I apologize. Two days late, but:
Aug 18, 1920 -- 85 years ago -- the Nineteenth Amendment was passed, giving women the vote. Add that to Blacks only getting full voting rights in most of this country just 35-40 years ago ...
... huh. Is this progress? Is it encouraging that the curve/rise is so steep, or a depressing reminder that what most people have as their mental bookmark of what modern society is ... hasn't been? One of the foundations of fundamentalism, of course is pining for a past which never actually existed ... gah, can;t quite wrap my head around where this post is going.
Bit of a mixed bag, eh?
Not to self: Don't read Tom Holland's Rubicon when considering historical posts. Being immersed in Roman Republican timelines smears your perception.
Note to you: Read it. Bloody amazing.
8 comments:
I tend to think that there were men in power who truthfully intended this country to be completely free of the ignorance and hatred of their society.
It's like, they wanted to make sure they gave someone the opportunity to say "this is utterly wrong." but were besieged by those who will always just simply want power over others.
They had to let it slide lest they be ousted by those who were in power and didn't want change. And, that minority that hoped that someday somebody fought the ignorance. Some people did. It didn't stop everyone from being ignorant, but the important part is that it helps {not always depending on locale...} to prevent enforcement of ignorance.
Crazy. I'm so sick of people telling me to shut up; that women and minorities have enough already and should be happy with their lot. Thanks for the reminder.
You may want to try out Michael Parenti's "Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People's History of Rome". While I think he's fighting a battle against a historic 'consensus' which really hasn't existed for a long time it's good fun.
The way he makes Cicero look like an early Rush Limbaugh is worth it all alone. Just makes you wish that Limbaugh had the same worries that Cicero did.
Ben S.
Yes, Rubicon is a terrific read. The part that scares me is that I don't think we've had Sulla yet (although Dick Cheney looks like a good candidate for that).
the parallels are getting ... creepy indeed.
In describing Dennis Potter in Hollywood, a writer said there he was sitting in a restaurant surrounded by people, "swinging his intelligence like a shillelagh."
I'm wondering if when execs have you "take lunches" they have to duck too?
the responses vary between amused and annoyed.
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