I thought this week’s content was very interesting and in particular I enjoyed reading the Ruben Dario Poem to Roosevelt. As Dawson says, it resembles some ideas that can be found in Jose Marti’s “Our America” of Latin American excellence and I too would agree that Marti’s message is echoed in this piece. Personally, I felt this poem was a good reminder that it is often worth mentioning the strength of a people and the positive that is present and that voicing these strengths and positives can be a very effective way to inspire and bring about change. I consider myself an optimist in the sense that I truly believe positive change or progress can be made in even the worst of situations but sometimes when tackling or discussing an issue I find myself, like many, highlighting the devastating negatives in present in a situation. While it is obviously important to recognize the issues at hand, I think voicing the ingrained and inherent positive characteristics of a people can be equally as important.
Although it is not talked about in the chapter, Dario’s inspiring tone made me think that places that face extremely difficult challenges such as Latin America are often flooded with negative thought in relation to their situation. Getting caught in a situation where the issues one is facing are constantly being brought up can make one feel perpetually bogged down in issues and make one feel like a helpless or even worthless victim. In reality, as Dario points out that Latin Americans have many great wonders and phenomenal traits and should be proud about it. Finally he declares “Long live Spanish America”. Once again I don’t think the issues should be ignored at all but having pride in one’s abilities and potential can drive and inspire change. It is for this reason that I thoroughly enjoyed Dario’s poem.