How Much of the Past Are We Responsible For?

There are real and lasting scars in United States history.  They have such a large impact on some of our consciousnesses because of the lofty goals our Constitution and Declaration of Independence set.

America, as Ronald Reagan so famously stated,  has set itself up as the "Beacon on the Hill", hence the goals of economic and social justice that America keeps trying, at least spiritually, to attain.

And there are glaring exceptions in history.  February has been declared "Black History Month" and is probably ignored by over 50% of the American People. The reason is understandable, the history of African Americans is not pretty, including slavery, genocide, Civil War, and Jim Crowe (the old and the new).

Many Americans dodge the moral dilemmas posed by our lofty ideals by declaring that they weren't alive then so cannot be held responsible.

That is a point well taken, except when you look at the state of African Americans today.  True we have an African American President, that drives crackers nuts, but we also have an staggeringly high incarceration rate for African American males, no economic justice for sure;etc.  And we all are alive to try to cope with that!

And then there are the Native Americans.

It is true that Native Americans were left out of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  They ranked as animals in those days.  But subsequent Court Decisions have finally given them citizenship status.  And the history is one of brutality, genocide and even worse, cultural destruction on an unprecedented scale.  You have to compare it to the Cambodia massacre  after the Vietnam War to find the same scale and brutality.

Much is undocumented, much is, all of it makes a sane person sick to their stomach.

But, the proponents of the Washington Redskins say, the use of a mascot demeaning Native Americans really is an honor to their legacy, even though most Native Americans and those of "mixed blood" (which is actually most Native Americans today) want the mascot changed.

I was a Stanford Indian in the 60s.   I played on the football team and was led on the field for three years at every home game by "Prince Lightfoot" (a member of a tribe who used to own San Francisco), onto the field to do battle with Spartans, Trojans, and Bears.

And the song dollies dressed as Indian maidens, the band sometimes wore warpaint, all white, all unknowing the disrespect to history such behavior meant.

Finally in the early 70s Stanford alone decided to change the mascot BACK to Cardinal. I get criticism for that from my conservative friends all the time.  I wince each time, biting my tongue.

You see the Indians came when Pop Warner took the head coaching job at Stanford, coming from Carlyle Indian School, of Jim Thorpe lore.   This is the same Carlyle Indian School that systematically destroyed thousands of children's connection with their past.  Jim Thorpe was so traumatized by it that he eventually died a hopeless drunk, a victim of cultural assassination.  

And then, Disney studios designed a long nosed Indian cartoon character, that was depicted strangling Bear, stomping Trojans; etc.  I still have a doll that was sold in the 30s, in fact I am looking at it as I type this blog.   It is innocuous really, cute I suppose, and symbolic of total cultural warfare in the United States.

We are responsible for the past when it contains many aspects that cry out to be repaired in our nation's collective conscience.

There is such a thing as a collective conscience.  Martin Luther King proved that, as we again half celebrate Black History month.  His eloquence at the Lincoln Memorial still moves us to tears, as he called forth a massive outpouring of white guilt, that brought us the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act and Affirmative Action to try to live up to those lofty ideals set so long ago.

And to some extent we have made progress.  Talk to any conservative and will all say Civil Rights is no longer an issue.  Talk to most social scientists, and those on the left, and they will tell you otherwise.

There is, as President Obama likes to say, "More work to do", as we encounter one police killing of unarmed African Americans after another.  Lynching has pretty much stopped, the KKK is in deep hiding, but still economic and social justice has a long way to go.

Unless you talk to a conservative who decries the use of big government, specifically the Federal Government, to address issues of racial profiling, discrimination and violence.  They claim the problem was solved back in the 60s and adopt a "what me worry" philosophy.

And many American have adopted this, saying we are no longer responsible for our checkered past regarding minorities.

And then there are the Native Americans.  The growth of Indian Gaming is used by many as "proof" the problem no longer exists.  Meanwhile many reservations are some of the poorest places on the planet, with rampant drug and alcohol  abuse, suicide and general cultural dysfunction on a massive scale.

It is true many mixed bloods are doing well, I am one of them, a Stanford Grad with a Masters who put in a long career in education; teaching, coaching and administration.  I am a 1/16 Cherokee whose great great grandfather was lynched by confederate soldiers for stealing a shod horse (while being a blacksmith).  His name even graces the Texas list of executions, which includes thousands of people of color.  My great grandfather on the non-Native American side, was a teacher at an Indian School, whose institutional   Mu great great grandmother lived out he life a bitter woman.

You see, my great grandfather's  goal was to drive the Native American culture away.  This must have been interesting considering he was married to a half breed Cherokee!    This too is not a pretty picture for American History.  Children were beaten when they failed to speak and write in English. Children were sometimes killed for not cooperating.  Adults were, well, we know what happened to the adults: Wounded Knee is a glaring example.  Most often, the adults, who resisted, were fed alcohol until they died.

My grandfather was a functional alcohol for most of his adult life.  I had a drinking problem for most of my adult life.  We both shared Native American blood.  

It is a quandary to be sure.  How much do we bear responsibility to "reconcile" the wrongs of the past.

I would suggest, since the climate is now deeply affected by the rampant destruction of forests and CO2 emissions, endangering all of mankind, it might be time to reconcile.

When my grandchildren are directly threatened by the sins of the past, regardless of the morality of what was done to people, but mindful of the rampant destruction of habitat that threatens the very existence of mankind, it is time to do something!

Each of us has our own path to choose, we are a free country after all, As for me, I accept the past and my responsibility for it, not because of "liberal guilt" but because my grandchildren's lives depend on it!!!!!