I mean, where should we even go anymore for a legit news story? All I ever hear is that Fox News leans right, CNN and most other news sources & all social media outlets lean left, and you should definitely NEVER ask your friends or family what they think!
It is seriously a strenuous aerobic workout just trying to research one event.
So rather than stress myself out with all that mess, I’m going to try and make sense of it all from my own
These days we live in such a politically correct, stuffy, and angry environment where someone is ALWAYS offended, outraged, and/or coming up with new and creative criteria that needs to be met in order for them to be happy. If you happen to disagree or have a different point of view from someone, you are called ignorant, if you are white you are labeled a racist or bigot, and /or told that your views are wrong and insignificant. We have all officially forgotten how to listen to and respect one another's opinion and have basically reverted back to a pre-school aged mentality when we used to bite, hit, kick and scream louder than the other person to get our way.
Regardless of the years we have all put in tip toeing around someone’s feelings, bending over backwards trying not to offend someone...
Why is everyone so much angrier than they used to be? Were the statues and flags that have been a hot topic on the news lately put up JUST NOW during the Trump administration? No! Most have been up for over 60 years, which was way before I was even alive since I am
Our country, like many others, has some pretty crappy history, and I am definitely grateful that most of us were not alive to witness it. However, the majority of the struggles from the past have already been fought and won. Take slavery for instance, it was already abolished because it was evil, and wrong! So why are we still fighting about it? It is no longer an issue!
I don’t know of anyone who has been a slave in my lifetime, or even my parent’s lifetime. We can burn all the history books, take down every statue around town that offends someone, and banish all the offensive flags you can think of, but NO ONE has the power to rewrite our history, so what are we really accomplishing?
We have already banned the confederate flag, taken down several statues that have been standing for over 60 something years and even banned Dukes of Hazzard re-runs off of TV, yet people are still not happy!
I honestly feel like there are other forces at work here, whether it is politicians, the media, or whomever that are constantly stirring the pot, breathing new life and fanning the flame into issues that have been dormant, and pitting us against one another because they are working toward some unknown agenda. I mean the instructions for destroying our country are easily found in the phrase, “United we stand, Divided we fall”. There always seems to be some kind of tragic news that is meant to distract us from paying attention to the real issues! Example: Pig Virus, Ebola, West Nile, Global warming, Race wars….I mean what are they really trying to distract us from?
So I guess this is when you will start thinking I am racist or residing in an ignorant white bubble because I don’t agree with a multi-million dollar football player who bends the knee during our National Anthem, or think that it’s necessary to remove statues, ban flags, shoot cops, and erase all signs of what is an uncomfortable history to some. But you are wrong. I simply fear for a country that doesn’t embrace all parts of its history, both good and bad, learn from it, and learn how to move past it together.
Where are we headed?? Its flags and statues today, will it be history books tomorrow? It’s like George Santayana said, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. If we wipe away all traces of an uncomfortable history, how will future generations learn from our mistakes?
My white parents were hard workers who didn’t make hardly any money, and we struggled financially for most of my childhood. I’ve heard that one of my white privileges is that I wasn’t raised in the ghetto, participating in gang fights, & dodging bullets on my way home from school or work every night, but I personally find that to be an offensive stereotype because there are plenty of African Americans, Asians, Indians, etc. who were not raised in that type of environment either.
Maybe I am white, but everything I have today is because I worked my ass off to have it. Nothing has been given to me and I have the college loans to prove it. I have worked in Human Resources before, and am familiar with the diversity laws that have been put into place in order to prevent discrimination, and some of it I agree is necessary, but I can honestly say that I think we as a society pay way too much attention to race, which in my opinion, makes it a larger issue.
Do I think racism exists? ABSOLUTELY. Being married to someone of a mixed race, I am all too familiar with it! Do I think there needs to be strict laws for situations where racism is found and the perpetrator be held responsible and punished? ABSOLUTELY. Do I think that there are situations that may happen to a person of color that have been incorrectly categorized as racism? ABSOLUTELY. I also believe that the word racism has been thrown around so often that it has lost its meaning and people do not take it as seriously as they should. Do I think racism goes both ways? ABSOLUTELY. Do I think that the media reports events in such a way that they emotionally manipulate people and promote feelings of hostility and bitterness in others, which cause people of all races to resent one another, overreact and lash out at against each other? ABSO
When I watch the news I get angry, depressed and lose all faith in humanity, so I’d say the first step to having any kind of inner peace and happiness is by TURNING OFF THE DAILY NEWS.
So, I totally realize that there is nothing that I can say or write that will convince someone who disagrees with me that any of my points are valid, and that is ok, I am not writing this to tell anyone what to think, but rather just to show another outlook on current events, even if it is in vain. I am just a girl, sitting in front of a screen, asking you to read her thoughts to try and understand where she is coming from.
Later!
Lindsay
Very interesting post! My main concern with various Civil War monuments is that they actually might not represent actual history, in terms of why they were erected. Many of them were erected decades after the Civil War, and in some cases were raised with the intention of revising the history of that war - for example, the notion that the war was not fought over slavery but instead over Constitutional ideals. In some circles, the statues were also raised as a reminder that the South was still a place where whites enjoyed superiority. On the first point I made, revisionist history isn't real history, so in my personal view, the statues, while perhaps not wholly objectionable, should at least be viewed with a certain degree of skepticism as to the reason they were raised. One the second point, I'm not a person of color, but I can certainly understand why many of them are offended at such edifices, since, to them, it reminds them of suffering of their ancestors. It's the same line of reasoning I use when discussing Native American symbols and names such as that of the Washington Redskins - I've never been bothered personally by the name Redskins, but I can empathize with Native Americans who are bothered by it.
ReplyDeleteExactly, most of these monuments were built in the 20's and again in the 60's. They're not about "honoring Civil War veterans." They're about intimidating black people.
ReplyDeleteYour Mom wrote a Gone With The Wind Novel type comment but it Didn't post. We Love your blog and you are an amazing writer!
ReplyDeleteThe country has apparently gone nuts due to the mass media. Watch the Hallmark Channel or Chip & Jojo, they will get you grounded. We Love You So Much.
ReplyDelete