The Fire Next Time

   I have to say that The Fire Next Time made me think a little differently as the text went on. James Baldwin talks about the disconnect between whites and blacks and what this might stem from. One of his main concerns is Christianity. He was once a Christian but later abandoned those beliefs. Baldwin believes that the only way America can live up to its potential is to abandon Christianity altogether. Being a Christian, I was unsure as to where these ideas and beliefs were going. I must admit that for a period of time I was frustrated with the thought of abandoning Christianity. As I continued to read the text I began to see his perspective and it made me look at the idea differently. The first impression I had was that he was trying to eliminate Christianity together and was ultimately just against Christianity. This wasn't the case, he was against The Nation of Islam as well. His ideas involving Christianity and The Nation of Islam was that, for both blacks and whites, it makes the people narrow minded. This narrow minded thinking translates to the world and its issues. One of these issues being the separation between blacks and whites.When being narrow minded it is hard to see the perspectives of others and at times it is hard to acknowledge they are even there. An example of this is actually at the start of this post. When he began talking about Christianity being the issue I didn't even want to continue reading, luckily I did and now I can reason with him. It is hard to communicate with narrow minded people, and communication was a important topic within the text. Baldwin put emphasis on a higher level of communication and how much of an impact it can have. Baldwin began to explain this to his frustrated nephew. He talked about how hatred is at the center of racism. He wants his nephew and the black community to realize that there is a better way to handle their hatred and anger. Baldwin believes that through communication, both blacks and whites can learn and understand one another resulting in progress and a step in the right direction. I enjoyed this text by James Baldwin.

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