When this nation was founded, her aspirations were grand. Most were. Some – like 3/5 of a person – were horrible and were changed after a war testing whether a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal could long endure. Notwithstanding amendments to the constitution and laws under the constitution to make us increasingly inclusive and increasingly concerned for the welfare of others, some of us have never had an equal chance to live free. And now we are on the verge of burning people at the stake, lynchings as we proscribe further and further what we can read and who can vote. Certain religions have people pushing for their religion to be adopted by the country and required to be practiced by all. They already have their cold, sharp claws on choices we thought were protected by the constitution. Here’s what I don’t understand. Have these people not studied history – English history that gave rise to the colonies and eventually our revolution and the religious oppression that still torments many of our people. When the state requires a religious practice and forbids other practices, people are oppressed and people die. How can people not know that? That’s why we cannot base our laws on one religion or another. And a loud and aggressive collection of our political leaders are pushing exclusivity again, making voting more difficult (and I daresay dangerous), restricting access to reading solely on the basis of conflict with their personal and religious beliefs, and on and on. I am heartsick. And I ask myself what I’m doing? Writing to congress people sometimes. Voting, for sure. Writing sometimes. I feel so lame. Great nation? Not right now – except so far we are still holding together in the face of this firestorm. Maybe there is reason to hope.
— Marmar
— Marmar
You wrote: "Have these people not studied history...?" Only about 38% of Americans have a bachelor's degree. I think the idea of "American history" that is taught in grade schools and probably most high schools, too, is: "We went through all this stuff, made a Declaration and fought for independence, then made a PERFECT country with our Constitution and Bill of Rights (but please don't read or think about those documents, because it's all good), fought a civil war about economics & stuff, but came back together better than ever, and there is nothing that should change about us. We are GREAT. God helped." (from Macoff)
ReplyDeleteNow that you say that I am wondering where I learned English and US history. My high school American history teacher was the basketball coach. The one thing I clearly remember his saying was from his days in the military "black people do smell different." That was the end of any respect I had for him. I didn't take the subject in college. So, summer reading before law school, most of the courses included at least some history, and then recreational reading after law school. The time is probably not right to make the high school course more rigorous with more accurate history. Yeah, I know. What a joke, right? I did love "We are GREAT. God helped."
Delete