Ignorance of American History

By Tony Mazur

Facebook is a very innovative social network that let's you keep up on the lives of your "friends". One of the features the site has is the Status Update. Each member can update their "Status" at any time, either giving updates on their whereabouts, what kind of mood they are in, or any random thoughts that may pop up. As of recently, Facebook allows users to comment on other people's status.

On holidays, most statuses will say "Happy/Merry [insert name of holiday]." In this past Thursday's case, it was Thanksgiving. One status in particular got on my nerves.

Alyson says "Hooray for the day Englishman forced N. Americans to live on reservations and convert to Christianity!"

If this sarcastic tidbit wasn't enough, a gentleman with the I.Q. of Kelly Bundy from Married...with Children decided to comment.

and technically this holiday was before we did the whole get the eff off our land thing. remember they had to teach us to plant corn and give ohio the fields of boringness. and somewhere theres a scary man with a pug....and this crazy racoon. or is that pocahontas? hmmm CAN YOU PAINT WITH ALL THE COLORS OF THE WIND??? HUH??? CAN YOU???? didnt think so.


I typically ignore imbeciles like this, but it goes to show how ignorant Americans really are. It's sad, really.

When I was attending a suburban Catholic school outside of Cleveland, I was taught what I thought was the true story of Thanksgiving. We were all taught that a ship full of Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, and were greeted by "Indians". They helped these English settlers learn the way of the land, and eventually celebrated the first Thanksgiving. Not long after, the Pilgrims killed the Indians and forcefully took their land.

The idea that America was founded on genocide is balderdash. A fact omitted in history textbooks was that the Native Americans perished due to harmful diseases. But that will not be brought up, since the agenda of a teacher is not only to teach their students, but to fill their empty minds with propaganda.

I'm rather tired of the notion that America's accomplishments were because of eminent domain and slavery. I am not oblivious to the fact that the Trail of Tears and slavery were low points in our history. However, we need to get over this guilt factor that has plagued many Americans.

The new hotness is the issue that the framework of America was to be a secular nation, and not the Judeo-Christian society it is today. Atheists and agnostics make Thomas Jefferson look like Kirk Cameron, pre-Growing Pains. In actuality, Jefferson believed that faith was essential for both the growth and security of the United States of America.

Throughout the past eight years, we have heard atheists and liberals alike shout the words "separation of Church and State", especially during the 2006 issue about taking stem cells from dead fetuses. I performed a little research. Back in 1802, Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptists, saying that one Christian denomination should not form a monopoly, thus creating "a wall of separation between Church & State". No where does it mention that the practice of religion should be abolished during government settings.

Americans tend to ignore history, whether they choose to or not. The media is at fault much of the time, and so are parents, teachers, and guardians, but it should be reliant on each and every one of us to embrace history. I believe that if one should protest against a person, group, or law, they should read a little background information before burning flags and stomping on crosses.