote, and in some societies, they do not have the right to decide on their own. Moreover, they have to wait for the men in their lives to decide their fate, such as the husband deciding on when and whom their daughters will marry. Rand wrote, “and in our heart-strange are the ways of evil-in our heart there is the first peace, we have known in twenty years” (Rand, 2008). This means that when the minority eventually learned to fight for equality and against oppression, they were not afraid of the consequences, because they were overwhelmed by the feeling of being able to express and be free. Further, chapter 1 of Anthem is comparable to the status of slaves during the time where slave owners generally deny many rights from their slaves such as the right to literacy. Just like Equality 7-2521, they were restricted in a way that they were not allowed to go into specific areas. Yet, through their collective efforts, they were able to gain equality and other rights, though this only materialized after many difficulties.
When Equality 7-2521 stated that they will not allow the Golden One to be taken from them, this can be referred to the idea that when the minority were able to gain equality, they will exert every effort to protect it. And they have all the reason to protect with all their might because they fought for it all along.
Equality 7-2521 thought of how the Saint of the Pyre once dared to know about the Unspeakable word and burned for the transgression. While it was a tragic fate to be burned, Equality 7-2521 held that the idea of being punished and burned is tolerable, for the sake of knowing the Unspeakable word. This kind of thought was reflective of several occurrences when some people and minority groups suffered as a consequence of fighting for the recognition of human rights. Amidst the oppression, minority leaders and other advocates for equality urged the minority groups to stand up for their rights and to fight fearlessly for its recognition.
History would reveal how minority groups suffered the ire of their government for their outright cry for equality. Many of their leaders suffered further from ridicule to the extent of risking their lives in the process. However, they endured it all for the sake of achieving their cause, and this can be compared to how Equality 7-2521 thought that he can tolerate the act of being burned in exchange for knowing.
In the majority of societies, the economy is controlled by a minimal number of very rich people. In this kind of system, the wealthy can directly and indirectly control the lives of the poor, and the former has to struggle just to meet their basic needs. But while the poor were methodically controlled by the wealthy, they have implemented means to lessen the control and reduce the oppression. This can be related to Equality 7-2521’s statement about individuality: “I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them”. When this statement is applied between the relationship between the rich and the poor, it means that the poor do not owe their jobs to the rich. In fact, they have a mutual relationship where both benefited from the other, thus no one should be treated unduly.
In the end, no form of restrictive policies can undermine the expression of humanity. While there are many instances when the minority were silent and accepting of their predicament, they would eventually muster the strength to fight back. This is because people, regardless of whether they belong to the minority or the majority group, have their own individuality. Consequently, they needed equality and the freedom to express this individuality.
Reference
Rand, A. (2008). Anthem. Project Gutenberg
