Columbus day is a perfect example of something having two sides - ask the Indigenous people what they think of this day? I like that my phone calendar has both of them listed.
I listened to Krista Tippett's podcast "On Being" with Layli Long Soldier -
On Being Podcast with Layli Long Soldier
History has two sides.
How can it not?
We see and feel life from our side of each experience.
And, we also see history, from the side we were taught.
If there is a war, there will be two sides of the war. And your 'rightness' will be on the side you are on.
We look at our childhoods from our vantage point - our parents traveled through our years differently.
I know my experience, and I recognize that others will have their own perceptions of the world.
Again, this was never been more clear, than speaking out about abuse. Not all can see from your vantage point, but that doesn't negate it.
What I believe is happening now, is that the silent side is now speaking.
Not just with the latest victim to speak out, but that there is a wave going through our society, where each time a victim speaks, it encourages another to break their silence.
So, we now have two sides of the same history.
Because the sides don't often match, does it mean that one is more true than the other?
And, is it most true if only one side shares their view?
If the silent remain silent, does that effect history?
I was so naive that I didn't even question what we were taught in school about history. We were taught our side of history, the white american side.
Maybe had I attended college, I would be wiser about the history of the world.
In the history of my family, up and until I was 46 years old, I had not heard about sexual abuse.
This is not unusual.
This doesn't mean it didn't happen, it just means that the victims were silent.
The #Metoo movement is the side of our history many would rather have silenced.
My history lessons in school about Columbus, didn't mention the view of the native americans. Ever.
It felt kind - leaving that point out.
In order for humanity to evolve, we need all the voices to be heard.
We cannot change what we do not acknowledge.
Today, I celebrate the voices of the Indigenous - who challenge history's account of Columbus Day.
