Minute Paper 2/11

Decolonizing the future was quite an interesting concept that I have been introduced to.  Especially the portion on the "long ranged" power given to certain people.  People we as students see for a good portion of our lives.  Our teachers and parents.  It's quite interesting on how they have the power to manifest a future for us as they see fit.  Parents especially are the main cause for this.  A lot of parents want their children to live a good life.  Such as here in Hawaii, a lot of parents have multiple jobs just to make ends meet.  These kinds of parents are pushing their children to go to school and then furthering their educations after high school in order to obtain a bachelor's degree or even a master or PhD.  Just so that their kids can have better jobs with better pay so that they don't have to go through the financial problems that they as parents had to go through.  But, when does it become too much for the parent to push their child.  A kid is a kid and will want to act like a kid.  Maybe when they mature and decide to go to college (on their own) will they find the desire to further their knowledge.  From a personal perspective, my mother forced me to attend this university so that I could supposedly achieve a better life for myself in the long run.  As a good son I comply and here I am today, but often I wonder if this was the right choice I made.  My mother even chose my major for me when I entered here.  Now that's disappointing.  I, of course, did not want to major in Chemistry to become a pharmacist.  On the other hand, I decided to pursue Psychology as a major and then further my education towards a Master's Degree in Forensic Psychology. 

Getting back to the topic, my mother showed a clear example of the long ranged power discussed in the decolonizing of the future.  Maybe that's how the government runs as well.  After all they are the ones who decide for all of us what is the best course of action to take.  So basically it's the government that controls our future.  Maybe if we all decide to make the changes for ourselves by ourselves, we as the commons can take the future back into our own hands.