Originally posted by martha:
Originally posted by Desire4Bono:
In the Declaration of Independence, those guys
Owned slaves.
I knew someone would throw that old classic into the stew. So maybe a third of them did, but does that mean all their accomplishments should be disregarded and their words and stories replaced by the minor and insignificant ones of women and minorities, thus revising history in a PC way?
I have seen this happen in recent school textbooks. I toured Yorktown battlefield and Victory Center with a bunch of fifth graders and was shocked the names of Washington, Cornwallis and Rochambeau were never mentioned, while there were statues, speeches by tour guides and major glorifications of any woman or minority you've never heard of, right down to the common soldier's wife who came to do the laundry. Now it's fine to mention all that too but not at the expense of leaving out the names and stories of the major players because they were white guys and/or they did something that is now frowned upon. Don't all policitians and generals in some way?
You have to remember too that as foul and disgusting and unacceptable as owning slaves is to us today, in those days some people were raised in a different time with a totally different set of standards and ethics. It's not like they were some demons. Then as NOW, people will justify the things they do that are wrong so they can go ahead and do them and not feel guity. They will rationalize it in their heads until they feel it is their right, and their choice, there is nothing wrong with it and no one should take it away from them. Those men should not be hated or condemned any more than lots of others who've done other things. Like I said not all of them did have slaves and all of them were brilliant men (everyone has faults) who started this nation and should be remembered for that without the scorn of a modern society and its standards they did not have to deal with. So that's it, some of those guys had slaves, so they are evil and should be forgotten and disregarded, stuff them in the closet, shut the door on them and never mention them again in a positive light?!
I saw a black scholar on TV a few years ago who said something I totally agree with. He said rewriting history to make some people feel better isn't really history, it's psychology, and it's wrong. Good for him. you can't change the past and it isn't fair to judge those who lived over 200 years ago by today's standards. Like so many have pointed out, we're not perfect now either, but that does not make every person's lives and accomplishments worthless.
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~"Everybody seems to think I'm lazy,
I don't mind, think they're crazy
running everywhere at such a speed
'til they find, there's no need!
Please don't spoil my day,
I'm miles away,
and after all, I'm only sleeping!"~
John Lennon
[This message has been edited by Desire4Bono (edited 05-20-2002).]