Many people are critical of America for having had slavery, eventhough this slavery ended 152 years ago, many people still see America as a basicaly bad country for having had slavery.
What these critics fail to realize is that when slavery existed in America, slavery was the established economic system in the entire world since the beginning of history. If you go back in history the Romans, the Vikings, the Egyptians and the Greeks had slavery. The very lands that Jesus Christ walked on had slavery. Joseph, the father of Jesus Crist was himself a slave for a time in Egypt. Africa had slavery (and still has slavery in some parts), South America and Asia had slavery. Many Native American tribes had slavery. It was the established economic system world wide and this was going on for thousands of years before America even existed. But yet, America is the only country that is critized for having had slavery.
Most of the men who signed the Constitution were also slave owners. This is not because these men were evil people, this was the world they were born into. But what most anti-American critics don’t say is that these men came to realize that slavery is wrong and they dedicated their lives to ending slavery. And, they did in fact start the process to end slavery.
But what is even more amazing is the way the real story of slavery in America is being covered-up. You see what actually happened was that America right at it’s founding was divided. Half of Americans thought slavery was needed, and that the world has always had slavery because it was a workable system. The other half of Americans hated slavery and wanted to outlaw it, because it was against Gods law, totally unnecessary, cruel and inhuman. This is clearly shown by the First Congress where the issue of slavery was put up for a vote, the bill lost by one vote. So, clearly, 49% of America were against slavery and 51% were for slavery.
But history clearly shows that the 49% of early Americans still fought on to get rid of slavery. Around 1804, slavery was outlawed in the Northern states. Later, slavery was outlawed in the Western territories. The Underground Railroad was established, so that escaping slaves could find freedom in the Northern States. Then the Civil War errupted and caused the deaths of 620,000 Americans, but slavery was finally ended. Indeed, a very high price to end slavery.
So, the reality of American history is the history of a divided people, you can say that all the “Old World Thinkers” were against the “New World Freedom Loving People”. Clearly the New World Freedom Loving People” won this long battle. But America remains divided even today.
Freedom in America can be thought of as “A Process”, it did not happen all at once. It was a slow process that established a standard of freedom, individual rights and liberty. Around 1880, the Suffragettes demanded freedom for women that won the right to vote, the right to get an inheritance, hold a job and get an education. Then in 1969 the Stonewall Rebellion started and it established the rights of Gay people. These struggles are still going on today, but it clearly shows the process of gaining freedom and equality for ALL people. The Consitution started this process of freedom by stating that “it is self evident that all men are created equal”.
But many misinformed still blame America for once being a slave state, instead of the rightful title of American being the start of freedom and liberty for all, and the ending of slavery.
Colin Kaepernick the NFL quarter back clearly hates America because of the injustice suffered by black people in America, eventhough he made millions of dollars playing bouncy-ball. This hatred he has starts with the history of slavery in America. But apparently Mr. Kaepernick knows nothing about the real history of America, neither does he know about the Affirmative Action Laws that give black people preferred treatment in housing and college admission, neither does he know anything about the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He clearly knows nothing about America voting for a black man to be President of the United States. Neither does he know about the fact that since 1965 America has spent 20 trillion dollars to help people in poverty. But least of all, he knows nothing about the hundreds of thousands of Americans who fought and died for freedom in America.
Will the closed minded ever learn.
Jose Lugo, editor ddtv.org
lugo@ddtv.org
www.ddtv.org