How censorship beautifies history...and other speculations.
History is written by man; with this knowledge we can conclude that it will be flawed, censored, and exclusive. Sooner or later we all realized that Mr. Columbus wasn’t at all the “great” discoverer we once thought he was. Rather, we found out he exploited, raped, and murdered humans in an effort to “unite” and “understand”…(lest we not forget he was also a horrible navigator- thinking America was actually India). So you bet I am pissed that there is a national holiday esteeming this man. Not only this, but I began questioning the validity of history all together, and I still do...
...With every civil movement in history, it seems as though there is common drive, then a separate drive, and then two different groups fighting for essentially the same reformation. For example: in the Women’s Rights Movement there was the American Woman Suffrage Association, who jive with the voting rights bit almost exclusively. Then there was the National Association of Colored Women, who focused not only on women’s rights but also the improved treatment of black women. Next it was the National Women’s Trade Union League who dig that whole union thing the guys had been benefiting from. Essentially, all of these groups are going for a common goal: that is women’s rights- they were just coming at it from different angles.
All movements seem to divide like this, be it the women’s, the civil, or the gay rights movement. I think it’s because people are always and have always looked out for their personal interests before all others, but that’s for a different conversation.
We must have an understanding of our past in order to evaluate and understand our present. Example as such, homosexuality has been a happenin’ thing throughout documented history. We notice homosexuality in the young Victorian femmes who had more-than-friendly sleepovers with their gal-pals. Also, in young men whose sexual experiences were at the help of their male mentors in ancient and modern era. However, somewhere along the line homosexuality became discouraged, and sodomy banned. It was forced underground...and on some levels, remains there today! It is ESSENTIAL to understand our history if we want to fight this obvious perpetual prejudice. Y’see?
So, why is it that our history is SO censored, that we’re only taught what some “higher” deity wants us to learn? It just isn’t right that we have to critically think about why Manifest Destiny was a load of crap. As if raping women, spreading disease, and scalping native vagina was our “god-given right”. Give me a break, America. Or why, in the American Girl doll selections, it was never mentioned that Josefina (the “hopeful New Mexican girl”), was also a part of the largest illegal migration of people in and out of our home front. Nor did the doll’s summary mention that our government turned the other cheek when it came to that whole “equal-pay/treatment for equal-work” thing. Or, if we REALLY want to get historically correct, why doesn’t Kaya, the Nez Perce girl, come with syphilis- on the house via white pioneers?
History is a fable that holds some truth, but that truth isn’t found until you do some digging. And yeah, I guess I am bitter that the only history we’re taught is by some shitty dolls and through some censored textbook. I'd rather be chit-chattin' with the old-time folk that did some experiencing. Yeah, I guess I'm a little bitter. xo