Ellis and Conversation

C.P. Ellis testifies that he seceded from the Klan when he started having dialogues with blacks and other minorities. As Ellis spoke with local blacks and realized that both he and blacks had shared experiences, he saw that blacks were of equal footing to whites. He realized that “Low-income whites and low-income blacks are… used by those in control, those who have all the wealth.” (523) Conversation led to Ellis’s realization of equality. “I… didn’t like blacks. I didn’t want to associate with 'em. Blacks, Jews, or Catholics. My father said: ‘Don’t have anything to do with 'em.’ I didn’t until I met a black person and talked with him, eyeball to eyeball, and met a Jewish person and talked with him, eyeball to eyeball. I found out they’re people just like me.” (523) Exchanges might have influenced Ellis and his prejudice, but dialogue is typically not an efficient way to sort out differences. People do not want to discuss difficult topics, especially with those whom they detest. We are naturally stubborn, and so it’s difficult to force maturity onto unwilling recipients and then prod these individuals into rationally discussing a controversial issue. Ellis’s solution would not work on a large scale. Peace talks and United Nation-esque organizations have existed for years, but the decisions created by these meetings rarely succeed or are actually accomplished. The ongoing genocide in Darfur continues to be overlooked by the United Nations, proof of the ineffectualness of such summits. Ellis’s idea of dialogue can be accomplished by the open-minded on a small scale, but large-scale dialogues, like those held at United Nations meetings, are often tricky to manage due to their size and diverse composition.