Paulo Freire, Closed Society and Democratic Inexperience

In a world where societies are constantly splitting, reinventing, and transforming; the very stability of our political structures is dependent on the integration of everyone collectively. Paulo Freire explores the ways in which Brazilian society was developed under a lack of colonial integration and with a paternalist view from people in power. In a parasitic relationship of sorts, Freire outlines the inner workings of Brazil's colonization and the pervasion of slavery that characterized the imbalance of power in the country.

With an unbalanced distribution of power within a society, a split seems inevitable. In Brazil's case, when there is an excess of power in one area but lacking in others there isn't a push to be aligned with reality but to instead alter one's actions to align with the demands of their surroundings. Suppressed people when not integrated, become alienated from the rest of society and a country would face division. For open dialogue to exist, there must not be closed conditions but an open area for conversations about politics, culture, and social matters. The expression of the people is a foundation upon which democracy is based and in places where expression is limited, a split seems more possible.

"Integration, the behavior characteristic of flexibly democratic regimes, requires a maximum capacity for critical thought."

Having an open area for conversation allows us as citizens to voice our opinions and ideas for the betterment of society. Creating an open space where any and everyone feels empowered to share their viewpoint is important to democracy especially in the sense of establishing a society that is shaped by the people. An open area in my life would be in a small group that I am part of where we go to read common books and materials, share ideas, and discuss anything else that may be occurring in our lives. From our group's beginning, we all created a space that was open for discussions and opposing positions. The group promotes approaching things from different viewpoints and exploring how to challenge ourselves to be the best people that we can. As Freire gave, personal involvement from members of a country is essential to the upkeep of democracy and the same goes for my small group; for our group to maintain its' integrity, we all must show up and share our thoughts to keep it going and healthy.

Art has always offered a crafted perspective of people, places, things, and ideas. It opens doors to new ways of thinking and looking at the world. Visually we communicate with each other through our expressions and in the same way art seeks to challenge or affirm the constructs around us. Art acts as a spark to the fire of questioning what we know. Seeing a different expression of a cat, for instance, could allow us to alter our perspective and view that animal in a completely different way. As that art is a means to challenge predispositioned viewpoints, it's only reasonable that it can also have an effect on altering the very values which we live by. Art as an extremely powerful vessel can deliver us new ways to view politics, basic human rights, and so much more.