lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

Human beings are not perfect creatures, and as far as I can determine, there's only been one perfect Human, but then, he wasn't 100% human, he was part God. Wh**ever one believes about the origins of humanity, it should be abundantly clear that the race is unique, easily separated from other animals. Even we Americans, with our lofty ideals and goals, are still human and therefor imperfect creatures..............so what?

Our founders began a grand experiment, searching for a more perfect union, a project we're still pursuing to this day..........or are we? Our founders weren't perfect, they had their secret sins just like any other human, they had warts, moles and other "imperfections", and it's a damn good thing they did too. It is those very imperfections that make us what we are, and precipitate what we may become. Striving towards perfection is a noble undertaking, the journey has been responsible for some of our greatest achievements, and sometimes - our greatest failures. It is those failures, as much as anything else, that builds a better society.............as long as we have the sense to look those failures square in the eye.

We do a disservice to ourselves and our children, by teaching a sanitized version of our own history, in fact, we violate our children's civil and human rights - by trying to "protect" them from some uncomfortable and ugly t***hs. It is those ugly warts and how we overcame them, that tells the real story of the United States. We need not feel shame any longer for some of the shameful events in our past, as long as we've gotten beyond them and are striving not to repeat them. How do we teach children the value of ever striving to better ourselves and our society, without showing them EXACTLY how we got where we are now?

We committed many atrocities before we became a Nation, we committed more while striving for independence, and committed more during our journey to "now", and we'll continue to violate civil and human rights - as long as we maintain the illusion that our s**t don't stink. America has warts, has always had warts, and will always have warts, and that's not a big deal, as long as we can see them, really see them, recognize that they're warts, admit that they're ugly.............and apply some compound W to those warts in a bid to remove them. The worst crime we can commit against ourselves and the world, is to pretend that we have never f&cked up, or are f&cking up now. We have, we are and we will, it is inevitable - because we're only human and we DO have warts.

Our children need to see ALL our warts, in graphic detail, so that they can decide for themselves what they will do to eliminate them when it's their turn to run some s**t. They also need to learn that warts aren't an embarrassment or generate shame when it's in the past and THOSE warts have been removed. They also need to learn how to recognize new warts that are bound to pop up, and what to do about them. Finally, they need to realize that they'll have warts of their own to deal with......because they're humans as well.

Warts aren't a bad thing, unless they're hidden or one just doesn't give a damn about them.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Once again, Doc, an excellent post.

missinglink Loc: Tralfamadore

I agree with you in the most part . History is rife with mongering hordes destroying history they
deem unsuitable . Getting to the t***h is difficult as it is without much censorship . Today's
America has turned towards what ISIS has been doing for years in the Middle East . Eradicating
historical t***hs is certain to recreate the same situations at some future societal junction . History
is not a popularity issue . When knowledge is t***sferred it needs to be fully factual. Warts and all .