Things to Celebrate.
What about the truth?
I read the USA article about the dispute between Ben & Jerry’s and Kristi Noem. The article describes a virtual spat concerning Mount Rushmore and Indian land rights between Kristi Noem and the founders of Ben and Jerry’s.
I find it interesting because it highlights the differences between how we recognize truth about our history. Noem is right in stating our history books support her stance that Mount Rushmore idealizes true America greatness. Ben & Jerry’s is also quite right in pointing out our history books often leave out the details we would rather forget. Mount Rushmore sits on lands promised to the Lakota Sioux nation by treaty and then later stolen back due to the discovery of gold.
So both are correct.
A lesson from my education.
I remember a history teacher saying “History is written by the victors.” His point was that history as found in History books is seldom the whole story. We should look further to find the whole truth. It was a simple statement, but is also a lesson well learned.
What is good about our country.
Our founding documents, both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence set an extremely high bar for our behavior. I’m not certain our founding fathers, fully understood the words they wrote. The actions and even the Constitution indicate a lack of acceptance. The treatment of slaves in the Constitution as 3/5 of a person indicate a belief that not all men are created equal. Over time that wrong was legally rectified, granting voting rights to women and blacks and thus expanding the meaning of “all men.”
This is our country at its best, when historical wrongs are rectified.
Our country at it’s worst.
During times of change, the debate in our country is often harsh. Violence is often the result of demonstrations. Our country turns against ourselves. Now is such a time.
To Reconcile Differences Requires Work.
Our political parties are unable today to even attempt the work necessary to reconcile differences. They both feel they are right and refuse to accept the other parties truths. I don’t know how to fix this impasse, but if we are to thrive as a nation, we must get past the rancor.
As individuals and as a country we are not perfect.
It is fine to celebrate our achievements, but we must also recognize our mistakes. In relationships with others there must be tolerance and that is where diversity training comes in.
In my early work career there was little done in the field of diversity training. Overtime it became mandatory. There was a story told during this training about an individual who truly did not believe in a diverse work force. He often used derogator terms when describing individuals who were different. Management chose him to lead diversity training at the site.
Most would think this was a complete mistake. He studied the materials in order to lead the training. As he continued his study, he began to internalize the concepts and over time realized the benefits of a diverse work force much out weighed his complaints. He became one of the companies leaders in diversity.
The Fact is.
We as a country have not done well at accepting differences. Our laws require freedoms of speech, religion and a peaceful pursuit of happiness. Our natural instinct is to separate into groups. This leads to inequities which in turn lead to discord and our country fractures a little bit each time.
We live in a time where the fractures are getting bigger and as a country we are getting weaker. We need to act now.
Education is the Key.
Education is about learning how to learn. Exploring new ideas and learning to apply those ideas in new ways in the real world. Ignoring truth is not good education, but indoctrination.
What scares me the most about the conservative agenda right now, is the desire to reshape schools to limit the exploration of ideas. To discuss history as found in our text books, and to band books that will question the validity of those ideas.
We need Monuments
Which celebrate our ideals, and not remind us of failures. For many monuments of southern civil war remind us of our failures and are not a cause for celebration. The Lakota Sioux consider Mount Rushmore a scar on land they consider both stolen and sacred.
Most American citizen’s consider Mount Rushmore to be a monument to our great leaders. It is a source of pride. To think otherwise would be unwise. I’ll admit visiting Mount Rushmore is on my bucket list. But I also want to visit Crazy Horse Monument. Both represent our past and both provide a more complete story.
What is important going forward is the Truth.
And acting with respect and dignity to everyone.
An essay by Neil L Brackley
Recent Comments