Great Scot - The Scotch Family Magazine - Issue 151 September 2017 GreatScot_Internal_Sept_2017_FA | Page 35

Clearer perception,
as the sun clears the fog
In the first week of the winter holidays, I
participated in the International Boys’ School
Coalition (IBSC) Student Forum in Baltimore,
Maryland, USA. For a week, we investigated and
learnt about social issues facing the city and its
varying communities, in the effort to develop skills
for bringing about change.
Picture a late August morning, when an
oppressive blanket of fog enshrouds the Melbourne
skyline, floating down to the streets below, giving
the city an opaque nature as if it were a fine layer of
dust. To the commuters making their way to work,
this mist – though not obscuring their view entirely
– hides from them the acute details of everything
around them. Yet, as the sun rises over the hills,
it spills over the scene, cutting under this opaque
cloud, restoring the city’s usual vibrancy and clarity.
And so it was on this trip to Baltimore; leaving
Melbourne under this metaphorical fog and
returning with, to some extent, a clearer perception
of things.
I had seen the White House on TV, but never
truly appreciated how removed it is from the general
public. I had been told of the tense racial relations
in the United States, but could not conceptualise
the motives of the people involved. Each new
experience in America, therefore, came to represent
a more – but not completely – clear insight into
the given subject. That isn’t to say my opinions on
certain issues changed; rather, they became more
nuanced, complicated by a fresh presentation of
things.
Two noteworthy occurrences during the
conference were meeting black activist Justin
Sanders and politician Dr John Bullock, both of
whom grew up in the same neighbourhood at
around the same time. Mr Sanders argued that
meaningful change in his community would come
only if they were to do things for themselves instead
of depending on government intervention. Dr
Bullock submitted that the government was, from
his point of view, good in intent and should work
with, not against, the struggling districts of the city.
This dichotomy of opinion struck me as
perplexing. Change, I would suggest, is inherently
linked to this nuancing of outlook; when an entire
people becomes aware of some new frame of
reference, alterations in some sense or other must
necessarily follow. Yet in the case of Justin and the
senator, neither seemed willing to find common
ground.
What I took from this experience, in essence,
was that it is often the proponents of change who
have the most narrow scope on the issue. Sent
to the United States and tasked with making a
difference in some community of ours after the
forum, it was very much tempting to feel as if we
were the enlightened group seeking to bring light
to the twilight masses. Yet to do so would be
somewhat naive, because each and every person
must, in order to belong to progressive societies,
consider not just their own beliefs but what is yet to
be revealed by that rising sun.
Thank you to Mr Waugh, Mr McNeil and Mr
Batty for assisting me throughout the trip, and
special thanks to Dr Ainsworth for being my mentor.
NICK MARKS - YEAR 11
www.scotch.vic.edu.au Great Scot
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