There is a great deal of controversy that surrounds Malcolm X and the manner in which he lived and fought. Although he stood up for what he believed in, it was in such a manner that was demeaning and derogatory toward the white community on the whole. He was not fighting for the freedom of his fellow people, but fighting for segregation, in a manner of speaking. He did not wish to reunite the black and white communities together, but, rather, to keep the communities separated, blacks on one side, and whites on the other. Malcolm X was not fighting for the freedom of the "little person" who was too weak to fight for them self, black or white, but rather fighting for his black community. He had a great many ideas that were ingenious, but the manner in which he presented them pointed the finger, as well as the blame, at the white man. X was fighting for the full separation of the black and white communities. He was fighting for separate church, state, laws, and methods of governing. Is it possible to fight for freedom, and, simultaneously, be fighting for segregation? Although his ides may have been somewhat "over the top" he stood up and fought for what he believed in, and died doing so. He may not have been as charismatic as Martin Luther King Jr., but he was, by his own earned right and merit, a figure of freedom to his community. As an individual I may not agree with a great deal of what he said, but it can not be taken away from him that he fought, as an American, and helped pave the way to freedom for his black community. It cannot be taken away from him that he lived a well life and that he died, as did King, like a soldier, for his people. .
The question of what it means to live life well brings me back to saying that I have continuously heard throughout my life, "Carpe Diem," or seize the day. In looking back on this phrase I cannot help but recall the movie "Dead Poets Society," a movie in which this phrase was based upon.