Have you ever yearned to hear someone in authority, even if not in an official place of power, speak plainly about the atrocities perpetrated against the indigenous peoples of North America? This is around five minutes and well worth the listen: LINK.
This is how we need to be thinking, clear eyed and unsentimental. Yes, critically. Not so we can persecute those whose ancestors enacted those crimes, but so we can fully understand our own history and the collective impact it has had, and continues to have, on all of us, now. When we can turn and truly look at the history of the U.S., the story of our homeland, we can understand who we are and why. And this can be the foundation for moving forward in creating the future we want—for all of us. Or we can remain ignorant and try to muddle forward as best we can. I’d much prefer the former, and I’d hazard a guess that it has better odds for success.