First, I fell in love with this photo. Mainly I publish these kinds of shots over at Sidewalk Images, but this one belongs here.
Maybe if they're lucky, I'll let the SI folks have it later.
In racing, there are lanes, of course, all the same length even though racers start at different points on the track.
It can be disorienting to watch because it seems as if some racers have an advantage -- and, according to people who run in these events, there are advantages to where you start, though not because any one route is shorter than any other.
In life we all start at different points also, but there are distinct advantages -- not all people get off to an equal start.
In fact, we individually get off to radically different jumps and follow radically different routes. All that is certain is we all end up at the same finish line sooner or later.
Lately I've been reading a couple different histories, one by the late Howard Zinn; the other a lesser known work called "Wherever There's a Fight" by Elaine Elinson and Stan Yogi.
This latter book shows how California was built on the backs of exploited minorities. San Francisco, the proud liberal City, once had the largest vigilante force in American history.
Here, and throughout the state, minorities were beaten, raped and lynched for no other reason than their race or ethnicity.
Natives, Latinos, African-Americans and Asians in particular were singled out for unspeakable acts of repression.
It is only by understanding this racist history that any of us can move forward today -- that is my premise.
This perspective represents a point of contention, however, between people like me and conservatives who believe the past is past and no longer relevant.
Though I realize I am utterly incapable of convincing even one conservative that I am right about this I know that I am.
But they are in no mood to listen. The evidence? The opening speech at the recent "Tea Party" convention contained overtly racist appeals to prevent today's immigrants from being able to vote.
Those who fail to understand the past are condemned to repeat it. In this case, that does not mean that white conservatives will be able to return to their racist activities of the past -- they will not be able to clear the country of minorities no matter how badly (albeit secretly) they may wish to.
But by revisiting the racism that is our common legacy, by unleashing dangerous forces like those now toyed with by ignorants on the right, the future of the U.S. as a viable democracy hangs in the balance.
This country either will be a free country for all, welcoming all, or it will collapse in a pile of dust, swept into the dustbin of history that awaits all racist societies.
-30-
2 comments:
I'm all for knowing our past- understanding and confronting the mistakes...and I liked what you said...move forward. To get caught in a rut at inspection and counter inspection of any point in history will lead to a spiraling down effect. At some point, after something has been admitted to and examined - there needs to be a letting go and a moving forward.
David, your maternal grandfather was, by our standards today, a deeply prejudiced man. Not at all unusual for his time, he was suspicious of many other Americans – Polacks, Jews, Italians, certainly Blacks. Yet we all know that he was a good man in character on many levels; he was honorable in his dealings with all who knew him and responsible to a fault (if that is possible) when it came to family, friends, and coworkers.
Your uncle, grandpa's only son, grew up with some (though certainly not all) of those prejudices. Not at all unusual for his generation, he was far more open to accepting differing races, religions, and creeds. In fact, he appointed the first black superintendent at his stamping plant in Michigan (facing extreme resentment from some other managers he worked with at the time). He had many close personal friends over the years who were Polish, Jewish, Italian, etc.
Your uncle's three sons experienced even less difficulty overcoming the prejudices of grandpa's day. Our world continues to change. I am encouraged to see how much less my son is afflicted with the prejudices which are mine.
Americans have evolved a very long way from the time of our founding. Where government has not meddled, the robust evolution continues. It is remarkable to think that every government effort to “force” equality has brought with it greater resentment between the unequal classes of Americans it attempts to define. Our government was created to promote equality of opportunity, not outcome.
“We hold these truths to be self evident; that all men are created equal...” It's an argument for the ages. It simply and eloquently describes the ideal for which all Americans should strive. And we do, generation by generation.
Anjuli is right. Wallowing in the past will not help us move forward.
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