It does not require a Master's degree in American History, nor demand an extraordinary amount of time, to learn about slavery in the United States of America from 1619 until 1863; that is to say, there were slaveowners in America during those years, and the treatment of the slaves was certainly less than honorable. It is a period of time that does not shine brightly upon the American consciousness; the redeeming value of this painful episode of American history is our national repudiation of slavery, albeit at an horrific cost.
The imagined superiority of one race of human beings over another has proven time and again to be costly in lives, productivity and morality. Countless numbers of wars have been fought and lost, legislation born of ignorance has been enacted and eventually overturned, all to "prove" racial superiority; these efforts and countless others have failed because there is no superior race. In this bigotry and discrimination, America is not a virgin, and while she is trying to become better, she still has much work to do. Discrimination, subtle and overt, has been and still is a part and parcel of American life. Great strides have been made in reducing discrimination, but there is still much work to be done, both by individuals and governments. I say individuals as each person must come to grips with his/her own position on discrimination, and work to positively change themselves and society from the inside; I say government as we require just laws to correct unjust behavior and immoral circumstances.
Whitewashing history, as former President Donald Trump and Gov Ron DeSantis of Florida, both Republicans, (and other loud, obnoxious, ignorant politicians) seems want to do, does not erase history, nor does it change reality or facts. Declaring your love of freedom, democracy, the Constitution, and the American way of life while demonizing a subset of the population because you won't learn about them does not make you a better person, it shows you to be a bigot and a hypocrite. Calling someone "woke" simply means they are aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issue; and by lowering yourself to kindergarten name-calling behavior, you are admitting you are not as aware as you should be and have no desire to change.
When citizens of The United States of America support, defend, and embolden politicians of this ilk, they are denying the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag they memorized in school, and in my opinion should be ashamed of themselves.
Thank you for reading, your thoughts and opinions are always welcome; just click the word "Comments" in the white box below.
R. M. "Bob" Hartman
There is an upside to all this book banning and ''woke'' stuff going on these days. Historically the more stuff adults try to outlaw for kids, the more curious the kids become about what it is they are allegedly being ''protected'' from. They will seek out the banned stuff and will have it whether the adults like it or not.
ReplyDeleteI remember being about 12-13 and my Mom saying ''Flip, stay out of the poolroom.'' I said ''Okay Mom, where is it?''
Banning books wont keep kids off the internet, nor will the parental permission law re. teens and social media in Utah.
Thanks Bob, Sincerely, Flipside.
Since we're suppose to think Woke is Communism, the anti 1619-CRT-woke types should be declaring Lincoln as the "Wokest communist in American history" since his Emancipation Proclamation was the basis of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments that freed slaves, granted them full citizenship, and gave the black male the vote.
ReplyDeleteI still have a difficult time figuring out why "woke" is so bad. It means aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues. So why is being aware of what is happening around us such a bad thing? oh, wait, yeah. . .
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's deflection? By causing us to look over there, we don't see what they are doing over in the far right corner of the room.