I will say that I agree that h.c underlies many of the decisions made personally and governmentally. I see/ hear it everyday.

Let me do my little rant thing and I will leave it at that.

This country that we live in……The good ol’ US of A, she has a history - as you well know. Good, bad or ugly, she was enslaved, she was a witch that was hunted and hanged, she is gay and lesbian, she has AIDS and HIV, she has been called EVERY slang name in the book (due to the melting pot of nationality that we have here). I get sooo sick of all the qualifiers that we seem to have to use today to talk about hot topics (pick any from the list above and bring more to the table), so that we don’t OFFEND everyone who lives on her soil.

I applaud the janitor that was reading about ND and the KKK. He was learning about a piece of history, even if the book wasn’t about defeating prejudices. Just b/c he was reading something pertaining to the KKK doesn’t mean that he was going to join (isn’t that judging a book by it’s cover?). The professor that used slang?! He wasn’t being derogatory TO a student, he was teaching a piece of history in regards to how a nationality was treated at one time.

I think that some people (the ones that are SO incredibly easy to offend), get so caught up in history that they get stuck and never move forward. They are unable to make things better for themselves, and those around them. Ultimately, doesn’t that still hold the rest of us in the past as well??

This country that we live in, has a history. Good, bad or ugly. There was slavery (I’m talking in literal terms of the old days - see there, I’m qualifying so that no one is offended), there are/were any and all types of slang words for ANY nationality, there was segregation, there were witch hunts/hangings, there are gays/lesbians, there is AIDS/HIV. I would have to say that I support that janitor for wanting to learn more about the history of ND AND KKK - whether the book was about defeating prejudice or not (Just b/c he is reading something that pertains to the KKK doesn’t mean that he agrees - judging a book by it’s cover wouldn’t you say?). For the other professor to use a slang term - uhm, hello, he wasn’t being derogatory TO someone in his class, he was simply using history to explain how a nationality was treated (according to how you have explained the situation).

As much as I think that history is important, I think that people focus too much on the history of some things (or one aspect) and it keeps them from making things better for themselves. They get stuck in the history therefore they don’t move forward (I really could go on and on in depth, but I won’t here). And ultimately, doesn’t that kind of keep us all in the past?

I guess ultimately, I agree with your statement about how h.c underlies many of the decisions made personally and governmentally. I have to agree that I see/hear it everyday.