Some of it might have something to do with not having an ability to see the difference between what is an individual and what is a group. I know it might sound strange if said out loud. I come across it all the time. If someone learns that I commute on a bike, that might trigger any number of grievances with a bicyclist who was unsafe in traffic, or ran a stop sign, cars line up behind them, etc. The same thing happens if people learn I’m a vegan. Many people will air their grievances about vegans they’ve known who may have told them to go vegan, vegans who talk about being vegan, or whatever. I haven’t been elected to represent any of these, but here I am, held accountable in some twisted way. Another group I don't represent is my ancestors. A problem with talking about the past is that the past is still in the present. The Confederacy lives. The war of Yankee aggression isn’t over. Some of us can’t talk about the past because, let's face it, it’s here in the present.
Well put. We do, in our schools, educated individuals. As we should. In our public life we may try to provide a wider span of "education," although, unfortunately, it runs into a stiff wind.
Some of it might have something to do with not having an ability to see the difference between what is an individual and what is a group. I know it might sound strange if said out loud. I come across it all the time. If someone learns that I commute on a bike, that might trigger any number of grievances with a bicyclist who was unsafe in traffic, or ran a stop sign, cars line up behind them, etc. The same thing happens if people learn I’m a vegan. Many people will air their grievances about vegans they’ve known who may have told them to go vegan, vegans who talk about being vegan, or whatever. I haven’t been elected to represent any of these, but here I am, held accountable in some twisted way. Another group I don't represent is my ancestors. A problem with talking about the past is that the past is still in the present. The Confederacy lives. The war of Yankee aggression isn’t over. Some of us can’t talk about the past because, let's face it, it’s here in the present.
Well put. We do, in our schools, educated individuals. As we should. In our public life we may try to provide a wider span of "education," although, unfortunately, it runs into a stiff wind.