Jean Paul-Sartre entered a cafe and scanned for his friend, Pierre. He was usually hunkered in the middle of the cafe working diligently. Pierre wasn’t there. He glances over the bustling scene and in Sartre’s mind, he did not perceive any other minds or Beings in his effort to locate Pierre. All before him is negated besides the features that embody Pierre. The other people in the cafe and their desires, needs, and very existence are annihilated in Sartre’s pursuit of Pierre. It seems like a very intuitive event. When we are looking for something as mundane as our keys we can sift through a variety of items and both never “know” what they are or remember them upon forced recollection. We often mean no harm in our mental destruction; yet, harm is a consequence of our inner workings.
The state of existence is contingent upon the ability to interact with the world. Any human still retains the ability to interact with physical objects as a point of matter (in the scientific sense as atomic engagement) engaging matter. Yet, I am thoroughly convinced that that is not what causes one to exist as human. Falling back to the concept of zoopolitical or that man’s essence is derived from its nature as a political animal is what provides our existence. Rather than simply being matter, we exist as beings that matter or at least try to. I am contending our existence is inextricably linked with our political framework for either one’s betterment or detriment. And so when we fall out of the political spectrum, we are inherently missing a portion of our existence.
I am going to extrapolate this occurrence into the political realm – where almost all of our meanings are forced to reside. Using Sartre as the jumping off point was to suggest that human beings, and any living thing, is wronged when we annihilate them in pursuit of other political means. Treating others as non-existent or non-sentient objects in pursuit of other minds is one of the most dangerous maneuvers possible. It generates immense harm to the structure that people are designed to rely on. A very recent example is the attack on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients in America. These individuals boldly stepped into the political sphere in order to secure their future. The pursuit of the future is one of the most important political prompts because it requires an acknowledgement of the past and its harms. The DACA recipients came forward despite America’s history of castigating and deporting individuals like them. Most importantly, pursuing the future requires immense trust that the risks are worth exposing oneself. This bravery is how one is able to stand forth and enter the political realm. However, as we have been made aware, the DACA recipients are now being brushed aside. And here is the crux: their sentiments, desires, their very future as political beings are being destroyed by representatives who are searching for their own Pierre. The denizens that matter to many representatives may not even exist or are a minority but the representatives choose to close off the DACA recipient’s future in their pursuit of those others. The majority of Americans wish for the DACA recipients to be permitted to stay in the US.
The representatives, mostly Republican, have been negligent in recognizing the DACA recipients as people meriting engagement or some are specifically hoping to punish them in order to appeal to the constituents that barely exist. The consequences will be felt by everyone until they become normalized. I have no doubt that their actions, or inaction, will weigh heavily on the minds of every soul who wishes to matter in the political sphere. These invisible people are to be marginalized time and time again until our system seeks to recognize in favor of annihilation.
The Ought 