This little known episode was brought to light recently by a friend of mine and is hereby introduced to the reader for the reader’s edification and greater enlightened understanding of Abraham Lincoln and the kind of man he was, as seen through the eyes of the Almighty.
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A Double Burden and “The Rising of the Race” Minority women faced a double burden or double...
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And yet, who among us could have stood up and faced him, eye to eye? Who among us could have answered his quest for knowledge and change? Who could have matched him truth for truth, soul to soul, at the time his power was at its greatest? When the Dream was still before him, the rebellion imminent, and all seemed possible?
Whether one agrees or disagrees with Newton and the philosophy of the Panthers, such sterling courage in the face of adversity still deserves our recognition and respect.
For those of us who remember him, his death will continue to give us pause. His life invites us to take another long hard look at the society into which he was born. What can we say of the pervasive racism that has hounded so many millions of Black people over the decades, young and old, male and female, educated and uneducated alike?
Read MoreWhat does the president imply when he cries out “fake news”? He means that the news media have made up a story about him: that the story is fiction, something someone dreamed up out of whole cloth; it is an “imaginary story” with no factual basis in reality, in other words.
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It is up to us to keep alive the story of the courage and determination they showed in the face of great opposition and the limiting inequalities of the past. It is our turn to share, and pass on to others, this heroic story of their fiery commitment to the American promise of justice and equality for all people everywhere!
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Let’s get one thing straight: The president is Commander-in-Chief so how could President Trump ever be a “draft-dodger”?
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It seems to me our journalists are getting a mite soft in the head lately. They are forgetting how to ask tough questions.
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Born again Christian”: now there’s a phrase to give one pause! I reckon it must have something to do with reincarnation as there are born again Buddhists too.
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ROGER’S BLOGS: TABLE OF CONTENTS Addendum to Nixon That S.O.B. American Philosopher A New...
Read MoreClass, my name is Prof. Dumb-Ass. I am your professor for this class in Political Science. Today’s topic is the presidency of the current incumbent, Donald J. Trump. Some of you no doubt think he is stupid but I’m here to tell you he’s actually quite brilliant. If you don’t believe me, just ask him!
Read MoreI cannot say in simple words what Muriel meant to me. She was one of a kind. She was unique. She was totally herself and never self-conscious. She was a ready fighter for justice and she didn’t care who she had to take on. She wasn’t afraid to fight for justice and when you were around her there was a way in which some of her courage seemed to rub off on you, too.
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While we’re on the topic of the president’s ineptitude in all matters presidential, the question...
Read MoreLight bright / too bright! Move away slowly in fits and spurts By tide and current of spastic osmosis By night unseen in the coolness of the deep And by day color undifferentiated Wait for the strength to flee Wait for the sense...
Read MoreThey’re turning us into semi-robotic, airless, hairless, mindless, Brain-depleted soul-benumbed cadaver-numbered Commodity-packaged commodity-consumed Emotionally-frozen emotionally-damaged Empty vessels As lifeless spiritually...
Read MoreThis mad rushing motion of people cars and commerce Leaving one nowhere to stand to take stock of the past . . . One cannot snap a photo of modern life From atop a moving train— The picture turns blurry from streaking lines Of...
Read MoreWe walked around the park From morning until dark— Along the way, we saw tree roots sticking out We saw squirrel holes underneath the roots— Then we picked many pretty pink flowers And went to gather pine cones In another part...
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President Trump appears extremely worried that if a statue of Robert E. Lee is taken down, then a statue of George Washington might be next. The president asks what’s the difference between the two men, since both owned slaves? Good question, Mr. President!
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Ch. 6: Locked in the Bathroom!
Emiliano looked at the puppy. Conchito looked thirsty and Emiliano needed to use the bathroom. He saw a bathroom at the back of the plane. He walked down the aisle towards the bathroom and opened the door. It was so small he could hardly believe his eyes!
Best of all, one day a year salaried workers are allowed free access to all the bank accounts of the richest people in the land.
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I kind of wonder why people are worried if a football player kneels rather than stands during the playing of the national anthem? Oh I mean I get it all right: part of the answer is so obvious! They feel the player is being disrespectful. Got it, makes perfect sense.
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This weekend (Aug. 26-27) the group Patriot Prayer canceled appearances in SF and Berkeley. I wonder if they would have done so were it not for the many people who spoke up against them and were organizing their own demonstrations? Sure, it’s not neat or an ideal democratic forum where everyone keeps a civil tongue in their heads, etc. But reality is not always neat, either.
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Whippings of Black slaves are part of the long history of slavery in America—a truth which, however much we might wish it to be otherwise, cannot be buried in neglect or falsehood and which simply will not and cannot go away. It is part of our nation’s story—and part of our national consciousness. When we discuss modern race relations today, we would do well to develop a greater understanding of slavery before we offer our opinions as to the way forward.
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The kindergarten children at B. W. Henderson School were playing on the dark blue carpet. They were also off the carpet, in the play kitchen, under the tables, and a few other places harder to get to. The teacher, Miss Kim Pham, said they could “play nicely” with the puzzles. Naturally the kids went berserk. Pieces of puzzles were scattered everywhere!
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I do not concede the point that supporting restrictions on white supremacists flaunting swastikas will lead to an attack on free speech for everyone else. We can and must make a special case when dealing with the hate-speech of racists and Nazis.
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It seems the American Philosopher is not doing so well these days . . . . even in terms of a clear concise explanation of what inspires our nation and motivates its citizens, it seems our literary reputation has been sinking.
Indeed, not since the founding of the country has our repository of intellectual thought sunk so low. The current resident of the White House explains himself in short repetitious phrases, either orally or on social media, including statements that are demonstrably false. Have we hit bottom yet? It appears we have.
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Dear Mr. President (an open letter): I have a few questions to ask you. If you are too busy to...
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I couldn’t help but be highly amused by the ongoing success of a television program called simply “Finding Bigfoot”. They never find Bigfoot, of course, but that doesn’t seem to matter; what’s important is that there are always eager beavers who believe they are on “its” trail!
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These essays are meant to appear somewhere in-between the scholarly tone of a footnoted academic work and the freewheelin’ opinionated indulgences expressed in a blog.
Sometimes they lean a little more in one direction than the other but on balance the essays are serious pieces with the occasional misbehavin’ runaway (“Principal’s Memo to Teachers”, “The Dog and the Wolf”). Other essays rise nearly to the level of scholarly purpose: examples include “What Price Privacy? Dear Mr. Scalia”, “Same Sex Marriage: the California Question”, and “Confederate Flag: Yes or No.”
There is a long and noble tradition of essay-writing in our country’s history and the English-speaking world (Mill, Locke, Emerson, Thoreau, Steinbeck, Robert Louis Stevenson and more). I want to join them on that continuum of literature where thoughtful exposition joins together the minds of an author and a reader in a common pursuit of knowledge and enlightenment. As Spock would say: “Live long and prosper!”
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“He [the president] shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” –Constitution, Article II, Section 2.1.
Read MoreThe soul that comes from within blesses death. Let newer souls be seen.
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It’s pretty hard to help others if you don’t know there is a problem or what the historical background to that problem looks like. It’s very hard to know what to do if you don’t first find out what current conditions look like, what kind of proposed solutions have already been tried, or what kind of efforts are currently underway to bring about change.
The betterment of living conditions for Native Americans has never been a simple matter. There are umpteen layers of governmental bureaucracy to navigate for even the simplest policy changes to be implemented.
Besides an unwieldy oversight structure, social reformers must also deal with the general population’s ignorance and indifference toward Native Americans, if not to say outright bigotry and kill-the-Indian syndrome.
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As an American historian, I do believe that a deep stream of greed, exploitation, and corruption best explains much of the last 500 years. Human nature being what it is, a relatively small percentage of greedy men and women has sometimes given in to the worst of human vices and traits.
Read MoreMeet Adam and Eve, mud and rib creations.
Read MoreI submit, behind every theology dedicated to the worship of a Supreme Being, there is an even deeper philosophical concept—one dedicated to human values and amelioration of the human condition.
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Puppy: “I was watching TV with my humans last week and they were watching a show on animals. It was all about dogs and humans and how much we love each other. The show explained that dogs and humans have been together for a very long time. The show said that dogs are descended from wolves and evolved from them . . . is that true?”
Read MoreNo amount of religious double talk can deny the biological evolution of mankind. There could not have been a sudden, magical “poof!” creation of the human race. The fact is, all religious thought has been wrong from the very beginning and remains so to this day.
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We live in a natural world, not a super-natural one. What is more self-evident than the notion that the natural world has natural origins, not super-natural ones?
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The next thing I recall was that a titter of laughter had started somewhere in the crowd. I looked up and checked out the green panorama in front of me, guessing a dog or a squirrel was running across the field but nope, no animals in sight. Just then the pitcher threw again and there was another foul ball and there was another sweep of laughter, only louder this time. I was baffled at first and had no clue. It soon became clear!
Read MoreCan we say with any degree of assurance that “something exists”? It’s a simple question deserving a simple answer: yes we can. But what then of the skeptic who says there is no way to distinguish the real from the imaginary?...
Read MoreIt is not in the power of God or Nature to forget and bury the crimes of humanity’s past so completely as to say “they never happened.” The horrors did happen as God, Nature, and the Human Heart know all too well. And there...
Read MoreWhat do we mean by the phrase “in the beginning?” In terms of logic, from the earliest times when people could think, both men and women eventually had to grapple with three of the hardest questions and greatest imponderables...
Read MoreSmall-minded people may think so but religious faith is not at all necessary in the life of a human being. Not believing in God does not equate to believing in nothing.
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Sub-categories, which are capitalized, include: AMERICAN HISTORY; FAMOUS PEOPLE SPEAKING WORDS OF WISDOM; LITERARY ENDEAVORS; NATIVE AMERICAN WRITINGS; POLITICS; AND ROGER’S LIFE.
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They say his trouble began when he was young . . . . He changed from a happy boy to a quiet one. He did not shout like the other children, even on the playground at recess. He had much hatred in his heart for the Americans. He had much anger in his soul toward the Anglos. He was only a little boy but he hated like a man.
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Dicen que los problemas comenzaron cuando era joven. Tomás tenía seis años cuando comenzó ir a la escuela.
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For now, on this Memorial Day of 2017, let us remember March 5, 1770: the Boston Massacre.
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“American History” is the serious side of this writer’s website. It is intended to balance the poetry, blogs, and fictional stories.
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INTRODUCTION TO WHO I AM I turned 18 in 1965 just as the Vietnam War was heating up as well as the...
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As a writer, a much broader range of genres intrigues me besides the rigors of historical inquiry. As an observer of human nature, I enjoy expressing myself on a wide range of topics. I find literary creativity to be its own challenge and reward, doubly enriching when it is morally purposeful.
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Who gets to decide who is and who isn’t civilized? Are we civilized? What about the Mayan and Aztecs or before them the Olmec, Toltec, and Zapotec? What about the Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, and Pueblo peoples of the Southwest?
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If the present author gets “stuck in the middle” and ends up taking flak from both sides . . . then he will consider his critique a success and his mission accomplished! To Zinn admirers and Zinn detractors, this essay is for you!
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Zinn’s thesis 1:
The Bill of Rights was only added after popular protest; the Constitution is not written in the same spirit as the Declaration of Independence: the latter was revolutionary in its language while the Constitution merely reflects the interests of wealth and property.
Zinn’s thesis 2:
The Declaration of Independence did not grant women the rights it granted men.
Zinn’s thesis 3:
Change in a democracy comes from the bottom up, from protest, and not from the top.
Zinn’s thesis 4:
The government was only moved to reform by the actions of organized citizens.
Zinn’s thesis 5:
Protestors represent the people; indeed, protests represent the real democratic face of the American people. Without protest, there would be no progress due to the selfish nature of the rich and powerful in society.
Zinn’s thesis 6:
The government initiated the Civil War; Lincoln represented the middle class; Lincoln held racist views.
Zinn’s thesis 7:
In 1865 Congress was pushed to act.
Zinn’s thesis 8:
Most of the people did not benefit from this economic progress.
Sometimes students must “unlearn” before they can learn; sometimes they must recognize that “established facts” are slanted to create a false view of people and events.
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These two documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, comprise the “birth certificate” of the United States of America; it is incumbent upon all of us to develop a basic understanding of why they were written and what they say. Together, they define our democratic and moral principles of self-government.
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The following essay is a critique of Howard Zinn’s historical interpretation of American history...
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In general, Zinn’s approach lacks a credible way to include positive social developments in U.S. history, whether economic, intellectual, or political.
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THE STUDY OF GREETINGS: HOW I LEARNED TO LOVE EBONICS OR HOW I WENT FROM FORMAL ENGLISH TO SWEET...
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“You ain’t got to finish readin’ nuthin’ if you don’t want to, not even this damn sentence! Your teacher ain’t your Mama!”
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The phrase “you know”[1] could well become the Black person’s Ebonics word for God. That way, other non-Ebonic speaking peoples will become accustomed to perceiving Black people as religious. Every time they hear another “you know” from an Ebonic speaker, they would know the speaker was praying.
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OTHER QUESTIONS COME TO MIND So now I hear you asking: does this mean that not only this phrase...
Read MorePeople who highly value the proper use of “good English” might not be pleased with the presence of Ebonic jive words, street phrases, or style of speech (including vocal inflections and intonations) but some of us–laymen and scholars alike–recognize it as a necessary by-product of a healthy and creative language like English.
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One can argue that since “ain’t” is used in common speech it should be allowed to pass, yet how wise is it to take every incorrect grammatical error and simply say “let it pass” as acceptable? Is there not a danger of destroying the aesthetic beauty of the language we speak?
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Please excuse my notes but it will help me remember if I begin to choke up: Give me a...
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Are we America, the champion of liberty and democracy . . . or are we America, the land of slavery of Black people and of genocide against our Native Americans?
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Let us pass on our knowledge and experiences to the next generation that they in turn may carry forward the struggle to make America a land of equality and justice for all. In Jimmy’s memory, I wish you all the best.
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Where reasonable speech is practiced, by all means we should defend the right of people to express their views freely. Where unreasonable speech is the enemy, we have an equally great obligation to challenge and oppose such right-wing propaganda, deceit, and treachery. Denying them a platform is part of that opposition: RESIST!
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She wishes to inject hatred, distrust and mistrust into the bloodstream of her fellow Americans. The crazy radical Muslims overseas detonate bombs to sow confusion despair and distrust. At home, the crazy conservative Ann Clutter Brain pursues the same approach with word bombs of hatred to explode amidst minds and hearts, twisting and distorting rational ideas and loving emotions into their exact opposites. Not much of a difference, is there? Sow confusion, sow mistrust, sow hatred everywhere! Whose agenda is being described thusly, that of Islamic fundamentalists or that of the Ann Clutter Brain fundamentalists?
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Was that a miracle, an intervention from on high, or just an incredibly fortunate piece of luck? I don’t know and I suppose I never will know. What’s important was that my faith in people was strengthened immeasurably and has never been shaken since. The dark shadow of the premonition that had been following me around that morning burst apart and evaporated in a shower of a million pieces and suddenly I was aware of the day being filled with radiant sunshine. I knew then I would make it through my last day in fine shape.
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In a day and age when we may be heading for an environmental catastrophe of the first order– whose exact magnitude of devastation cannot yet be made out but may dwarf all previous mass extinctions beyond our wildest fears–we would do well to listen to our Native American brethren . . . for it may be our last chance.
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It is not yet clear to me whether the average American should be amused or horrified by the recent statement made by a leading jurist that privacy is not guaranteed in the Constitution, implying that Americans should not assume that they have such a right.
It is prudent to recognize how each amendment anticipates and amplifies the rights found in adjoining amendments and how they in turn reinforce the rights already recognized.
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Words cannot express the grief nor the sorrow
That fills my soul to learn of these twenty lives
Now lost forever, gone forever, to sleep forever
A rhubaric ramble following a visit to the “state” of Las Vegas Believers in a One Dimensional...
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Essay prompt: Who was Sitting Bull and should he be admired or hated? Title of essay answer: “What...
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It may be difficult for students opposed to Milo’s right-wing beliefs to grasp that there is a higher principle involved here: the right of freedom of speech itself. This right must be extended to everyone, including persons with whom we disagree—especially those with whom we disagree.
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During a particularly fascinating episode of “Law and Order”, an appeals court judge states: “The ends can never justify the means”. Please pardon my bad manners but I want to break out laughing every time I hear someone on TV talk about “ends and means”, especially when they say “the ends can never justify the means.” They think this is “deep” but really it’s all just a bunch of hyped up nonsense viewed from an honest historical perspective.
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For Cindy Your name, if I were to name you, would be Sunshine-in-Her-Smile. A note: Many years...
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Schools seldom teach the truth about America’s mistreatment of Native Americans. The story presented is very one-sided: the White Europeans are nearly always the “good guys” while the indigenous population is represented as “primitive savages” . . .
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Sometimes I go anyway because my deep down Indian mind is very strong and willful and oftentimes it doesn’t wish to listen to any more bullshit from my non-Indian European-style mind at all. And I can’t say as I blame it; when your bones and blood run strong toward the Indian way of life by temperament and purpose, it’s very hard for me or anybody else to impose a different set of norms upon it.
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What makes up a person’s character? Is it the things we do and the things we say? In some ways, we can say “yes” . . . but aspects of a person’s character go deeper, combining emotional qualities with intellectual traits: a synthesis of conscience, moral values, and ethical decisions. Physical ability and academic training may go hand in hand with a person’s emotional and mental make-up, but they are not identical with character.
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Awake now, like the rising sun, and go forth with love in your heart and peace in your soul. Be as one with Mother Earth, and let Mother Earth teach you her gentle ways, so that you may grow straight and tall like a giant redwood Sequoia and like a true son and daughter of our People.
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But I am a man of peace and I seek justice, not revenge. I speak the truth as it has been given to me to understand and speak the truth. The giving of a Native American name is not done lightly or in jest. It is an honor name. Thus, I give this class the name Red Heart and it is with that name I shall remember each and every one of you.
Whenever you see a new baby born, your own or someone else’s, whenever you even think about such a scene in the hidden recesses of your mind and imagination, then remember us here, this class, and this name, and these names you gave one another.
I am very proud of each and every one of you.
I Am He Who Speaks the Truth.
I have spoken.
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How many Native Americans were killed during the Conquest, by war, by disease, by assassination? Not only Indian warriors in battle but old men, women, and children were murdered too. Then there were the many who died of cold and hunger on forced marches or after being removed to reservations. Many starved; many killed themselves out of desperation and despair. Some drank themselves to death.
The total number, which at the very least must involve many thousands, is one of the bloodiest chapters in all of American History. It is an example of genocide. It is an example of the American nation at its most unjust; it is a picture of the first European-Americans giving full play to a bloodthirsty desire for land and wealth, even if it meant the brutal death of many tribes and nations.
We cannot redeem the past and seek justice if we refuse to talk truthfully about this history: as it really happened. The blood-stains haunt us yet.
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The Europeans live in America and boast of all they have but they do not remember to make amends for their sins. They do not remember the first peoples of this land nor the 10,000 years that make this land part of their history. But as long as truth exists, the voices of the chiefs and the Native American people will be heard. One cannot silence truth or replace it with lies. The lies will destroy themselves and disappear. Always it has been this way; always truth returns from the ashes of the fire. Truth is indestructible. This the Native American people know. Our truths last long because they come from Mother Earth. Our wise chiefs know this and have asked the white man to listen to the heart. The white man loves to read but in studying so many small details, he forgets to look at larger truths. For one cannot study or teach truth without coming in time to the words of the Wise Ones. If they have this much wisdom, would we not be wise to listen?
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Likewise with Racism: describing the practice of racism tells us little about the causes of racism. Everything has a beginning: the practice of stereotyping, of engaging in racist thought and acts, also had a beginning. We must travel back in time to deal with racism as a social phenomenon that arose during America’s colonial era.
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We must face facts, my fellow Americans: Trump is as immature as an eleven year old boy. His life as a rich spoiled brat has created demented distortions of reality within his brain that have given rise to his many unbecoming personality flaws. He speaks with contempt and disdain told anyone who annoys or angers him. This is not how a person holding the office of the presidency should behave. There is no dignity in his antics, no integrity in his tweeted utterances, and no decency in his verbal assaults on his fellow Americans. [from “Thumper the Clown”)
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“No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth. Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is the freedom of the press. It is, therefore, the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions.” -Thomas Jefferson
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While we have witnessed Thumper insulting people from all walks of life, we should not get complacent or fooled into accepting this immature behavior as the new normal. We must not confuse his normally nasty narcissistic personality with his hidden deeper motives; we should not confuse his impulsive habit of striking out at anyone at any time with his far more dangerous policies and schemes still in the making and yet to come.
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Sometimes when a problem is not being solved, it’s simply best to stop and take honest stock of where we truly are. There have been too many wasted years of unsuccessful “reforms”. Such thinking as “All students MUST learn Algebra” is in itself old-fashioned, pedantic, and unrealistic. The requirement to take Algebra is wrong. It is this requirement that must be abolished.
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Thus to the question, “Do these Indians and these prisoners have anything in common?” I must answer yes. And something far beyond the mere coincidence of numbers; that which they truly have in common is something so tragic, so numbing, so shocking, that it is better to drop the subject and let this last thought, however truthful, pass unmentioned.
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From a legal viewpoint, then, what can we say of the status of the flag that the Harvard coed chose to fly: that it is mere emblem? Personal room decoration? Artistic statement? Historic relic? We make too light of the matter if we subscribe to any of these simplifications and if we take only the short-term view. That flag must be seen in its proper context:
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