There were a lot of significant takeaways, in my opinion, from Chapters 3 and 4 of Zinn’s book that definitely needs to be discussed more often and made a part of public knowledge or education. When I first read about the horrible injustices like rape, domestic violence, and other crimes that were committed by rich white males that were ultimately swept under the rug and ignored by the governing bodies (which were also made up of rich white males) I was disgusted but not shocked. It, unfortunately, reminded me of the current justice system and the rapes by white men like Brock Turner which aren’t rightfully punished. It was disheartening to see that this trend is embedded in our history and that it is still being repeated today.<\/p>\n
Secondly, I am a very big fan of the Broadway production Hamilton and I used to take away from it, and US history in general, a story about the classic American dream and the victorious and honorable American Revolution. However, now I honestly see the American dream as a fa\u00e7ade and a ploy by rich white males to maintain their power. Europeans were fleeing their home countries for a better life the American way, and from the beginning of time, that was all a lie. It makes me wonder why the American dream even became something that was strived for when in reality the US was always a place of division. Another key component of the American dream is that there is a chance for class mobility and that anyone can succeed and improve their living situations. However, I honestly don’t know how this came to be because the wealth disparity was so fixed that the wealthiest people didn’t want anyone else to rise to power and the middle class didn’t even bother trying to fight back; they were just happy that they weren’t the lower class. There was no unity before, during, or after the American revolution. There were no “us” or “our people” or common “man” that was equal as stated in the Constitution; these were all fake linguistic tools that were deployed by the wealthy out of fear of rebellion.<\/p>\n
Further, the persistence of the top 1% of people to enforce racism in the lower classes was so intensive it makes me question why people ever thought that African Americans were naturally and innately inferior. The interracial relations were everywhere throughout history, yet the narrative of the minority, which was the white men with property, somehow prevailed and created consequences that are still unfolding today. It’s honestly perplexing to me how racism developed, yet I do understand the manipulation by leaders to end the phenomenon between white and black servants (and Native Americans as well) that can be described by the phrase “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There were a lot of significant takeaways, in my opinion, from Chapters 3 and 4 of Zinn’s book that definitely needs to be discussed more…<\/p>\n