Jan 17, 2023·edited Jan 17, 2023Liked by Bill Alstrom (MA-Maine-MA)
I remain angry that I learned about Custers Last Stand and other “significant” details, but why did I only learn of the Tulsa Massacre recently? We don’t teach our gravest sins to our children so the little darlings won’t feel guilty. It’s what we do. And it’s wrong.
The United States advertises itself as something it has never been: a place that values equality among all humans. We live on stolen land and play fantasy games with each other about who we are and what we stand for. This country has a long history of class warfare, racism, and two different systems of reality: one for the unwashed masses and one for the wealthy. We loudly proclaim that anyone can cross the invisible lines by working hard and following the rules. And those are both lies.
Some of us have ancestors who were chattel slaves and many of us are mentally enslaved now by the lies passed on down through generations.
A healthy nation or society would not be afraid to examine what you have said. And to grow from it. But we wallow in denial, repeating the same bigoted hateful mistakes over and over.
There is a big debate about what ought to be taught in schools. IMO, we should start with the horrors of the Europeans arrival here. We should not neglect the interminable warfare between Indigenous Americans. All the brutality and ignorance should be on display. Let the truth be told with a warning about what happens when we create fables and call them history.
There is a cultural flipping of the middle finger when one celebrates the "heroes" of the South. And hate for Yankees is part of their DNA.
Ideally, as cultures mix and diversity expands, those resentments and bias will be diluted.
But it requires leaders to set the tone. Pathetically, the rebels of the 19th Century have been reincarnated and sit as southern Governors. "45" set the stage to welcome such backsliding. We have lost many decades of progress.
I remain angry that I learned about Custers Last Stand and other “significant” details, but why did I only learn of the Tulsa Massacre recently? We don’t teach our gravest sins to our children so the little darlings won’t feel guilty. It’s what we do. And it’s wrong.
This shows how deeply entrenched racism and white supremacy is in the southern states. It is disgraceful and sickening.
The United States advertises itself as something it has never been: a place that values equality among all humans. We live on stolen land and play fantasy games with each other about who we are and what we stand for. This country has a long history of class warfare, racism, and two different systems of reality: one for the unwashed masses and one for the wealthy. We loudly proclaim that anyone can cross the invisible lines by working hard and following the rules. And those are both lies.
Some of us have ancestors who were chattel slaves and many of us are mentally enslaved now by the lies passed on down through generations.
Thanks for this Pen.
A healthy nation or society would not be afraid to examine what you have said. And to grow from it. But we wallow in denial, repeating the same bigoted hateful mistakes over and over.
There is a big debate about what ought to be taught in schools. IMO, we should start with the horrors of the Europeans arrival here. We should not neglect the interminable warfare between Indigenous Americans. All the brutality and ignorance should be on display. Let the truth be told with a warning about what happens when we create fables and call them history.
Bill,
Sanitize the sins of the past to ensure a worse future for all.
It's more than just willful ignorance, isn't it? Those who still honor the Confederacy are just savage, cruel people.
There is a cultural flipping of the middle finger when one celebrates the "heroes" of the South. And hate for Yankees is part of their DNA.
Ideally, as cultures mix and diversity expands, those resentments and bias will be diluted.
But it requires leaders to set the tone. Pathetically, the rebels of the 19th Century have been reincarnated and sit as southern Governors. "45" set the stage to welcome such backsliding. We have lost many decades of progress.
It hurts because we of a certain generation fought so hard in the '60s and accomplished so much, and now we see the terrible regression.
You’d think so right? What a shame they have nothing better of which to be proud.
Thank you Bill. I’m horrified by these facts but I didn’t know and I should. The voting rights bill becomes even more apparently necessary.
So true. If we fix voting rights, the diverse, tolerant majority will marginalize the haters.
Wouldn't it be amazing if the political stars aligned in 2024. And in 2025 we could address that, immigration and income inequality?
And the climate crisis and education and …
But first voting rights, because I think you are right the majority will move us in the right direction.
Well said and analyzed!!