The Mythological History of the United States

Yes, it’s brainwashing. We don’t call it that, but when I was in high-school, junior-high, etc., in Texas, I learned nothing about the cruelty of slavery. I learned that it happened, but for all the emphasis on that, it was presented in a milquetoast kind of way that made it seem like it wasn’t so bad. Only when I arrived in adulthood (and left Texas) did I begin to understand how impactful the history of slavery was. And then I slowly began to understand that the enlightenment philosophy that the United States was founded upon were not actually fully adopted (because you can’t believe in tabula raza, and believe the institution of slavery is in any way right).

I kept making excuses along the way. Do you think founders didn’t realize the moral wrongness of their decisions? They absolutely did. They talked about it all the time. But they sacrificed a subset of humans for the unity of the nation, setting a precedent that has continued until this day, so much so that even on BlueSky, the most liberal of the social platforms so far, there’s an actual conversation about whether it’s time to abandon those same people, for the unity of the Democratic party in standing up to the Republicans.

And as usual, every time we perform what I call the Devil’s Calculus, we end up crippling ourselves as a nation, because treating people with dignity and respect, and honoring each other, builds a stronger nation every single time.