Do not take this post as an attack on white men. It isn’t. I’m trying to give people an understanding of why we don’t all feel the same about our country’s history and monuments. Read until the end.
Women gained the right to vote in 1920. 100 years ago. It took 80 years from the start of the women’s suffrage movement in 1840 to convince men to allow them to vote.
As the 4th of July approaches and we celebrate our independence, we might be well served to remember that we didn’t all get those initial freedoms written into our constitution. They were in fact only for white men. Some groups had to fight for years for basic rights to own property and vote. For freedom. Black people have a legitimate complaint as white men gather and brag about all of the freedoms we won back in the day and we all got them. It isn’t true and it is annoying. Our country gained its freedom from England. We became our own country. That’s a reason to celebrate. The rest of the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms for white men came throughout our shared history as a country to other groups. Many white men fought and died for those freedoms as well.
Have you ever considered that the constitution you and I love and respect, might not be so loved by groups who were not initially included? The constitution may not have the same meaning for everyone. It might actually be a source of irritation. It’s just another thing that was white men only initially. As white men, you celebrate your freedom and independence on the 4th of July. We are happy for you and ourselves as well, but we got ours later. We were free from England, but not from you. We weren’t free. It’s really only in the last 100 years that women have legally become anything more than property owned by men. I am sure that I do not feel the same joy about gaining our freedom that white men do on July 4th. White men celebrate gaining their freedoms while everyone else celebrates our country gaining freedom from England. Can you see the difference? To be honest, the initial constitution and Bill of Rights irritate me as well, every time I read “All men are created equal”. It really meant all white men. But, I love our constitution because it enables us to make changes to benefit our society. We need to be using our constitution to better our country instead of destroying our history. But seriously, you need to stop saying and believing everyone got the same rights and freedoms when it was written. It’s not true. It’s part of the problem with the division in our country. We need to teach history accurately. Especially the history of our country. In truth, without white men we wouldn’t have a country nor would any of us enjoy our freedoms. White men fought and died for every right any of us have. I’m thankful for white men. I’m thankful for our country. I’m thankful for our constitution and Bill of Rights.
Please start teaching accurate history. 1776 was when our country became free from England and white men gained all of their rights which came from God. For once, try being honest instead of defensive. White men should be proud of everything they have accomplished. Why not be honest about how it all happened? We all reap the benefits. It might go a long way towards healing our country.
Do our nations statues and monuments have the same meaning for everyone? No, of course they don’t. Why would they? Should we tear them down? Absolutely not. They are our history. They belong to all of us even if we dislike a few of them.
Middle of the Muddy Road 