Module Three Blog Post

"The treatment of heroes (Columbus) and their victims (the Arawaks) - the quiet acceptance of
conquest and murder in the name of progress- is only one aspect of a certain approach to history, in which the past is told from the point of view of governments, conquerors, diplomats, leaders. It is as if they, like Columbus, deserve universal acceptance, as it they-the Founding Fathers,
Jackson, Lincoln, Wilson, Roosevelt, Kennedy, the leading members of Congress, the famous
Justices of the Supreme Court- represent the nation as a whole. The pretense is that there really is such a thing as 'the United States,' subject to occasional conflicts and quarrels, but
fundamentally a community of people with common interests. It is as if there really is a 'national
interest' represented in the Constitution, in territorial expansion, in the laws passed by Congress,
the decisions of the courts, the development of capitalism, the culture of education and the mass
media. " APHOTUS..p.10

Perhaps twelve years of Catholic school, initially, made me more likely to accept what I was taught than my public school counterparts. After all, 'faith' and 'belief in the teachings' were terms that I ran into on a daily basis. My private school used the standard history texts, depicting a brave Columbus and those savage, scalping, cut-throat Indians. So, I was a bit confused when one September night, the newscast, broadcasting during my dinner, detailed the story of a group of angry citizens protesting the upcoming Columbus Day parade, attempting to have it cancelled. Why would anyone want to end the parade for this brave explorer, I wondered. My father explained that, in truth, while the Indians had been peaceful and friendly in their initial encounters with explorers, it was Columbus and his explorers who approached the Native Americans with violence. Hoping the explorers would become intimidated when violence was met with violence, the Indians' response took on the savage character so widely depicted in books and media. This may have been the first time I became conscious of the advice not to believe everything I happened to read. However, it bothered me immensely, even at that young age, that my history book was not giving me the complete story.
My high school US History course was much more forthcoming. I still read the texts with one
eyebrow raised. The Columbus experience had had a permanent affect on my skepticism level.
But it also created in me the need to look at a scenario from more than one angle. My high school
professor, with quite a bit of interjection from my father, added several more perspectives to my
elementary knowledge of the subject. Questioning historic depictions developed quite a list of
topics. Did Lincoln free the slaves because he personally believed slavery was wrong or simply to end and win the Civil War? When the Germans sank the Luisitania, a passenger liner, did the US
government admit its hold was loaded with ammunition for the Allies? Did FDR have warning of
the attack on Pearl Harbor, but instead sacrificed a fleet to bring about American commitment to
entering WWII? Who was behind the assassination of JFK? In addition to being skeptical regarding the veracity of what I read, I now also had learned to be skeptical of what my government was telling me.
The first chapter of A People's History of the US excited me to find an author who wanted more examination of detail and provided in differing perspectives than by most previous historians. "Still, understanding the complexities, this book will be skeptical of governments and their attempt, through politics and culture, to ensnare ordinary people in a giant web of nationhood pretending to a common interest." APHOTUS.p. 11 Historically, Chapter One of A People's History of the United States, acquaints us with many facts
not universally recognized when the average US citizen reflects on this period in our history. The
original North American inhabitants were a match to European society in many aspects of culture,and in some ways, were superior. These peoples did not need law enforcers or prisons. The societies cared for each other and shared willingly skills and tools, food and possessions. The size of the Native American population (estimated at 75 million) which was decimated by the settlers and explorers. Causes range from exposure to new diseases to violent attacks and mistreatment at the hands of the European invaders. A significant cause of Native American population decline was simply the breaking of their spirit in response to the inhumanities to which they were subjected. How does a society endure when conditions seem dire enough to warrant the drowning of your children in an effort to spare them?
Currently, the author's approach could not come at a better time. College students, about to
assume the responsibility of functional citizenship (entering the workforce, helping to shape the
economy and US Capitalism, voting for the first time in a presidential election whose outcome may change the direction of our country) need to be aware of multiple perspectives and also need to develop the ability to recognize when perspectives are being omitted. "My viewpoint, in telling the history of the United States, is different: that we must not accept the memory of states as our own. Nations are not communities and never have been. The history of any country, presented as the history of a family, conceals fierce conflicts of interest (sometimes exploding, most often repressed) between conquerors and conquered, masters and slaves, capitalists and workers, dominators and dominated in race and sex." APHOTUS p. 11 Much unrest exists today regarding the documentation of our current national history. Example after example shows our government continues to mislead us, or omit important details, in this Age of Information. Questions abound regarding the 'intelligence information' the current administration used to enter into war with Iraq. (Weapons of Mass Destruction, anyone?) Were these errors simply mistakes, or an invention of a war-determined administration? Did this administration 'out' a CIA agent and pardon those complicit to save themselves? How many Iraqi civilians have truly died in this war? Why don't US and European newspapers agree on these numbers (hundreds vs. hundreds of thousands)? Why is the media not allowed to photograph the flag draped caskets of soldiers killed in the "War on Terror", unlike previous wars? Whose perspective are we hearing and reading today? Are we living "the quiet acceptance of conquest and murder in the name of progress" or in the name of national security, terminology thrown into the dialog to scare and silence us. Had we not grown accustomed to being handed one interpretation of history, might we have found our outrage for Abu Ghraib? "Still understanding the complexities, this book will be skeptical of governments and their attempts, through politics and culture, to ensnare ordinary people in a giant web of nationhood pretending to a common interest. "..."But I do remember (in rough paraphrase) a statement I once read: "The cry of the poor is not always just, but if you don't listen to it, you will never know what justice is." ..."And in such a world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, as Albert Camus suggested, not to be on the side of the executioners." APHOTUS..p 11 Zinn's text was first published in 1980 yet serves us as a wake-up call to us today. Let us hope we fully grasp his lessons on perspective and all he intends to teach us.

A little bit about me...

Hi. I thought I'd mention the reason that I'm taking history online. I have chronic migraine headache syndrome and figured it might be easier to have at least one class online this semester. The rain makes it worse, so I do better in the fall semester than the spring.

A giant yellow lab named Riley lets my family and I live in his house. Sometimes we even get to sit on his furniture and use his beds. If you leave the room for more than a minute with your sandwitch unguarded on the counter, you will come back to find the counter licked clean; the only remains of your food being a few crumbs on a chubby 6 year old fido's lips.

I'm and English major, hoping to end up writing and editing books. In my freetime I enjoy spending time with my friends and family, reading as many books as I can lay my hands on, and watching movies from just about any genre. My friends and family mean the world to me, there is nothing more important to me than they are.

I collect several things; anything Beauty and the Beast, interesting prints and paintings, a few Buddas, and books books books. Of all my collections my books are the most treasured.

About as liberal as they come, please don't be offended if my opinions ever seem overly strong. That is simply how I am. I have a tough time toning it down if I am truly passionate about a topic.

Hopefully this class will turn out well, I'm of to a bit of a rocky start with school, as it has been very rainy, and my headaches have been very severe and uncooperatve.

Anyway, that's me in a nutshell.