fearlesshistory

A room full of long-haired elitists sit in a cramped, hot room. It’s summer and the sun threatens to bake them. They discuss the idea they’ve been playing around with. They’re radicals, you see. They’re revolutionaries, deep inside. They have the guns and they have a plan. They will declare war on the government, throw down the old hierarchy and install a new order in its place, an order where their radicalist agenda will be realized. They discuss the unfairness and tyranny of the current government and their plans to make the whole world stand up and take notice. They’ve all received the finest educations in the world. They’ve all made a great deal of money under the old regime. They’ve traveled the world, been the leaders of men, and served their government loyally. Now they will end it all in a war that will see either the old powers cast down or themselves dead. They’re ungrateful! They talk of equality. They talk of justice. They talk of God’s plan for men. It is 1776.

Or so the legend begins…

A young lawyer from Illinois, a one term representative of his state, strides toward a stage with a speech that will move the hearts of everyone who hears it. His life as a youngster was harsh, his family had little money. He worked hard, read a lot, and eventually went on to some success as a orator and a law clerk. His star was rising and his party knew it. He speaks to those assembled and many believe in his message of hope and prosperity; of the promise of a great nation. His opponent, a grizzled old veteran of politics and intrigue, calls him “inexperienced” and says that a vote for him would dash the country into ruin. Undaunted, young Abraham touts his outsider status and his willingness to make important changes to the government and society of these United States.

Or so the story goes…

The times are booming and prosperity in America is making money flow like water down a mountain, into the pockets of a small few. The workers, sick of the obscene wealth that the top executives were making organize themselves into groups and called for better conditions and better pay. They want the wealth to trickle down, it seems. The company heads say it would be the death of American industry and commerce. They warn that “outsiders” would edge them out and the workers, the economy would falter and fail. They speak of an international threat, a giant global organization which was envious of the American way of life and would do anything they could to destroy it. By making these demands, the workers were doing the job of these international agents of terror and revolution. It was the 1920’s

Or so the story continues…

When Bill and Daisy Myers moved into their brand new home in Levittown, Pennsylvania - a small subsurb outside of Philadelphia - they had finally realized their dream. Bill, a returning veteran, used his accumulated pay and the G.I. Bill to pay for their new, spacious home far from the overcramped and dirty city. Their neighbors came out when the Myers move in, crowding around the moving van the Myers had hired. The first rock hits Bill andDaisy’s daughter, drawing blood. Rocks rain down on the hapless couple as they race into their home and lock the doors. Their neighbors break the windows of the house and bash the Myers’ new car with baseball bats. Welcome to the neighborhood. Welcome to the 1950’s. Welcome home war hero.

Or so the story unfolds…

The young black man is charismatic, no doubt about it. He appeals to the African Americans and the Liberals and the Jews. He calls for a radical change in American society based not on hate but on hope. It is code, “they” argue, a signal to his real bosses. He wants to upset American society by “giving everything to the blacks,” “they” argue. His speeches, principles, and ideals - his “dream” - frightens the living hell out of many Americans. The conservative elements dig up his past, link him to despotic leaders we hate and fear. Link him to things that, in hind sight, would seem ridiculous but are breathed in a whisper as the truth. The Reverend was killed in Memphis by a single shot.

So the familiar tale says…

A television show - the most popular in its time slot - centers around the high-stress world of doctors in the emergency room at a Chicago hospital. Two of the doctors fall in love. He’s black, she’s white. Into the offices of the National Broadcast Corporation flood hundreds of angry letters, filled with threats so vile that the writers immediately begin to gloss over the romance in their script.

Ah, this chapter I’ve seen before…

One morning a janitor at a small, Christian college in the Pacific north west comes across a life-sized cardboard cut out of the nation’s first African American Presidential candidate hanging from a tree by a crudely tied noose. The sign around its neck reads “Act 7 reject” in reference to the scholarship offered by the school to African American students who have the potential to become leaders but lack the money to go to the school. It was September, I remember it well…

And the tale goes on…

At a rally of the AFL-CIO, the secretary-treasurer Richard Trumka addresses a crowd of Union members. His address is filled with reminders to vote coupled with an endorsement of the Democratic candidate. After the meeting he speaks with a woman he’s know for a long, long time and asks her why she won’t vote for the person he endorsed. He’s a Muslim. No, he’s a Christian, Trumka replies. He won’t wear an American flag lapel pin. Neither will you, counters Trumka. He’s black. Ah, and you’re not, sighs Trumka.

This is America’s story…how will it go on? Will there be a plot twist? Or will the foreshadowing and repetition continue? Who will decide?

Will You?

LINKS: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27123224

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