Lessons from the Past

"We cannot change the past, only recover from it. And perhaps learn its cruel lessons." Dan Pena

You may be thinking that I am giving a pass to all the perpetrators of racism and those that have seized native lands, exploited, enslaved, and pillaged other cultures.

Those advocating for social justice and calling for reparations for past crimes are not looking at the complete picture because they are making sweeping generalizations about the past that are not so.

I strongly condemn whatever happened in the past and may still be happening. In the same light, anybody in this day and age who still thinks that the amount of melanin in somebody’s skin is a great criterion to divide humans into different races should wake up.

In addition, anybody who thinks melanin, which is meant to protect people from the sun’s radiation, is some sort of a flaw or handicap that justifies them to look down on other people needs to come down from their high horse and face reality.

The color of somebody’s skin has nothing whatsoever to do with intellectual capacity, integrity, worth, and achievement.

Therefore, anybody who thinks that they can justify their hate, discrimination, and maltreatment of other people because of their skin color is the one that needs help the most and should seek help as soon as possible.

Skin color does not make some people superior and others inferior. Can you point to any reputable scientific journal that has any peer-review study that supports such absurdity? You may be insisting that you heard or watched some movie or read some book that said such and such about other ethnicities. All those sources are wrong because they will not stand the scrutiny when facts are engaged.

While I have zero tolerance for those who believe that skin color is some reliable criterion to classify and discriminate against people, I will differ in the way forward.

The purpose of writing this book is not to fan hate and intolerance because anybody who goes down the road of hate and vengeance are subjecting themselves in the worst kind of slavery.

It is almost better to be in physical chains than to be mentally bound.

Yes, the past is too dark and painful and the present is equally disheartening. However, it will be a tragedy to allow other people to control not only your past, but your present and your future.

Just because people believed in the past and acted as if they were superior to those of a different skin color is not enough to continue to blame and reinforce this viewpoint.

Those who believed that they were superior were wrong and are still wrong, but it takes somebody to accept that they are inferior for this insanity to continue. It is time to stand tall in the truth and declare it with all conviction. All men are created equal. Period! This is the truth that will set both the oppressed and the oppressor free because both of them need to be liberated.

We must be extremely cautious and should move slowly and meticulously when trying to use present circumstances to judge the past. When thing are taken out of context, there is a tendency to cause more harm than good.

Most of the challenges that we are dealing with today have been dealt with in the past. Therefore, we may do ourselves a lot of good if we take a look at how some people handled maltreatment, social injustice, and slavery.

While some may dismiss these stories and experiences as mere stories, I invite you to take a close look and appreciate the powerful message of hope that is embedded in these powerful narratives.