The history of the Civil War and the Reconstruction that followed, as well as segregation, and the racial violence, economic suppression, and civil rights injustices that continue to our present time have not been sufficiently confronted, not by a long shot.
As always, your words inspire me as they put context to what is happening in our Country today. I believe the “divide” in this country is due to the fact that we are (were) not educated PROPERLY on what led to the civil war; the “curriculum” was skewed in the South, to the benefit of rich white men who owned slaves (human beings).
I have had tears in my eyes as I read Dan's post and the responses to it. Roger so clearly articulates a dilemma that must be faced. White supremacy is at the heart of so much that is wrong in the country, and has been disguised in so many ways. Thank you, Dan, for peeling the bandaid right off and exposing this old unhealed wound. This is one of the conversations we need to be having.
It's difficult to learn from history when the social media censors ban discussing it. I once posted a tweet about how the (grisly) end of Mussolini and his mistress had been brought about by "an angry mob of furious Italians" which included "thousands of formerly devout Mussolini supporters, who now had turned viciously against him." I included the quote link, which was to the Getty museum website. I received a warning from Twitter informing me that the tweet had violated their anti-violence/hate guidelines and had therefore been removed, and I better behave or else. Yes, unfortunately history is violent, and the best way to ensure the future stays that way as well is to ban discussions about violent/wartime historical events, lest sensitive souls be offended. I'm not a frequent Twitter user, and I don't remember having posted too many stupid (offensive, angry, hateful, etc) tweets (this history tweet earned me my one and only Twitter warning). Yet my Twitter profile number on one of these sites that evaluate Twitter users - give you a number according to your "badness"; the higher, the worse - I was ca 20-30 points south of Donald Trump's record high-80s profile.
Thanks Dan and Steady Team - a thoughtful rumination on how a country can grapple with historical narratives. One of the first ways, of course, is for a majority of people to agree on how we define the data points of "truth", "evil", "wrong and right". I suspect many of us who follow you here would define those terms fairly similar. Unfortunately, my socially constructive narrative is a foreign language compared to someone who voted for the other guy. While it is intriguing to look at how our nation has dealt (or not) with the ramifications of slavery post Civil War, I can't help but also think of what our "great nation" did to all the indigenous peoples of this continent. How we treated people of Asian descent who came to find a better life and were treated like slaves while building the infrastructure of the west or Japanese Americans put into camps during WW2. Look to the border policies of the last administration. Perhaps atonement for the values of colonization are so huge that its hard to find a place to start. And yet, if we don't - each of us who claims equal citizenship in the US - we will continue to loop through the dehumanization of "other" while trying to mitigate a white existential crisis that certainly has to do with power over - not power with. The narratives will be written that promote power to a shrinking demographic group while too many people suffer. World history reminds us that our United States is a very young empire in the grand scheme of human civilization. How we, as a nation, will be remembered by future historians is up to us right now.
Sometimes history repeats, sometimes it rhymes and then sometimes like what's happening in the Biden administration, history is being made. The attention to supporting mothers and children has no parallel in our history. Been a while since I've had a lump in my chest over what my government is doing now for the least among us.
My mother’s parents were WWII veterans (both of them), and my grandmother was openly racist toward Asians until she died. While my mother has made strides, she has used what a friend of mine terms “casual racism”, as has my dad. I’ve learned, and I am still learning. People and other cultures are fascinating to me. This weekend, in my personal life, I had two examples: I spent some time talking to a young woman who works at an African cultural center that hosts classes and lessons and I told her I was interested because I wanted to learn more so I had more cultural knowledge and could better respect their cultures. Then, the following day, my mom posted something that, in her mind, was the “right” thing to post. I cringed.
Education is key, but there also has to be a want to change your thinking. In my profession as a therapist, I know that people don’t change unless they internally want to change. This, like most things, won’t be a single-item fix. How and what is taught in history classes nationwide needs to be changed and it needs to show both sides, not just the whitewashed version. But there also needs to be an aspect of social learning, education and change. More cultural exhibitions. More active learning experiences. But WE have to be curious. We have to be open to the facts. We have to be open to the information. We have to want to change.
You are so right on Dan with your comment about Germany. Germans have acknowledged and admitted to the world their atrocities. My husband and I felt exactly the same way when we visited the Wall of Terror, The Holocaust Museum and the numerous memorials. All the hated, philosophy and despicable acts right out there in full view. These special places told the world their terrible history and basically apologized for their past. Recognizing this has allowed their country to heal and for the world to know openly what happened during WW11. I feel that the US has never really addressed the racial hatred, inequality and discrimination. So many of the issues the US is dealing with are based on racial inequality. A country is suppose to look after its people so that the society is strong, just and grows so all benefit.
Dan, an amazing lesson on history, and a helpful perspective. I will reread this tomorrow because I’m not sure I’ve truly captured enough for retention. I want to share it with some folks that will also appreciate it and stimulate good discussions. Thank you!
Please consider writing a column on the subject of pardoning a President for wrong doing. We now have two blatant examples in my lifetime. It’s a difficult subject. Can a pardon help to heal a nation, or simply endorse destructive, divisive behavior ?
We also need to recognise the immense harm done to those who lived on this land long before the white settlers came and destroyed their way of life.
The natives of this land practised conservation in all things, for example the Navaho tribes believed in only using what was needed and no more. Yes, we need to learn from the past and we need to apply those lessons to the future.
On the Sunday before Martin Luther King Day, I listened to a sermon/dialog with our Parish Associate for Race Relations. He first came to West Chester, PA in the early 60's and said that the lunch counters were segregated and in a city park that featured a civil war soldiers' monument, the sign said 'Niggers and Dogs Not Allowed'. Jim Crow wasn't limited to the South. He went on to lead the contingent from this area to the 1963 march.
As recently as the 1970’s when I was in College, teaching at my large southern university about the Civil War insisted that the war was not about slavery. We were taught instead that it was about the state’s rights to secede from the Union. Though that is partially true, the root of that was slavery. Struck me as wrong even then. Our country has made progress since then, but clearly there is much left to be done. We must be ready and willing to acknowledge and take responsibility for our wrongs, to tell the truth and not some false revision of events, and to hold accountable those who hide behind the lies they proffer.
Growing up in the deep south as I did, I admit that the "history" we were taught was romanticized and explained away as if it were a movie - a "Gone with the Wind" if you will. The "War of Aggression" was glamourized and the truth about mass murder and a form of genocide, for the mere purpose of owning free labor was seldom, if ever discussed. Waving that atrocious flag and celebrating the MAGA way of life became symbols around which white supremacists could rally. These behaviors appear to have satisfied a need to belong, which some psychologists say is a basic human need. Unfortunately, that need has evolved into a sub-culture that continues to this very day to desire the subjugation of entire important segment of our society. I hope things change while I'm still alive, but with the events of each day, I'm not that hopeful.
As always, your words inspire me as they put context to what is happening in our Country today. I believe the “divide” in this country is due to the fact that we are (were) not educated PROPERLY on what led to the civil war; the “curriculum” was skewed in the South, to the benefit of rich white men who owned slaves (human beings).
I have had tears in my eyes as I read Dan's post and the responses to it. Roger so clearly articulates a dilemma that must be faced. White supremacy is at the heart of so much that is wrong in the country, and has been disguised in so many ways. Thank you, Dan, for peeling the bandaid right off and exposing this old unhealed wound. This is one of the conversations we need to be having.
It's difficult to learn from history when the social media censors ban discussing it. I once posted a tweet about how the (grisly) end of Mussolini and his mistress had been brought about by "an angry mob of furious Italians" which included "thousands of formerly devout Mussolini supporters, who now had turned viciously against him." I included the quote link, which was to the Getty museum website. I received a warning from Twitter informing me that the tweet had violated their anti-violence/hate guidelines and had therefore been removed, and I better behave or else. Yes, unfortunately history is violent, and the best way to ensure the future stays that way as well is to ban discussions about violent/wartime historical events, lest sensitive souls be offended. I'm not a frequent Twitter user, and I don't remember having posted too many stupid (offensive, angry, hateful, etc) tweets (this history tweet earned me my one and only Twitter warning). Yet my Twitter profile number on one of these sites that evaluate Twitter users - give you a number according to your "badness"; the higher, the worse - I was ca 20-30 points south of Donald Trump's record high-80s profile.
Beautifully written and sadly similar to my school years in the 50’s and 60’s. You are always on point and enjoy reading everyone’s responses.
Thanks Dan and Steady Team - a thoughtful rumination on how a country can grapple with historical narratives. One of the first ways, of course, is for a majority of people to agree on how we define the data points of "truth", "evil", "wrong and right". I suspect many of us who follow you here would define those terms fairly similar. Unfortunately, my socially constructive narrative is a foreign language compared to someone who voted for the other guy. While it is intriguing to look at how our nation has dealt (or not) with the ramifications of slavery post Civil War, I can't help but also think of what our "great nation" did to all the indigenous peoples of this continent. How we treated people of Asian descent who came to find a better life and were treated like slaves while building the infrastructure of the west or Japanese Americans put into camps during WW2. Look to the border policies of the last administration. Perhaps atonement for the values of colonization are so huge that its hard to find a place to start. And yet, if we don't - each of us who claims equal citizenship in the US - we will continue to loop through the dehumanization of "other" while trying to mitigate a white existential crisis that certainly has to do with power over - not power with. The narratives will be written that promote power to a shrinking demographic group while too many people suffer. World history reminds us that our United States is a very young empire in the grand scheme of human civilization. How we, as a nation, will be remembered by future historians is up to us right now.
Such great comments - I can only add this - If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.
Sometimes history repeats, sometimes it rhymes and then sometimes like what's happening in the Biden administration, history is being made. The attention to supporting mothers and children has no parallel in our history. Been a while since I've had a lump in my chest over what my government is doing now for the least among us.
My mother’s parents were WWII veterans (both of them), and my grandmother was openly racist toward Asians until she died. While my mother has made strides, she has used what a friend of mine terms “casual racism”, as has my dad. I’ve learned, and I am still learning. People and other cultures are fascinating to me. This weekend, in my personal life, I had two examples: I spent some time talking to a young woman who works at an African cultural center that hosts classes and lessons and I told her I was interested because I wanted to learn more so I had more cultural knowledge and could better respect their cultures. Then, the following day, my mom posted something that, in her mind, was the “right” thing to post. I cringed.
Education is key, but there also has to be a want to change your thinking. In my profession as a therapist, I know that people don’t change unless they internally want to change. This, like most things, won’t be a single-item fix. How and what is taught in history classes nationwide needs to be changed and it needs to show both sides, not just the whitewashed version. But there also needs to be an aspect of social learning, education and change. More cultural exhibitions. More active learning experiences. But WE have to be curious. We have to be open to the facts. We have to be open to the information. We have to want to change.
You are so right on Dan with your comment about Germany. Germans have acknowledged and admitted to the world their atrocities. My husband and I felt exactly the same way when we visited the Wall of Terror, The Holocaust Museum and the numerous memorials. All the hated, philosophy and despicable acts right out there in full view. These special places told the world their terrible history and basically apologized for their past. Recognizing this has allowed their country to heal and for the world to know openly what happened during WW11. I feel that the US has never really addressed the racial hatred, inequality and discrimination. So many of the issues the US is dealing with are based on racial inequality. A country is suppose to look after its people so that the society is strong, just and grows so all benefit.
Dan, an amazing lesson on history, and a helpful perspective. I will reread this tomorrow because I’m not sure I’ve truly captured enough for retention. I want to share it with some folks that will also appreciate it and stimulate good discussions. Thank you!
Excellent historical review, ups doens, and a sense of hope. Thanks, Dan.
Please consider writing a column on the subject of pardoning a President for wrong doing. We now have two blatant examples in my lifetime. It’s a difficult subject. Can a pardon help to heal a nation, or simply endorse destructive, divisive behavior ?
We also need to recognise the immense harm done to those who lived on this land long before the white settlers came and destroyed their way of life.
The natives of this land practised conservation in all things, for example the Navaho tribes believed in only using what was needed and no more. Yes, we need to learn from the past and we need to apply those lessons to the future.
On the Sunday before Martin Luther King Day, I listened to a sermon/dialog with our Parish Associate for Race Relations. He first came to West Chester, PA in the early 60's and said that the lunch counters were segregated and in a city park that featured a civil war soldiers' monument, the sign said 'Niggers and Dogs Not Allowed'. Jim Crow wasn't limited to the South. He went on to lead the contingent from this area to the 1963 march.
As recently as the 1970’s when I was in College, teaching at my large southern university about the Civil War insisted that the war was not about slavery. We were taught instead that it was about the state’s rights to secede from the Union. Though that is partially true, the root of that was slavery. Struck me as wrong even then. Our country has made progress since then, but clearly there is much left to be done. We must be ready and willing to acknowledge and take responsibility for our wrongs, to tell the truth and not some false revision of events, and to hold accountable those who hide behind the lies they proffer.
Growing up in the deep south as I did, I admit that the "history" we were taught was romanticized and explained away as if it were a movie - a "Gone with the Wind" if you will. The "War of Aggression" was glamourized and the truth about mass murder and a form of genocide, for the mere purpose of owning free labor was seldom, if ever discussed. Waving that atrocious flag and celebrating the MAGA way of life became symbols around which white supremacists could rally. These behaviors appear to have satisfied a need to belong, which some psychologists say is a basic human need. Unfortunately, that need has evolved into a sub-culture that continues to this very day to desire the subjugation of entire important segment of our society. I hope things change while I'm still alive, but with the events of each day, I'm not that hopeful.