America as an Empire

Posted on May 11, 2017 by TheJessicaness

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace,” said Jimi Hendrix, an influential rock guitarist, in the mid-twentieth century.5 The world is far from realizing this utopia as children still fight over ownership of toys as men have fought for centuries over land, religion, science, fear, racism, and women. Popular adjectives for man are: powerful, strong, educated, healthy, and rich. A man needs to be in charge of his domain — to include his home, church, office, country, and everything in between (farms, roads, and rivers) and within reach (the next mountain, the new frontier, and the closest islands). Man is a proud creature and has proven repeatedly through bloody wars and conquering efforts that he will fight for what he believes is right or his, regardless of the outcome, especially when using other people as his pawns.

Pythagoras, known for his theorem and the start of philosophy, said in 500BC, “Power is the near neighbour of necessity.”6 If humans were able to separate themselves from the animal kingdom by not fighting over territory, something our government makes us pay to live on, the world would have one less dangerous aspect. Living on free, unmarked, and unregulated land was seen as barbaric and something to abolish.4 Now it’s frowned upon and charged for so that all activities may be regulated — houses, cars, and jobs taxed while walking and sleeping can acquire fines depending on their location. Humans used to share their existence — farming, hunting, and wives, but over time have felt the need to distinguish between ownership, and seem to be slowly going back to sharing the burdens of existence with co-ops and community gardens. Above are the underlying reasons behind the leaders of history trying to dominate the world, some more than others.

The following is a discussion of man’s excuses to conquer another people, push them from their land, or dominate them in their own territory for the benefit of religion, business, beliefs, and fear of the unknown. President McKinley wasn’t the first, and definitely not the last president to justify his actions with the words of the Bible and the sharp edge of a sword. His tactics were unChristian to the extent that I understand the Word and the ways it has been interpreted to me — love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31)7, but only if he’s white. It’s also not fair to “civilize” someone and then deny them the rights to read or vote.

As Larry Madaras, author of Taking Sides, stated, “the acquisition of California and the subsequent discovery of gold there spurred interest” in finding faster ways to connect the government of the East coast with the wealth of the West coast, and acquiring more places to stop for refueling and repairs along naval trade routes to grow American businesses and sell the plethora of industrialized products to a larger market.4 I agree with free trade (definition: international trade left to its natural course without tariffs, quotas, or other restrictions)8, but not with forcing another nation to open its borders or change its beliefs in order to accomplish it. Similarly, as if a vacuüm cleaner salesman was to come to my door I’m not going to let him in to kill my son and teach my daughter a new religion.

Racism has played a large role in the public and private sectors throughout history and did not disappoint as the United States strove to win the race to be the next leading empire. Walter LaFeber, author of Inevitable Revolutions: The United States in Central America, agrees that the racial attitudes of the nineteenth-century “considered all races other than white to be inferior,” which made it easier for people like William Walker, American soldier turned Nicaraguan president, to attempt “to impose Anglo-Saxon values on the unwilling.” This feeling of power was instilled in ‘white males’ since their proclamation of personal freedom in the Declaration of Independence.4

I believe in the right to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” but only so far as being fair will allow. Life is full of competition and it keeps nature and economics healthy, but demoralizing and killing other humans deemed inferior due to skin color is heartless. The legacies of fighting Indians for the frontier and Blacks over slavery were even carried over to other Europeans that had different cultural beliefs.4 These standards are still prevalent today as citizens agree to ban Muslims on planes and to build a longer, taller, and wider wall to keep out Mexicans, as if their country is the only one that can have a corrupt government and unfair policies towards ownership, religion, and personal pursuits — sexual, educational, or recreational.

The United States invested “a highly disproportionate amount” of time, money, and military into the five Central American nations, a region that covers “only a little more than one-hundredth of the Western Hemisphere’s land area.”4 I applaud their effort that every little piece and person counts and helps to make up the whole of the planet, but America was more interested in the number of profits they saw in the new wealth-based soil frontier that was Central America — Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Honduras; and the Caribbean — Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, and keeping out the British, Germans, and Soviets. Most of the invested millions in 15 years, about $93 million by the eve of WWI, went towards plantations of bananas, sugar, coffee, and tobacco, and the railroads to transport it all.4

a sugar plantation in Cuba

America’s goal in gaining the Caribbean and the Philippines was to have better access for “economic penetration” into China and have a large new market of buyers. This goal was worth the investment and loans were given to Latin American countries, repeatedly, even after their governments defaulted on payments and used the funds for other purposes until “the whole process of contracting such debts became a vicious game without rules,” claimed David Healy4. America went south, in Nicaragua for 21 years, to ensure foreigner’s debts were repaid, giving those other countries no reason to tread on the States’ property, but increasingly had to agree on only a fraction of the loan to be repaid.4 I understand how this would lead to another world war as nations are going broke and their citizens hungry and dying of disease while they fight battles for their leaders that are overseas. The war in the Middle East is still an issue today as America battles with the growing debt now in the trillions10.

W. T. Stead, a newspaper editor, predicted that America would “emerge as the greatest of world-powers” through their “pursuit of wealth.”3 Such is the case now, where America chooses how much to pay for oil, bananas, and coffee; much like the government chose to do with the crops of Central America. The United States chose cash crops to take up land the locals could’ve used to feed themselves.4 This also relates to corn and grain farms today — valuable land that should be used to grow food for human consumption is grown and given to cows to feed those more wealthy or dependent on the government for food allotment when more people would benefit from fruits and vegetables instead11. It’s terrible how greed can make people treat each other with disdain for the color of their skin, deeming them unworthy of a meal and leading to “malnutrition, even starvation, ”4 while the rich prosper from the land of the poor.

Control of the market and food deprivation are ways to maintain power as is passing laws making the actions legal or making amendments to bills already passed that approve of the behavior. Roosevelt did this with his Corollary of the Monroe Doctrine, a warning to European nations that an attempt to colonize the Americas further would be met with aggressive interposition, but not “for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any other manner their destiny.” President Monroe hoped “to leave the parties to themselves, in hope that other powers will pursue the same course, ”9 so it’s easy to understand while under the fear of another world power intervening, the United States would force the islands into a state of dependency under military control.

The “principles that made the United States the globe’s greatest power: … a fear of foreign influence, and a dread of revolutionary instability” were the opposite tactics they used in Central America as a way to maintain power — fueling revolutions to bring about change, at least in the short-term of keeping citizens focused on the upheaval of their lifestyle while the leaders formulated methods to bring about more longterm stability with an outside control from a foreign power.4 It was also for these reasons “to ensure investments, secure the canal, act as a ‘natural protector’” that Roosevelt felt it was necessary to preserve the position of world police4, to keep order in a place with so much of America invested.

The United States believes that just as “England and France and Germany have stood”4 that they too will have their time as the leader of power, especially as they lead the way in the industrial enterprise that continues to grow in the world. This power comes with the obligation to sustain control and to “have the right to knock their heads together until they should maintain peace between them,” as President Taft believed was necessary between the governments of Central America.4 The United States was a country built on the dreams of freedom from government, religion, and persecution, but that was worth fighting bloody battles for and instilling those beliefs in others as “The first taste of power is always the sweetest”4 and the young nation wasn’t ready to let go of what they felt was in their grasp.

The United States has influenced other countries through the Declaration of Independence and grass-roots movements towards equality of race, sex, and gender. America has led the way in new technology, scientific discoveries, and military presence which helped them maintain power in the past, but I question how it will work moving forward as other countries lead in children’s education, green technologies, and equality among genders. What aspects of society are the most important to focus on to keep citizens motivated to defend it? America’s answer is fear of the unknown, hate of the other, and a belief that anything or anyone not like us is wrong and bad and should be done away with. That is not a way of life I want to defend. I believe Americans have a lot of false freedoms, negative ideologies, and an ignorance of the world around them.

The governing people use their followers’ lack of knowledge, and the fears previously instilled through history and stories shared around the campfire, to inspire a sense of American pride and nationalism to keep a herd mentality alive. In moments of despair, new rituals are introduced. In 1893, it was the Pledge of Allegiance and standing for “The Star-Spangled Banner.”2 In 2001, it was the sight of the flag on every home, car, and person, and the start of TSA and phone tapping for the sake of the nation’s security. The United States even went as far as to spy on other nations, ones that are supposed to be their friends and allies — not how I treat my friends or believe they should be treated.

Humans are big on acting on their beliefs from fear, religion, and media. Josiah Strong, a published minister, believed that all social problems could be solved with God because whites were superior, Christians the only rightful missionaries, and the Anglo-Saxons were to wipe out or assimilate their inferiors for a worldwide game of survival of the fittest.1 Americans still assume this role today, of going to countries deemed less fortunate and trying to supply them with water or birth control or free enterprise. Some of these goals are honorary, but others are pointless when juxtaposed with the other countries religion, government, and historical beliefs. Those who want to change are told they can’t because women can’t drive in Saudi Arabia and men can’t be gay in Russia and those who don’t want to change are forced out of their businesses in Africa or into the streets in India.

Critics believed that “some races were destined to dominate over others”1 making it easier for the American public to believe in the inferiority of non-white people who were “ignorant, lazy, backward” and obviously in need of a Christ intervention to save them from “dreaming the years away.”4 These colored people were ‘incapable of self-government and economic development’ so America went in to improve these countries in such decay by pushing them onto reservations, forcing their sons into battle, and making them second-class citizens. Europeans saw non-whites as obstructing the possibilities for whites in improving their society with the raw materials and agricultural products available to the barbarians of the world if they would act more civilized. Today, Marines are taught about the extremists of the Middle East and not the Muslim’s inshallah, God-willing, lifestyle before they are sent into battle against a religion they know nothing about.12 No one goes above God.

Except for maybe a religious extremist group that chooses to walk beside their faith and reinterpret it dramatically to fit their own outlook. This process happens naturally, but what doesn’t help is when one group begins to assume that all people of the same skin tone, dress type, or religious scripture follow those same beliefs. These accusations can lead to violence and misunderstanding as people are kicked off planes and tackled outside of hospitals. These beliefs can cause unnecessary laws to be passed, even if temporary, and can destroy future business relations or children’s outlooks on their future as they are raised in hate, but can’t understand why.

The United States, though consisting of millions of people, sometimes has the personality of a macho man trying to prove his masculinity. America pretends to sit on the sidelines for only so long before giving all its resources towards a battle so that it can claim the all-powerful trophy. This behavior is seen in the treatment of the Caribbean, the Philippines, and WWI and II. We supply the enemy with weapons to defend themselves in their revolutions and when it’s not working at the American pace or in a way seen fit to civilized standards, America steps in to clear the battlefield to maintain hegemony of the Western Hemisphere and the globe which may seem useless and expensive to some, but which is just the almighty dollar diplomacy at work.

Assumptions make navies grow to stay alert, prep for war, and retain a presence where a threat is felt. This fear causes people to be on edge, be judgmental, and act out of accordance with the law and their religious beliefs. These are problems that only an empire should have — Ottoman, Russian, and British as they unjustly command a people they know nothing about from a land far away without any representation in government dealings. A democracy, which America sits on the edge of, shouldn’t be the parent setting the children straight with violence, but the parent of peaceful protests setting the example for how a fair government should deal with its citizens.

America jumps in to benefit itself, develop other countries, and to scare off foreign powers, but what about the immigrants living in the United States that feel threatened by the countries leaders and their beliefs? If America isn’t leading the way on bombing children and withholding funds till its goals are achieved which country will take its place to do the “practical, right, legally justified, and even necessary” things to keep the economy of the world in trillions of debt while its own people starve? Who will want to take on that burden of responsibility or will China or Germany focus on a different set of beliefs? Fears are meant to keep you safe, but ignorance is more dangerous than any falsehood.

*all images courtesy of Google

1. Foner, Eric. “17.” Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History. 4th ed. Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton, 2014. 66-72. Print.

2. Foner, Eric. “17.” Give Me Liberty!: An American History. 4th ed. Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton, 2014. 529-42. Print.

3. Foner, Eric. “19.” Give Me Liberty!: An American History. 4th ed. Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton, 2014. 575-80. Print.

4. Madaras, Larry, and James M. SoRelle. “Issue 7.” Taking Sides: Clashing Views in United States History. 12th ed. Vol. 2. Boston: McGraw-Hill Education Create, 2017. 157-80. Print.

5. “Jimi Hendrix.” PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, 22 Feb. 2016. Web. 06 May 2017. <http:// http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/jimi-hendrix-jimi-hendrix-biography/2743/>.

6. Harbottle, Thomas Benfield. Dictionary of Quotations (classical), with Author and Subject Indexes. 3rd ed. N.p.: Swan Sonnenschein; Macmillan, 1906. 356. Print.

7. “Mark 12:31.” The Bible: King James Version. Glasgow: Collins, 2008. N. pag. Print.

8. Abate, Frank, and Elizabeth J. Jewell. “F.” The New Oxford American Dictionary. New York: Oxford UP, 2001. N. pag. Print.

9. Monroe, James. “Monroe Doctrine.” Welcome to OurDocuments.gov. Avalon Project at Yale Law School, n.d. Web. 06 May 2017.

10. Hubbard, Ben, and Michael R. Gordon. “U.S. War Footprint Grows in Middle East, With No Endgame in Sight.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Mar. 2017. Web. 06 May 2017.

11. Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST). 2013. Animal Feed vs. Human Food: Challenges and Opportunities in Sustaining Animal Agriculture Toward 2050. Issue Paper 53. CAST, Ames, Iowa.

12. Fuentes, Gidget. “UPDATED: Marines with 11th MEU Join the Ground Fight in Syria.” USNI News. U.S. Naval Institute, 09 Mar. 2017. Web. 06 May 2017.

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Why Wake Up?

Posted on April 20, 2017 by TheJessicaness

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Do you ever wonder why you wake up; like what makes it so great and different from the day before it or the next day to come, or does it all feel like a routine in a gerbil maze — wake up at some given time, poo once a day to once a week, eat one to seven meals daily, sit in a cubicle of your mind (whether in an office, at home, or work space), find ways to get more exercise (pay for a gym membership, buy a dog, buy gym equipment), rinse, and repeat.

Some people thank others for giving them a reason to “rise and shine”, some thank the great creator, and others are just grateful when they get their flavor donut from the mix. Others have death, dismemberment, divorce, and depression to fill their day and yet they find a way to crawl out of bed to face another eight to sixteen hours of conscious time away from dreams that could be extraordinary, regardless if they’re remembered — kind of like sex with an ex.

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What is the motivating factor that drags people into social situations, painful processes, and anxiety attacks from stress at work, lectures from parents, and deadlines at school? What do we tell ourselves daily is worth it — the booze or chocolate, the new show or tenth rerun, the neighbor or the alley cat. What do we feel we owe the world with our existence? What separates us from those that lose this feeling, so much that they’re able to take their own life and sometimes the lives of others with them.

Suicidal people feel that their life is an endless tunnel into destruction and darkness, and that their heartbeat is a burden on society that would be better without them. They feel that no amount of activities that used to bring them happiness — finding cloud shapes, playing peek-a-boo, climbing a new mountain, finishing a book, learning a new technique, getting accepted into a program — no longer do. What can they do to bring this feeling back — with who, with what?

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Is there a certain formula for happiness, for success in life, for just existing and being ok with that? Nature is made to evolve and changes drastically, but what happens when people are too afraid to follow suit — and where did this fear come from? People seem to want to be the best — fastest, smartest, loudest — but they don’t all want to do what it takes to get there. We had competition built into our nature, and then we built around it to protect those too weak, too young or old, too poor to compete for the resources that would keep them alive.

People need a purpose, which is sadly why so many work at dead-end jobs, sometimes multiple ones, to feel needed, to feel that they are serving society and making a difference. What if we all went back to cooking our own food, making up our own workouts, and defending ourselves in a court situation? What if robots take on all these jobs more efficiently and leave but a limited few programming us into the future? How many kids, plants, pets, and hobbies will we need then to distract ourselves from our mundane existence.

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I wish for the world to change, but mine would be too drastic to happen in one hundred years, and when often heard is thought to be a fantasy novel I read. People are caught on the wheel of the familiar and they don’t like to venture far from it, but I imagine a world in which we do — a place where all are free to explore the bounds of their brains. Would this mean more peace and harmony or would the world quickly fall into the hands of a powerful few that would try mass extinctions as shown in the past.

I would rather feel free to love, fight, learn, or perish than to watch an existence of people moping about from their shit pay jobs, to their lie-filled relationships, to their families in prison or the hospital to fund the starving kids in Africa while not giving them a long-term solution, while blowing up other nations for a biased political opinion instead of leaving them to figure it out (even if it does take centuries more), and all while our own children starve or over eat, feel abuse or neglect, and struggle to be creative.

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Is the “system” the problem for repression or is that an individual fault? Everyone seems so driven in history to make change and to conquer, but now people are fine with minimum wage and cable television. Would uncontrolled anarchy or freedom of expression come to pass if we were to get rid of some of the systems in place?

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Jared Jacobsen at Spreckels

Posted on April 16, 2017 by TheJessicaness

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I went to the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park, home to the largest outdoor organ consisting of over 5,000 pipes, some 32 feet long and comprising 80 ranks. This organ was donated from the Spreckels brothers in 1915 for the Panama-California Expo after being built in Connecticut. I attended on Easter Sunday and was attracted to the warm-up as were passersby. Jared Jacobson, a former Civic Organist from 1978 to 1985 playing weekly concerts, has returned for his 358th opportunity to play this grand organ.

The audience gets a new perspective when the stage door rises. The stage is small in comparison to the space needed for the pipes in the 75-foot tall pavilion. There are trees surrounding the seating courtyard and some clouds just above them. I’m sat under the shaded awning overlooking the 2,500 seats on simple metal benches, arranged in five columns and 27 rows. Above me are a bunch of small incandescent bulbs, over 1,600 total, that are used at night to bring a different ambience to this wonderful place.

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photo credit – spreckelsorgan.org

There are 250 people sat around me, and for those willing to part with $2, are sitting with a bright rainbow umbrella to protect them from the sun during the show. Two potted white-flowered plants are placed on the organ’s sides once it’s rolled out closer to the audience, near the California and American flags on stage. This pavilion is surrounded by pedestrian-heavy areas and a large parking lot that is full when I walk through. It’s surprisingly quiet and peaceful minus the three airplanes that fly over. The church bells sound on the hour and the architecture brings the place together.

Jared, in his blue jacket and khaki slacks, is accompanied on stage by his page turner dressed in a black suit and standing sideways to the audience, helping to smooth transitions. Jared sounds happy to be here and to share this moment with us. He shares the emotions of the piece and some of its history before playing each one. I’m taken aback by the simplicity of the wood and the amount of keys and pedals that I can see from a distance. I am even more impressed once Jared’s fingers begin to move with profound precision.

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The first verse of “America” (My Country, ’Tis of Thee) by Rev. Samuel Smith, a warm and happy song, is played before Dale Sorenson, the curator, gives the audience a welcoming introduction. The first song is Toccata from Organ Symphonie V and is said to be the most famous organ piece. It starts with a fast dancing-flute tempo and leads into deep baritone ‘toe dips’. The sound takes on the tone of a piano and then simulates the strings walking up stairs before a light solo is performed. Next, is a ballerina in fast forward as the sounds mix richly and play together. I begin to feel anticipation just as the piece comes to a long, clean finish.

Choral—Improvisation on “Victimae Paschali” was made up as the piece was made by Tournemire and is a mix of “love tappy, party hard, and exotic chords”. It starts out with a retro haunted house mix, fast tempo but long notes, and then wobbles together before going back to more separate tones that are very individual but smooth and grow in volume and depth. The piece begins to resemble a spritely horn with a bass combo and with a silent beat that makes me think of reminiscing and the goodbye at the end of a movie. There’s a crescendo, then a trumpet interruption before the instruments ‘fall down the stairs’ and help each other back up to run till they arrive to a gate.

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photo credit – Whimzical Woods Barn

Night by Cyril Jenkins is introduced as a shimmering landscape piece with the magic of instruments not tuned together but still playing in harmony. It starts out slow and warm and lightly picks up before going back to the beginning with a higher pitch. In comes the whispering French horn and trombone with a bit of whimsy, long overtone with little notes underneath. It goes back to the light pick up before alternating between light and dark, like testing a chord, and then completing it.

Bach, always a favorite composer, will have his Orchestral Suite III in D Major performed with weightlessness, and a skipping and weaving of the notes. The Air movement sounds like success and graduation on a sunny day. Birds whistled as the piece went to a peaceful march with twirling accompaniment, and a woman beside me referenced A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum (which upon checking YouTube seems to be a common theme). The piece wants more, bit by bit, advancing slowly to the longest note before the Gavotte movement is played. It sounds like skipping through trees and light stepping with heavy feet. The woodwinds are less dramatic before the ‘space gadget’ of twinkling electronics plays peekaboo with the end.

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photo credit – Sternberg Clarke

“Go Down, Moses,” we are told, is an African-American spiritual based on deliverance from the oppression of slavery as the Jews were when they traveled through the Red Sea. The piece sounds like big open arms with a grand church welcome. The choir is questioning with long resounding notes that reverberate and it’s over too soon.

“The Lost Chord,” the highlight of the program, was written while Sullivan was weary and ill at ease but finished with the sound of an amen. The notes go up and down and have a grainy vibration. The notes are wandering and the composer is trying to pick an instrument. The symphony is good but they are practicing chords out of harmony. The final note brings peace.

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photo credit – Know-It-All

Bolero, a love or hate piece, has a crescendo from beginning to end. It sounds like waltzing in love with an angry interruption, like a sharp curve in a meandering river. There are short abrupt notes like a sing-along and the piece becomes celebratory, holiday festive, and very joyous. There’s another interruption but this one is of a loud uncle or carnival, which fits the merry-go-round to a spin of a finish.

The last piece got the loudest applause. There wasn’t time to play Dieu Parmi as it’s tradition to play The Star-Spangled Banner after each concert. The song was smooth, but not as emotionally evoking for me without a talented voice. Parts of the audience were singing along. Jared finished with applause and a bow. There was a lot of crowd movement during Night, misplaced applause during Bach, and the wind picked up during “Go Down, Moses.” Jared tells us events like this fulfill the vision of the Spreckels brothers of ‘a good day in a park’ and invites us to: come again, donate to the Spreckels Organ Society, and buy souvenirs from the gift shop. The audience is invited on stage to see the organ and ask questions.

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photo credit – Monsieur Valancony

There was plenty of photo taking pre- and post-show, but most of the audience was respectful during to keep their hands and voices to themselves and let people enjoy the music. I think someone saw the importance of introducing kids to classical music without the possibility of them interrupting a paid show in an enclosed theatre. It also gives tourists, new locals, and those otherwise unaware a taste of the art this city has to offer. I will be going back next week for the Earth Fair. I enjoy events I can attend without having to pre-plan, free or not.

It’s important for everyone to be introduced to as many new things as possible to inspire ideas and to collaborate with what they already know or are influenced by. Indoor concerts leave the audience with applause, low light, and music, but I love the outdoors and would prefer the minor distractions in a beautiful afternoon to a dark room in the middle of the day. I’m grateful for the free opportunity to listen to such grand, historical, popular, and memorable music from excellent composers and the people lucky enough to read their music and play it so properly and respectfully.

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The Coming of the Third Reconstruction

Posted on March 16, 2017 by TheJessicaness

 

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The Reconstruction Era, from 1865 to 1877, laid the foundations through political, economical, and societal struggles of what our society still contends with today. History comes with positive and negative aspects despite the perspective of the viewer and here is a brief look at some of the factors that had the most effect then and how our society is dealing with these issues in the present. The Constitution was written in the United States and used as a blueprint in other countries who shared our democratic government ideals1, but it was written over 200 years ago and has made amendments since.

The 14th Amendment in Section One gave citizenship to all persons born or naturalized and secured their rights to life, liberty, property, and due process. Section Two ensured that all males over 21 years of age, minus non-taxed Indians and rebellious criminals, were accounted for when determining the number of state representatives, giving states the choice to let negroes vote or lose seats in Congress2. This amendment would go on to aid the Supreme Court in decisions of racial segregation (Brown v. Board, 1954), abortion (Roe v. Wade, 1973), a presidential election (Bush v. Gore, 2000), and regarding same-sex marriage (Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015)3. 

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The 14th Amendment is currently being debated for revision to its citizenship clause as people argue that this modification will improve the illegal immigrant situation in the United States by denying their children citizenship4. In a debate, it’s important to hear from all sides of the argument. This is what makes the 15th Amendment so important as it gave the negro man a legal voice in the voting process, prohibiting state and federal governments from denying this right.5  It was the opposition to this viewpoint, by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, that would cause Congress to pass the three Enforcement Acts within a twelve-month period allowing the militia to stop violent activities, deemed federal offenses, that stopped negroes from voting, holding office, serving on juries, and receiving equal protection from the law.6

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After these amendments were passed to overcome the Black Codes, and the Civil Rights Act of 1875 passed that outlawed discrimination in hotels and theaters, the South was busy quickly making changes that would bypass these constitutional laws at the state level without attracting the attention of Congress while upholding their “southern way of life”. These laws would put an end to the Black Codes, but the Jim Crow Laws would spring up in their place ensuring separation, but ‘equality’ everywhere. Schools, toilets, restaurants, railcars, and playing fields had to be separated by different doors and not within a certain distance of each other — this way the races wouldn’t mix for marriage or equal rights.7

The Grandfather Clause, a way to exempt poor and illiterate whites from the same disenfranchisement of the negroes, along with the Jim Crow Laws, helped to strengthen the position of the Southern whites and the Midwest republicans by charging poll taxes, giving literacy tests, or demanding proof of ownership of property. The Grandfather Clause was found unconstitutional in 1915, in the case of Guinn v. United States, but sadly the Jim Crow Laws would be supported until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that outlawed all discriminatory legislation, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that was able to get a majority of negroes registered to vote in the South.8

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Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act was enacted in 1965 as a temporary measure to ensure that states with restrictions to voting, such as the Jim Crow Laws, and less than 50% of the eligible voters registered prior to November of 1964 would have to check-in with the Attorney General or District Court of DC before making changes to their election practices. This included seven states entirely and parts of four others. Section 5 will go on to be amended in 1970 to add electoral participation, in 1975 to include language minority groups that constituted more than 5% of the voting age, and in 1982 to terminate coverage under a bailout. This procedure gives the jurisdiction ten years to make improvements for minorities to vote and then the opportunity to ask the federal trial court to be released from this measure.12 Step-by-step, the federal government is bringing the United States out of the first and second Reconstruction Eras and into the improvements of the present. America has seen the introduction and the body of the racist story; let’s hope for a conclusion soon.

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In 2006, Congress extended the circumstances of Section 5 for 25 more years while nine states were fully covered and seven partially effected, but the Supreme Court deemed the formula insufficient in 2013 leaving states uncovered until a replacement is passed. This ruling allows states to require a photo ID, which is necessary to prevent fraud, and make changes to early voting and same-day registration. Oregon and Florida removed themselves from the Interstate Cross-Check Program, also an attempt to prevent fraud, and 20 states made online voting available.12 It is great progress when an old law is no longer needed to strictly enforce rights so easily given to others based on something as superficial as skin color, though these changes are not always timely.

The “Jim Crow Laws might produce some laughter in the twenty-first century but…”7 they shouldn’t because no one should be proud of formulating laws in such a manner as to make another human suffer for such an unneeded period of time, causing them to work so hard for such slow and painful change. It’s sad to see that President Johnson gave the States their racial rights back2 and the freedom to take their time with the segregation process. Tourgée, an idealist carpetbagger turned judge, argues in a letter to the National Anti-Slavery Standard in 1867 that, “No law… can shield the poor man… bloodshed must necessarily follow.”9 And that’s exactly what happened as President Hayes gave the Democrats control of the South for a taste of the Oval Office without dispute.

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I would like to think that circumstances are different today, but I can see the practices that lead Negroes to believe that Black Lives don’t Matter still being fought for fairness — and it’s a fight on both sides of the black and white coin. The Freedmen’s Bureau was able to supply medical aid to more than a million people including the elderly, children, and disabled. Congress funded this progress for five years before shutting down the “black handout”.10 People are still wary today of government assistance and welfare to those they deem undeserving, such as the ongoing debate that is Obamacare.

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The Redeemers reduced the negro influence in the southern government and established white-supremacist regimes by defunding schools, closing hospitals, and reducing taxes for the wealthy, the plantation-owning “one percenters” of the day.10 The modern one percent have the same tax breaks today and don’t require government assistance for education, medical, meals, or security because they can afford it, while at least 46 million people struggle to learn on an empty stomach in a crime-ridden area while relying on the government for food stamps, Section 8 housing, and welfare.10 

Negroes wanted to learn the ways of the white man but were told no for a hundred years while being abandoned by the North and beaten by the South. They were given another opportunity for work on the “Big Government Plantation, ”10 or the option to join their brothers in the judicial system of the American Dream. The South was stuck in the 19th century tainted by a lack of business interest, immigrant investment, and a reliable government. Their liberties were reduced then and their opportunities squandered now in inferior schools, cultural beliefs, prison gerrymandering, and black mobs.10

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Now there is the “acting white” mentality that pervades negro schools and neighborhoods. Researchers have found that students will get bad grades, or lie about good grades, and avoid museums and other educational opportunities where they have the chance to be seen by peers and family who may cut them off from their communities for going against the cultural ‘norm’11 — even though there are great stories of their ancestors and achievers today, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama, showing their race as beautiful and intelligent through learning and love, not ignorance. It’s not helpful when the children of doctors and lawyers want to turn out like the rappers and athletes they see on the news with a negative image. This wasn’t always the case, as freedmen strived to be more like the white man — in church, school, cafes, and jobs — regardless of the religion, education, food, or vocation.

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Is this the fault of white supremacist history rewriting the literature to show complete dominance, the old movies showing the South as a dreamy romantic bayou, or a personal agenda to maintain a status the whites felt was gifted to them by God? The literate masters used books, especially the Bible, to push their agenda — negroes weren’t human, they shouldn’t mix with whites, and they were too ignorant to be left alone.9 How were the fearful illiterate supposed to combat these prejudices without education, weapons, or land? They were told to work hard to earn God’s graces — and that’s what they did. Productivity has increased by 80% since 1979, but income for the working class has not.10

How many ex-slaves believed the laws of the white man and the opinion of God? How many accepted the unequal conditions as an improvement and dismissed the civil rights bills as impractical? 9 How many hours did they need to learn, how many good deeds done, and how many dollars earned to not be able to afford the comforts of the white man? How many generations need to know the struggle and the pain that their ancestors and their grandchildren will face begging to be accepted as more than a second-class citizen? How many people must die in order for change to take place?9 

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The Reconstruction Era was a very progressive and educational time — seen from a positive perspective. It showed the power of ambition and the amount of change a group could make when given the chance. It continues to impact current issues with laws made for equality then, changing and amending them. The courts continue to adjust laws and acts, such as section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, as they adapt to a new cultural mindset. Perhaps Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of not being judged by skin color but by character content can one day be so true as to deem these laws and the past they contain a stain on human history as we look back from our great pedestal of the future and all its equality.

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The Reconstruction Era seemed to give and take away rights overnight with constant injustices. History, with such close ties to the present, is motivation to be educated, think critically, and always be kind; to not let the words of one person or book entice hasty judgments. Will the second quarter of the 21st century be the beginning of the third Reconstruction? Some may say there are no equality issues or that, “… We are rushing this issue of civil rights,” but Hubert Humphrey, a Democratic mayor from Minneapolis, said to the Democratic National Convention in 1948 that, “we are 172 years late.”5 

*All images courtesy of Google.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Blaustein, Albert P. “Long Live the New Iraq!” Long Live the New Iraq! The Coalition Provisional Authority, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2017. <http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/cpa-iraq/ democracy/blaustein.html>.

2. “Constitution Annotated.” Congress.gov. Government Publishing Office, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2017. <https://www.congress.gov/constitution-annotated/&gt;.

3. Staff, LII. “14th Amendment.” LII / Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School, 12 Nov. 2009. Web. 10 Mar. 2017. <https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/ amendmentxiv>.

4. Kahn, Carrie. “Republicans Push To Revise 14th Amendment.” NPR. NPR, 05 Aug. 2010. Web. 10 Mar. 2017. <storyId=129007120>.

5. Foner, Eric. “15/What Is Freedom?” Give Me Liberty!: An American History. 4th ed. Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton, 2014. 442-73. Print.

6. Swinney, Everette. “Enforcing the Fifteenth Amendment, 1870-1877.” The Journal of Southern History, vol. 28, no. 2, 1962, pp. 202–218., www.jstor.org/stable/2205188.

7. Tischauser, Leslie Vincent. “Introduction.”  Jim Crow Laws. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2012. xi-xv. Print.

8. Michael J. Klarman, From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Economic Equality (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004)

9. Madaras, Larry, and James M. SoRelle. “Did Reconstruction Fail as a Result of Racism?” Taking Sides: Clashing Views in United States History. 14th ed. Vol. 2. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2014. 35-55. Print.

10. Blake, John. “Parallels to Country’s Racist past Haunt Age of Obama.” CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Nov. 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2017. <http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/11/us/obama- trump-white-backlash/>.

11. Mydans, Seth. “Black Identity vs. Success and Seeming ‘White’.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 Apr. 1990. Web. 11 Mar. 2017. <http://www.nytimes.com/ 1990/04/25/us/education-black-identity-vs-success-and-seeming-white.html>.

12. Staff. “About Section 5 Of The Voting Rights Act.” The United States Department of Justice. N.p., 8 Aug. 2015. Web. 11 Mar. 2017. <https://www.justice.gov/crt/about-section-5- voting-rights- act>.

Posted in Books, Education, Government, History, Media, People | Leave a comment

What is Grief?

Posted on March 9, 2017 by TheJessicaness

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Grief is waking up in tears at the thought of another day without her and thinking about the last car accident when you were with her.

Grief is sobbing in public and trying to catch the snot with your short sleeve.

Grief is crying into your food you used to share and not being able to eat.

Grief is screaming in the shower and not being able to wash.

Grief is crying in the tub, at midnight in the other room, and still waking your husband.

Grief is crying on the way to the grocery store in the middle of the day.

Grief is not being able to sleep while you think about how sad you are.

Grief is not being able to look at her pictures, posts, clothes, etc. without crying, but you put them on anyway.

Grief is not being able to write, to read, to breath without thinking about her and crying into your laptop or book.

Grief is working out to exhaust yourself in an attempt to empty the pain inside.

Grief is hugging a towel and filling it with your tears as a comfort system.

Grief is grabbing a bottle of wine, looking for a friend, and then day drinking in the park.

Grief is remembering all the happy faces, loud laughs, and random moments that you want to remember the most.

Grief is feeling like you have no one to talk to because she’s not calling you.

Grief is not hearing what others say, but knowing they care, even when it doesn’t feel like enough.

Grief is wanting to hear, see, or smell her just one more time.

Grief is traveling and knowing there’s beauty around, but not being able to appreciate it.

Grief feels like just going through the motions.

Grief is a lengthy tunnel, but the light is always at the end.

Grief is having to deal with the loss, but wanting to be as far from it as possible.

Grief is going into public hoping you will cry less, or at least quieter.

Grief is swinging with headphones and tears, and scaring all the happy children away.

Grief is sitting on the bathroom floor so you can grab TP, wipe face, and put in toilet.

Grief is smoking a cigarette, even though you hate them, because you don’t know what else to do.

Grief is not wanting to be in the house where you received the phone call.

Grief is screaming while driving so your dogs don’t have to hear you at home.

Grief is realizing a year has gone by and you survived though you felt like dying.

Grief is having to pull over because your windshield wipers aren’t working – they can’t wipe away tears.

Grief is not wanting to get out of bed as if you can delay the sadness for today.

Grief is eating to fill a void – this does not work!

Grief is when no one can help you, but it helps to have them there.

Grief is being strangely comforted by strangers – hug, prayer.

Grief is crying at the airport when they ask to see your bag.

Grief is dehydration and starvation because nothing matters but sadness.

Grief is crying while trying to explain why you’re crying.

Grief is a process that requires someone to be open.

Grief can ruin productivity and change someone on multiple levels.

Grief is dealt with in different ways and that’s ok.

I love you.

 

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