This Adds Insult To Injury

I have posted in the past regarding the evils of how Native Americans have been treated. Click on the link below for a brief video supporting the return of artifacts belonging to them that have been stolen:

Let's talk about Native American artifacts being returned - - - 

By International Definitions, The USA Is In A Civil War

"Democracy in America is balanced on a knife edge, says political scientist Barbara F. Walter, but it may not be too late to rescue it. Walter is the author of "How Civil Wars Start" and she speaks with Hari Sreenivasan about how America can prevent another one from starting."

Click on the link below for an 18-min video going in-depth on the history and present features of civil wars presented by a recognized historian on the subject:

How Civil Wars Start

Photo by Hasan Almasi on Unsplash

The Americas Before Columbus

In recent years around this time in the Fall, controversy erupts over the question of the role, if any, Christopher Columbus should play in the USA's recognition of notable individuals in its history. This book, entitled 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, is a welcome counter to the claims of conservatives:

"Traditionally, Americans learned in school that the ancestors of the people who inhabited the Western Hemisphere at the time of Columbus’s landing had crossed the Bering Strait twelve thousand years ago; existed mainly in small, nomadic bands; and lived so lightly on the land that the Americas was, for all practical purposes, still a vast wilderness.

"In a book that startles and persuades, Mann reveals how a new generation of researchers equipped with novel scientific techniques came to previously unheard-of conclusions. Among them:

• In 1491 there were probably more people living in the Americas than in Europe.
• Certain cities–such as Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital–were far greater in population than any contemporary European city. Furthermore, Tenochtitlán, unlike any capital in Europe at that time, had running water, beautiful botanical gardens, and immaculately clean streets.
• The earliest cities in the Western Hemisphere were thriving before the Egyptians built the great pyramids.
• Pre-Columbian Indians in Mexico developed corn by a breeding process so sophisticated that the journal Science recently described it as “man’s first, and perhaps the greatest, feat of genetic engineering.”
• Amazonian Indians learned how to farm the rain forest without destroying it–a process scientists are studying today in the hope of regaining this lost knowledge.
• Native Americans transformed their land so completely that Europeans arrived in a hemisphere already massively “landscaped” by human beings."

The History Of No Legal Accountability In The USA

"Today, as we wait to see if Trump will ever be indicted for any of his many, many, many crimes, we take a look at the long and illustrious history of powerful people avoiding prosecution in the United States."

Click on the link below for a depressing look at criminality run-amok in the USA historically. The moral: lack of punishment rewards bad behavior:

Avoiding Accountability

The History Of Republican Poison

 The poisonous seed was planted by Goldwater, it was watered and nurtured by Nixon, it bloomed under Reagan, and Trump lighted it on fire and spread it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx94yMKBlFk&t=1s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVhwQ5Nwt30
- - - - - - -
Eisenhower was the last decent Republican POTUS. Although he called himself conservative and said some negative things about organized science and technology, today, he would be a liberal:

"Now it is true that I believe this country is following a dangerous trend when it permits too great a degree of centralization of governmental functions. I oppose this–in some instances the fight is a rather desperate one. But to attain any success it is quite clear that the Federal government cannot avoid or escape responsibilities which the mass of the people firmly believe should be undertaken by it. The political processes of our country are such that if a rule of reason is not applied in this effort, we will lose everything–even to a possible and drastic change in the Constitution. This is what I mean by my constant insistence upon “moderation” in government. Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are H. L. Hunt (you possibly know his background), a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas.4 Their number is negligible and they are stupid."

https://teachingamericanhistory.org/.../letter-to-edgar.../

" - - - we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military–industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist."

https://en.wikipedia.org/.../Eisenhower%27s_farewell_address

"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."

"The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office."

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed"

"This world of ours... must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect."

"Here in America, we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion."

"Politics ought to be the part-time profession of every citizen who would protect the rights and privileges of free people and who would preserve what is good and fruitful in our national heritage."

"Don't join the book burners. Do not think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they ever existed."

and, finally, "Only Americans can hurt America."

https://www.brainyquote.com/.../dwight-d-eisenhower-quotes
- - - - - - -
Ironically, Goldwater hit it out of the park with THIS quote:

“Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them.”

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/777519-mark-my-word-if-and-when-these-preachers-get-control

Give It Back!

"Today, we take a look at the origins of the European colonial land-grab, the need for the #Landback movement,  and the benefits to society and the environment in the context of the climate crisis to return stewardship of the land to native peoples."

Click on the link below for a podcast regarding a plan to give the land back to its original stewards as a positive for all Americans:

Native Landback for a Healthier Society and Environment

2nd Amendment And Overthrowing The Government

Many, if not most, of those involved with the attack on the US Capital on 1/6/2021 believe that the 2nd Amendment gives those who disagree with the existing government of the USA permission for an armed insurrection against it. The following two sources clearly debunk this idea:

• "It would be odd indeed if the Framers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights had written an amendment designed to give individuals the right to liquidate the government they were setting up.  In fact, having been through a revolution, they had few illusions about the virtues of violence. When they gathered in Philadelphia in 1787, the original Framers were very aware that armed bands of farmers in Massachusetts had revolted against the state government only a few months earlier.  Washington, in particular, found the news of Daniel Shays's rebellion in that state so disturbing that it contributed to his decision to come out of retirement and help frame a new national charter to prevent such outbreaks." (link)
• "Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin called out Representative Chip Roy of Texas for his views on the 2nd Amendment, in which Roy implied that the amendment was designed so that the people can violently overthrow the government at will." (link)

A Historical Look At Militia Movements In The USA

"How have American militias shaped the nation? And why do ‘militia movements’ keep returning to the fore of our national politics?

"On Now & Then, Heather and Joanne discuss the role of militias in the 1786 Shays’ Rebellion, during the tumultuous Reconstruction years, and in the 1990s ‘Modern Militia Movement.’"

Click on the link below to continue our understanding of this amorphous thing in the history of the USA:

Militia Movements

Reducing Gun Violence

"Today we take a look at some of the obvious steps we need to take to reduce gun violence in the United States, debunk some of the favored propaganda supporting unfettered gun ownership and explore the origins of how Gun Culture™ was invented by corporations as the frontier era need for guns began to vanish pushing them to convert guns from tools that were needed but not loved into items that were loved though no longer needed."

Click on the link below for a podcast presenting the history of guns in the USA and a science-based approach to mitigating gun violence:

Marketing, Messaging, and Mass Shootings

The History Of Free Speech In The USA (Episode 2)

"What have been the gravest threats to a free press over the nation’s history? And how can the past tell us how to safeguard our access to information today?

In this second episode in a three-part series on free speech, Heather and Joanne discuss the 1837 murder of abolitionist journalist Elijah P. Lovejoy, the role of Joseph Pulitzer in the creation of the independent press, and the rise and fall of the Fairness Doctrine."

Click on the link below to continue the podcast series. The section (beginning at the 40:45 mark) on the history of the Fairness Doctrine is incredibly enlightening.

Free Speech: The Power of an Independent Press

The History Of Free Speech In The USA (Episode 1)

"How has the federal government limited and protected free speech rights over the course of American history? How have citizens responded when Washington has limited their speech rights? And what can Elon Musk’s commentary on online free speech tell us about the difficult lines between free speech, disinformation, and political power?

"In this first installment of a three-episode series on free speech, censorship, and so-called cancel culture, Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman explore the Alien & Sedition Acts, the Palmer Raids, the post-WWI rise of the ACLU, and the 1980s debate over burning the American flag."

Click on the link below for an entertaining and enlightening podcast on a subject with no simple answers:

Free Speech: The Government and Us

Republicans Are On The Wrong Side Of History - And Everything Else!

"Republicans are conserving little beyond their own wealth, racism, sexism, and homophobia while eroding American democracy, health, and the environment."

"Of course, we need to conserve enough of what is societally going on to maintain cultural continuity, yet we need to continually include, innovate, invent, democratize, and change for positive progress. Republicans have outlived their usefulness—indeed, are complicit in undermining democracy—and are obsolete. Republicans are on the wrong side of history and conservatism is a dead end. Progressivism is for the people and the planet!"

Read the LONG lists comparing the Repugnants with the Democrats and then honestly tell me they are both the same. (link)

Why Is Latin America Still Poor?

"Why is Latin America poorer than North America? The massive differences in wealth between a rich United States and a relatively poor central and south America is startling and hard to explain at first. In the video we delve into the key historical, political and economic factors that have led to this inequality, finding that the answer is more startling and interesting than initially expected."

Click on the link below for the main reason: one has a democratic history and the other one of autocracy.

Why Is Latin America Still Poor?

Queer History 101

"What separates womanhood from manhood? This question has transfixed the medical community in America since its founding. But the need to enforce a binary gender––male or female––tells a darker history of the struggle for acceptance of people born with intersex traits. Elizabeth Reis, a professor at the Macaulay Honors College at the City University of New York and author of Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, has dedicated her research to bringing awareness to intersex history, specifically the medical management of people born with atypical sex development."

Click on the link below for the history of non-binary sex attitudes since the founding of the USA:

Intersex in Early America

Benjamin Franklin: History As He Experienced & Made It

Ken Burns' 4-hour documentary explores the revolutionary life of one of the 18th century's most consequential figures. If you are interested in history in general, and US history in particular, I guarantee that this will give you greater insight into the events surrounding the Revolutionary War, what led to the Civil War, and how such dynamics can be seen today in the Ukraine/Russia conflict. Oh, and you will better appreciate Franklin's scientific and general brilliance. Click on the link below for the video stream:

Benjamin Franklin: A Film By Ken Burns

Fake Majorities: The History Within The USA

"How do small and extreme groups take over the American political conversation? In this final installment of a three-part series on educating citizens, Heather and Joanne look at how reactionary movements utilize bullying tactics to wrest control from the majority.

"Heather and Joanne offer a comparison between the path to secession at the start of the Civil War, the rise of American Nazi-sympathizing groups in the 1930s, and the current reactionary movements around COVID-19 protocols and the education system."

Click on this link for a podcast clarifying the danger from today's conservatives.

Neoliberalism: Libertarianism In Sheep's Clothing

Since the end of the Second World War, the USA has been trending politically toward Neoliberalism: "- - - a policy model that encompasses both politics and economics and seeks to transfer the control of economic factors from the public sector to the private sector. Many neoliberalism policies enhance the workings of free-market capitalism and attempt to place limits on government spending, government regulation, and public ownership." It has similarities with Libertarianism but respects the concept of a Nation-State. Click on the link below for an important podcast delving into the failures of the concept:

"Today we take a look at the cracks and fissures appearing ever more quickly in the neoliberal order that was already widely criticized before the pandemic stripped it bare, exposing all of the inherent inequality and inhumanity baked right into the system."

Neoliberalism is Hanging on for Dear Life in Changing Times

The History Of God, Morality And Politics In The USA

"How have religion and morality shaped the United States? In this episode of Now & Then, “God & Morality in American Politics,” Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman discuss how politicians and reformers have interacted with faith systems, from Thomas Jefferson’s push for religious liberty, to the 19th-century move for a Christian constitutional amendment, to the rise of the Moral Majority and the religious right. What are the roots of recent calls to bring religion into our government? What are the risks of religious influence in politics? How have presidents protected and rejected faith movements, and what can their choices teach us today?"

Click here for an interesting podcast that looks at what has made up the political soup of the USA historically.

He Was Not Right

"David Crockett (17 August 1786 – 6 March 1836), usually referred to as Davy Crockett, was an American frontiersman, soldier, and politician. After serving as a US Congressman for the state of Tennessee, he joined in the Texas Revolution and died in the Battle of the Alamo." (link)

"All of the combatants inside the Alamo during the 1836 battle knew that they were fighting for the institution of slavery, as surely as they knew they were fighting for Mexican land." (link)

Davy Crockett was not an "American Hero" and the stories of independence for Texas and the Alamo essentially were myths in support of colonialism, Manifest Destiny, and slavery.

,

The Evil Began Long Ago

There is no doubt in my mind that the USA is at a critical point in its history. The best way to understand the present is to be educated in the history of how we got here. The following are links to some information putting today in context:

How America Got Divorced From Reality

Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America

Neoliberalism - the ideology at the root of all of our problems

Why is America Crazy Now?

Will America's disregard for science be the end of its reign?