We used to sacrifice humans to appease the gods.
We used to think the Earth was flat.
We used to have witch hunts and we’d burn the ones we caught.
We used to practice bloodletting, extracting tiny quantities of blood from a patient in order to cure disease.
We used to often lobotomize crazy people, and shock them with electricity too.
We used to enslave Africans.
We used to take some of those slaves as concubines.
We used to allow children to work long hours in factories.
We used to prevent women from voting.
We used to involuntarily sterilize people for eugenic purposes.
We used to have teachers that would hit the backsides of unruly students with rulers.
We used to throw people in internment camps.
We used to tell consumers smoking was cool.
We used to make black people drink out of a different drinking fountain and give up their bus seats to white people.
We used to ban interracial marriage.
We used to do all of these things, and more.
Why don’t we do these things anymore? Why not?
Why were these things so right, until they were wrong?
Does the human race just get progressively smarter as it moves along?
We thought we were just in our beliefs, and some kicked and screamed as these practices were changed or abolished.
What are we doing today to marginalize our fellow human being?
Not allowing gay marriage and allowing for discrimination based on sexual preference. People are protected from age discrimination if they are over the age of 40.
Both are examples of human marginalization.
I think we need to finally forgive George Lucas for the mediocre Star Wars Pre-Quals.
While this blog post is no laughing matter, I will nevertheless take the time to defend the prequels. Well, at least II and III. I think Phantom Menace is easily the worst of the six films, even though it does capably set up the Darth Vader tableau. You see this little talented yet insufferable child prodigy and you can really see how he’s a great candidate to become Darth Vader. II and III had excellent battle scenes, and I really enjoyed seeing the majesty of the Jedi Temple. Finally, at the end of II when all of the clone soldiers are marching and they busted out the Empire Strikes Back orchestra piece, the duplicity of the Republic/Empire was laid bare. You knew some baaaad stuff was going to go down. Acting/lines were tough, Jar Jar (their attempt at a 21st century Ewok) was no good, but the story worked.
While I appreciate your reply the prequels fell short IMO, but I will take the time to comment honestly to your well written blog.
My response: I think your article is well written aptly timed with all that is going on the world, but I think it could have been worded better. Here is why; Don’t ask why “humans” can do this, but ask “How we can stop it?”.
All the events above were and are still atrocious, but one person stood up and asked “How can we stop this? How can we solve this?” If you get caught up in the “Why” you resolve yourself to endless cycle of primal psychosis arguments.
So at the end of the post, Ask “How can I, myself, stop this?” How can I solve this with one teaching at a time?”. The answer starts and ends with your children. They are the ones that will help you solve it. It all starts with us…and we can solve it.
Adam, good points.
In almost every example cited in the post, people did indeed stand up and protest, fought back, and tried to change the world. They asked your question, “How can we stop this?” So, those are not the people that need to see their beliefs in a different light.
The purpose of my post is to have people review their beliefs through the prism of human decency. Fighting injustice is incredibly noble. However, it can be easier when those you’re fighting against see the error of their ways. In other words, instead of being Evil Knievel and trying to jump the Grand Canyon, try and find a way to move the other side of the Canyon closer to you. That’s really hard, but people have proven they can move mountains.
And I think you make an excellent point that, for generations, it’s our children that have grown up and shunned the error of our ways. Sometimes, that’s how change happens.
As a Star Wars fanatic, I would like to suggest that the prequels are much better if you watch the movies in the correct order. Not release order or episode order, rather Machete Order. That is IV, V, II, III, VI. You get to skip I and Jar Jar, it preserves the Vader surprise, and you get all the back story right when you need it. It makes the prequels MUCH better.
That said, this is an excellent post. I hope to never be on the wrong side of the fence on issues that relate to human rights and liberties. If my grand children are not embarrassed by the things I have done and the beliefs I have, then I have done well.
Well put, Brent
Great post Chris. Very powerful. Human beings as a group, seem to need a bad guy – someone to blame when things go wrong. We need a party to punish for the ills of the world. To me, that is the root of the hatred that leads to most of the epic failures of mankind. By making one group of individuals the fall guy, it makes it easier to treat them as lesser beings, and thus, deprive them of the same basic rights we would afford ourselves. I think it is a flaw that humanity continues to struggle with, to varying degrees. Have you ever noticed that there is nothing quite so bonding between two individuals than a disdain for a third?
Thanks so much B!
we still marginalize people every single day in new ways. or in ways that continue in newish forms from older kinds. women, POC, WOC and LGBTQ in particular. some groups haven’t really ever been marginalized in this country. they came here so they could be the ones in power & create a place to oppress others. it’s very sad. humanity doesn’t ever really seem to learn in any long enough lasting way. society reinforces a lot of negativity & most people don’t care enough to stand up to it in a real way to make it end. it’s only when the oppressed finally have had enough, get enough power or decide to fight back do things change.
women would’ve NEVER been given the vote by men without women’s suffrage forcing the issue and making it so that men had no choice. as a woman, i feel like not much has changed since 100 years ago. men aren’t ever going to give us equal rights- we are going to have to force the issue and make it be equal and given to us. that prospect makes me tired.
We used to think Windows 7 would save the world
We’ll just have to count on Windows 8, I guess