Lessons from the past
A world view of division and supremacy is rotten at its core, and will eventually collapse. Our job is to limit its rise as much as possible, to limit the damage it will wreak on its way down.
This past week marked the anniversary of the attack on Fort Sumter in 1861, starting the Civil War. The months prior were tumultuous with southern states seceding from the Union, anticipating that Lincoln’s election to the presidency would result in a strong check on their human enslavement-based economy. The attack in the early morning of April 12 sealed the start of the most violent conflict in our country’s history.
Despite over a century of attempts to revise the narrative about the root cause of the Civil War, the truth remains that the elite enslavers in the south went to war to protect their economic power, and their right to enslave their fellow humans. The “state’s rights” they wanted were precisely that. The “declaration of causes” published by the seceding states document this clearly.
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/declaration-causes-seceding-states
Resonant echoes of the dreadful system of enslavement, and the horrific violence of the war itself, remain in our contemporary experience. As we now face one of our two major parties descending back into the world view that divides people into “worthy” and “unworthy,” based on national origin, religion, membership in the LGBTQ community, or immigration status, our history shows that this world view cannot prevail without the support of wealthy and powerful individuals who fund the slide.
A single individual, no matter how charismatic, no matter how gifted a grifter they might be, cannot take over leadership of the federal government without a lot of help. Without the cadre of donors, lawyers, and operatives who pave the way, that person would remain a footnote in history.
But the Civil War also teaches us that a world view of division and supremacy is rotten at its core, and will eventually collapse. Our job is to limit its rise as much as possible, and therefore limit the damage it will wreak on its way down.
Thank you for your company on this journey, and for your work to promote the world view of justice, compassion, inclusion, and peace.