Last week the Pope was in the United States. He visited multiple cities, and addressed both Congress and the UN. For centuries, the organization he heads, the Catholic Church, was the monolithic pillar of faith in the Western World. While the Church's history is not entirely sordid, it presided over unaccountable injustices, a list much too long for this digest.
It is therefore ironic that two centuries after the most forward-thinking men on the planet founded our great nation, the Catholic Church of yesteryear has lapped many of our leaders in the quest for a better world. While the Pope decries racism and violence, and calls on us for combat climate change, many of our own leaders refuse to acknowledge that these issues even exist. The contrast is stark, even more so in historical context; the institution that once tortured people on suspicion of heresy is now paving the moral road that many Americans don't want to travel. Along with "This Day in History," the Pope's visit will set the tone for this week's digest.
As always, happy Wednesday and happy reading!
This Day in History
1962 – Two people are killed in a riot at the University of Mississippi, Ole Miss, when James Meredith, the University's first black student, arrives on campus escorted by US Marshals, to register for classes.
If Hotty Toddy is the Ole Miss cheer, this is very much NOT a time for a hotty toddy, although it is a fascinating - if tragic - moment in Civil Rights history. Bob Dylan wrote a song shaming my hometown, "Oxford Town," and the author William Doyle penned an insightful book on the event, "An American Insurrection."
Growing up in Oxford, I can speak to how far the university and the town have come. Those communities embraced my multi-racial family in a way that seems impossible given the history, but it's true. Still, there is work to be done, not just in Mississippi, but everywhere around the country and the world. James Meredith is simultaneously a reminder of how far we have come and how far we have to go. I hope there are many more like him out there fighting to make things better.
Symbolism, Part III
Today's first piece is both from and by Andrew in New Orleans. Our struggle to build something better necessitates the examination of what came before us. Inevitably we will preserve some elements of the past and discard others, but we must be honest in the discourse with ourselves about what symbols mean and why they are divisive (from NOLA Defender).
Honest historical discourse is difficult, and we here in America are not the only ones who struggle with it, but our inability to confront the past inhibits our ability to build a better future. Facing down the ugliest parts of our history - which, of course, manifest as the ugliest part of our present - is essential. Without this self-reflection and acknowledgement there will be no healing. Neither you nor I need to be a doctor to know that healing is good.
The longer the wounds of our past go untreated, the longer they will fester. Sadly, there are some who prefer this festering, but I applaud those who use their voices to help rid us of the symbols and ideologies of the past that stand as obstacles along the road towards the future.
A Long Look in the Mirror of Whitness
Fortunately, Andrew isn't the only white person examining our racial history. From Evan in NYC comes a great piece about an Episcopal Church in Rhode Island that is committed to exploring its historical role in slavery (from the NYTimes).
Honestly, until I read this piece, I never would have guessed that a church in Rhode Island would have had such a strong connection to the slave trade. You learn something new every day, I suppose. I did know that slavery and the fruits of slave labor were not confined to the South, but this was certainly news to me. The most encouraging part of the article is that the man spearheading this historical investigation is himself a descendant of a family that profited immensely from the slave trade. Proof that we do not need to be bound by historical shackles of shame, but can look into the mirror of whiteness and see sin without being guilty of it ourselves.
Blurred Lines
We often hear about cultural appropriation, the idea that one group absorbs cultural phenomena from another group, generally in a negative manner that marginalizes the group whose culture is being appropriated. There is definitely truth in this. Ethnic groups with power can easily marginalize ethnic groups without power by absorbing cultural aspects in a way that renders one group stripped of key elements of its identity.
But like anything, cultural appropriation is not the black and white issue it seems to be (see what I did there?) For example, can African-Americans appropriate African culture? At least one guy thinks so (from Medium).
And this is where the lines get blurry. After all, what we perceive to be "American culture" is probably the most mongrelized hodgepodge of different things from different places and time periods that has ever existed. Country singer Brad Paisley has a nice song about this called "American Saturday Night," in which he pays homage to key elements of American culture like beer and pizza (among other things). Are we culturally appropriating beer from the ancient Sumerians, wh0, to my knowledge, were the first people to brew it?
There is line between the systematic destruction of one culture by another through the incorporation of key elements that marginalize an ethnic group and the very beneficial and natural adoption of new forms of art, cuisine, etc into one culture because people enjoyed those things. People have strong opinions about which types of action qualify as what, but ultimately the positive blending of cultures is a good thing. It helps us break down the walls and barriers that separate us by replacing stereotypes based on ethnicity, etc with the pleasure human beings so easily find in new foods, music, ideas, sports, and I could go on and on and on.
I don't pretend that there isn't cultural appropriation underway all over the world as different peoples in different places vie for power that should be shared. But neither should we pretend that anytime we listen to rap music we are trying to marginalize black culture by making rap something that is also cool to white people. What makes the American olio so great is that I can call a restaurant right now and be eating food that is native to India in 15-20 minutes.
I think that if we did a better job facing the racial inequity of both the past and present, we would find a way to continue expanding "American culture" in a manner that is inclusive rather than appropriative.
We MUST Be Better Than This
And so I will conclude by telling you that I firmly believe there is a better future for all of us, but only if we choose to pursue it. And therein lies the key, because we must pursue it. Otherwise things get worse, which can be hard to imagine watching some of these videos (from the NYTimes).
Some of them are particularly galling. For example, the shootings of Antonio Zambrano-Montes, Tamir Rice, and Ricardo Diaz-Zeferino, not to mention the strangulation of Eric Garner all qualify as bloodthirsty murder in my book. I challenge anyone to watch those videos and deny this country has a problem. I challenge anyone to try and justify what they show. Most importantly, I challenge everyone, myself included, to demand and work for something better than this. We owe it to ourselves, our country, and those who will follow us to make sure these types of tragedies become a part of our history, not our present, and certainly not our future.
The Boxer Brothers
Meet the boxer brothers, Bo and Toby! Hailing from Mississippi where they live with their human Kathy on the lake, Bo and Toby prefer the tranquility of the lakeside to the chill of the water. Though Bo has been known to swim on occasion, Toby prefers taking in the serenity while pondering the mysteries of life, such as, what does it mean to be a dog? To date Toby has not found a satisfactory answer to this question, despite much time spent thinking it over on the dock. From time to time, Bo will join Toby in thought, but inevitably he is distracted by a squirrel, butterfly, or some other creature and shelves the "what does it mean to be a dog" question for the "what does it take to catch a small creature" activity.
Big thank you to Kathy for sharing Bo and Toby!!
More Feedback (and dogs), Please!!
So far the new feedback form has yielded only a few questions, so please keep your articles, your dogs, and your questions coming! Oh, and don't forget to share the opt-in form with friends!!
I did get two very important questions via the feedback form that I will answer here. These were anonymous questions, so I can't attribute their brilliance to anyone in particular, but they're certainly worth answering:
1) What if the Confederate Army had a single bazooka? A) I don't think this would have changed much about the outcome of the Civil War. Bazookas are anti-tank weapons, and the Union Army wasn't known for the tenacity of its tank battalions.
2) What if Charles "the Hammer" Martel had a Sherman Tank at the battle of Tours? A) I think this, too, would have been a relative non-factor. I bet the Confederate Army could have figured out how to use a bazooka, even if it wouldn't have helped them. I can't imagine Charles Martel's men in 732 CE were going to figure out how to operate a tank. Plus, the Hammer won the battle of Tours anyhow, so a tank would have been overkill.
