Henry,
You said it!! I hope I have your permission to pass this on. Sometimes we 
look for words to express what is going on, and get frustrated at not 
finding them. You found the words, and thank you for sharing them with all 
of us. Whatever our society started out as (history), we are all now players 
in it.

By the way, how is the weather there(smile)?

Anita


>From: Henry Wiencek <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history         
>      <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Official Opposition Events
>Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 08:20:13 -0400
>
>The issues with the Jamestown commemoration arise because we have lived so
>long in a cocoon of myth.  The bedrock of our national myth has been that 
>we
>were born in a state of innocence.  It's the foundation of our notion that
>we are a good people, uniquely virtuous and blessed.  It's the concept of
>American exceptionalism.  This gives us our optimism and our sense of
>justice.  We are a funny people -- we want to be rich and powerful and
>perfectly innocent all at once.  I don't think anyone has managed that
>throughout human history.  Sustaining that core belief in American 
>innocence
>has required a good bit of denial, not just about slavery and what was done
>to the Native Americans, but a lot of things. (Mormons are on the hot seat
>at the moment because their innocent origins have been called into question
>by the PBS documentary that brought up the Mountain Meadows Massacre. You
>can find that discussion on H-SHEAR.)  Lots of new information about our
>past is just now being recovered, and we're all still processing it.  So
>there's controversy -- no surprise.  The big question is -- will the 
>weather
>be good this weekend at Jamestown?
>
>Henry Wiencek
>Charlottesville

_________________________________________________________________
PC Magazine’s 2007 editors’ choice for best Web mail—award-winning Windows 
Live Hotmail. 
http://imagine-windowslive.com/hotmail/?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migration_HM_mini_pcmag_0507