As I was waiting patiently for my website to be restored to full function last week, I watched two movies: “Gods and Generals” and “Gettysburg.” Looking at the country’s systemic racism spilling out into the streets today, we, as a nation, have yet to recover from the cause of the Civil War…slavery. Compromises were made in our Congress before that conflict happened. The Southern states were allowed to have slaves, to have militias to protect slave owners, and to use slaves to support state economies. The Northern states appeared as overlords of those despicable decisions. When you allow one group of people to oppress and kill another group of people, you are fostering racism, hatred, and violence.
Although the North and South fought for different reasons, the North tried to rectify its callous decisions by fighting for a free America, for free ground, for the right to build and own a home, for the right of everyone to be someone, for the right to not have to bow down to anyone, and for the right to be judged for what you do, not for what your father did. Gettysburg was the northern most invasion point by the Confederate army, and as they marched into Adams County, it was clear that they meant to make their vicious ideals part of what the Union stood for. Pickett’s Charge showed to what extent they were willing to sacrifice human lives. When the Union army stopped their assault on Little Round Top, the Confederates re-grouped and continued to shed more blood. When Abraham Lincoln arrived to give his address after the battle, it is said those who attended the gathering had to cover their mouths and noses to keep from becoming nauseated from the stench of dead Union and Confederate soldiers. So much blood and carnage, so much hatred and evil…all so we could be free.
We should have learned from the Civil War that we all have value, we all want the same things for our families and our ourselves, and in the end, we all fight for each other, regardless of our race, color, creed, religion, or ethnicity. No one is above the law; no one is better than anyone else. There is a “divine spark” in each and everyone of us; we are all God’s children. Race does not matter; justice matters. If you are going to judge a man, judge him by his actions alone, not by the behaviors of his race. The only aristocracy we all face is the aristocracy of our minds.
If we want peace and harmony in our country, we have to deal with the history, the pain, the thunder, and the rain. Rainbows come about after storms because God wants His children to love each other. He wants us to walk together as the families of the world, to be each other’s ubuntu, caretaker. Only then will we know the power of love and the evil of hatred. Only then will we be able to say, “I am because you are.”
Anna Hartt
