It’s been a few years since I strolled the streets of Colonial Williamsburg or visited the beautiful Carter’s Grove Plantation. There are a number of reasons: the kids have grown and left the house making the visits less of a family occasion. But one of the reasons that I have don’t look forward to these visits like I once did is the showcasing of slavery.
Liberals (or as they like to call themselves, “progressives”) don’t like America very much. At least they don’t like America as it evolved or as it is. So they want to change it – a lot. Barack Obama is a perfect example of this: apologizing for his country abroad and transforming it at home. Michelle Obama, during her husband’s campaign famously said that “For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country,” Of all of the pronouncements of the Obamas this is one of the most true. For people like her, America has nothing to be proud of – beyond making Obama President.
And that’s the message that is sent when slavery is emphasized in historic sites like Williamsburg. Williamsburg is like Disneyland. It’s an adult theme park. It’s the Colonial period in American history, dressed up and cleaned up. Disneyland works because visitors are not forced to watch the Disney characters undress, or shown the tunnels and infrastructure that keep the park going.
At Williamsburg we don’t see chamber pots full of night soil being tossed out into the street, we don’t see children dying of childhood diseases. What we go to see is a charming village, painstakingly reconstructed and meticulously maintained by thousands of workers who stay in the background. But thanks to progressives, we have slavery pushed in our faces. The one part of America’s heritage that’s designed to blemish all the rest has become a feature of places like Williamsburg. Instead of celebrating the men who made the country independent at the price of their fortunes and their lives, the fact that they tolerated slavery is designed to denigrate them.
As a Dutch immigrant, I have no dog in this fight. I was not a slave, never owned one, and neither did my ancestors. Never fought to free slaves and neither did my ancestors. We had our own issues: Nazi occupation, the fight for independence from Spain and maintaining the dikes to keep the sea from drowning the country. So, from the perspective as a foreigner, the dredging of history to create a sense of moral superiority by denigrating others is not healthy for a society. There are still Dutch who cannot forgive the Germans for the occupation, but they are dying. When they are gone, World War II will be for history books. It will not be part of, for example, Madurodam.
Here’s my point: we know that the Founders were human, with human faults and failings. We know the history of slavery – at least some of it. Other parts are not so well known, such as the people who, in Africa, sold their countrymen into slavery and who to this day practice slavery. Having that as part of slave history might muddy the narrative of evil white and good black.
Which gets me to the kerfluffle of Governor Bob McDonnell’s proclamation of April as Confederate History Month. The Washington Post, the rest of the MSM and the left-wing blogosphere has attempted to make this McDonnell’s’ “macaca” moment. In the proclamation, he seeks to honor those who fought for Virginia on the Confederate side. He did this without mentioning slavery. To progressives, it’s like Williamsburg without slave cabins, slave exhibits and slave dioramas. So after a few days, McDonnell added the now-obligatory references to slavery. And the people who, like Michelle Obama, have never been proud of their country have won another battle. And Carter’s Grove, which had a number of face-lifts including the emphasis on slavery, was closed for lack of attendance and sold. For reasons which are a puzzle to many, Williamsburg attendance has also dropped. Who would have guessed? If progressives have their way, the past will be a recitation of racism, sexism, homophobia, theocracy and repression. And the future is ... Detroit.
3 comments:
This is so true, once many years ago I took a boat/bus tour to visit Washington Irving's home and some local historical farms in New York state. At every exhibit there was someone telling you how "this" was built by slaves, how the "stupid" white farmers would never have prospered had it not been for the genius of the African slaves. I felt embarrassed for the "kids" wearing period dress spewing such trash.
Thanks for the posting. I also have had experiences like your's. I visit Philipseburg Manor in the Hudson Valley every year as a part of the area's Legend Night Weekend. When I first attended the tour of the house and its acreage focused primarily on the absentee Dutch landlords and life on a large farm in the 17century. However within the last few years, the emphasis has shifted to, you guessed it, slavery. Everywhere you go the docents are yapping up slavery this, slavery that. Yes, it is part of the history of the region, yes it is interesting , but no, I do not think it is the only issue to discuss. I wrote a letter to the President of the Hudson River Valley historical association voicing my concerns, and never received a reply. There is far more to the story of American history than slavery.
My son, attending a local junior college, comes home complaining about his English class. The teacher, with all of English literature to chose from, has two and only two recurrent themes, race relations and women's rights.
The saving grace in all of this is that my son laughs at the absurdity of the class; my reaction is that he is not getting an education and that is a shame.
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