All readers of this list owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Browning
and Mr. Berland (or Berland and Browning) for taking the time
and effort to conduct this Great Debate, because it demonstrates
that History matters and that it is certainly more complex and
intriguing than a cut and dried recitation of chronological events.
Analysis and Argumentation and Re-Vision are at the core of a
never-ending creative process that aims to bring clarity and
structure to "the Past" through thorough research, the develop-
ment of plausible hypotheses about causation and consequence,
and the ability to persuade others to accept our contentions.
Thesis - Antithesis - Synthesis > New Thesis etc etc. Like
housework, History is never finished, once and for all, to every-
one's satisfaction. Argument without End about meaningful
and powerful issues is what makes History so fascinating and
frustrating, engaging and enraging. Thank you, gentlemen.
Regarding Political Correctness, think of the swinging pendulum
and Thesis - Antithesis - Synthesis, resisting all efforts, far right
or far left, that seek to impose a dictatorial, doctrinaire "single
correct interpretation" orthodoxy on the messy details of our
ancestors' lives. Just 40 years ago, the most respected
academic historians were still using "savages" as a synonym
for "Indians" (yes, that term also has baggage), and the Manifest
Destiny of Great White Fathers was the dominant theme in
American History from Columbus to the Vietnam War. Very few
books dealt with so-called "pre-history" before European contact,
and the "Invasion of America" perspective did not appear until
1975 (by Francis Jennings)--the same year that Edmund Morgan's
American Slavery, American Freedom made a mess by confusing
ethnocentrism with racism in Virginia's earliest colonization.
We, as historians and citizens, have come pretty far since then, in
recognizing, if not always appreciating, the true multiculturalism that
characterized colonization since its earliest days. Historians did not
invent that, and they moved Indians back to center stage as an
accurate reflection of where they once had been, while NOT replacing
European cast members. Now two (or more) sets of historical Actors
could interact on a single stage in the Drama called "Jamestown and
Werowocomoco: A Tale of Two Towns." Some "lines" were scripted
(such as the effects of virgin soil epidemics), but most actors were
allowed to ad-lib and improvise, with every individual decision repre-
senting something exciting, unnerving, and worthy of analyzing
because they did not produce invevitable consequences.
The opening session of the Virginia Forum at the Library of Virginia
in April featured Native American speakers, who addressed some of
those issues--especially, by their mere presence, the Non-"inevitability"
of Indian extermination. But in arguing against "Semantic Marginali-
zation" and denouncing traditional terminology, they may have gone
too far, with a pendulum swing toward PC authoritarianism and
Me-Tooism. They recited these problems with differentiating cultures:
The Euros had knowledge, but Indians had lore
science skills
arts crafts
agricultural fields horticultural
gardens
towns villages
girls maidens
women squaws
soldiers braves
songs chants
troubles plights
You get the idea. While I have not seen the "Guide to Writing
About Virginia Indians," it should be useful as an educational
tool to make non-Indians aware of prejudicial thinking and past
generalizations that can't survive scrutiny. "Seeing ourselves as
others see us" is always valuable (and often humbling)--BUT
let us all resist the tempation to Dictate and Denounce (Debate
is far better), recognizing that we are all fellow passengers with
different backgrounds destined to ride on this shrinking planet
as its travels hrough Time.
That's all. Thanks for "viewing."
Fred Fausz, the Insomniac in St. Louis
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