By Randy Rossi -
For those of us that have been taught real history back when it was honestly taught in school, it is absolutely horrific to listen to liberals tell our kids that America was built on slavery, not freedom and that America is systematically racist. That is simply absurd and provably wrong. Let’s start with the most obvious proof that liberal claim is untrue. First, every nation on Earth has had slavery at one time or another including those nations in Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe. America was one of the first nations in the world to make slavery illegal. Did everybody forget that 650,000 Americans died in the Civil War to end slavery in America in 1865 when America was just 82 years old (The American Revolution was won in 1783)? The Republican led Union Army fought the Democrat led Confederate Army to free the slaves and they won. And the Republicans successfully passed the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments by 1870 to end slavery, make African-Americans citizens, and gave them the right to vote when our country was just 87 years old. Many nations in the world practiced slavery for hundreds if not thousands of years. Mauritania in Africa did not make slavery illegal and a crime until 2007!!!
But America’s history of freedom and fighting against slavery is even better than that. In 1787 when America was just 4 years old, America passed the Northwest Territory law which opened up the Midwest (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and part of Minnesota) for settlers and made slavery illegal in those territories. Our Founding Fathers made it clear that slavery was going to be ended. Slavery was made illegal in every Northern state by 1804 and that process started in 1774 before America declared independence from Britain. Britain made slavery illegal in 1833 after practicing slavery for hundreds if not thousands of years. America also made importing slaves from Africa or any other nation illegal in 1808 when America was just 25 years old.
America was first settled by people that were willing to risk their lives for freedom. Most of them came to America to have the freedom to practice a religion that differed from the “state” religion. Many of those religions felt that slavery was immoral and in the end, freedom won in America. While America made slavery illegal when it was just 82 years old, many nations in the world practiced slavery for thousands of years. Most if not all the American slaves that came from Africa were first enslaved in Africa by competing African tribes who captured them and then sold them to Europeans or Muslims for profit. Native Americans also enslaved competing tribe members that they defeated for 12,000 years. In fact, some Native American tribes (Caribe Tribe for instance) practiced cannibalism! The Mayan and Aztec Native American tribes cut the hearts out of a million other Native Americans as a sacrifice to their gods. I am pretty sure that the Pilgrims never did that!
Liberals are telling our kids in school that America is “Systematically Racist”. But if that is so, why did 650,000 Americans sacrifice their lives to end slavery in the Civil War? Why do over 1 million people of every race and religion from all around the world legally come to America to become American citizens if America is such a horrible place? While America ended slavery in 1865, many nations still illegally practice slavery today. It is estimated that there are still 40 million people held as slaves in various countries including China, North Korea, Iran, and many other countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. In many cases they are used for slave labor or as sex slaves. But not in America! If you are caught holding someone as a slave in America you will go to jail for a very long time!
Last week I had the pleasure of meeting a very nice new neighbor who happens to be black and had an obvious accent so I asked him where he was from. He told me he was from West Africa so I asked him how life was in West Africa. I will just say that he told me he was thrilled to be in America and was grateful that he was highly educated and got a very good job here in America so he could live here. I asked him to please do our neighbors a big service by reminding them how lucky we all are to live in America, no matter what race or religion one is. He laughed and told me that he does that every day!
Having done business with people in 120 countries and having visited countries all over the world for business and pleasure including socialist and communist countries, I can tell you that America is the most open and free country in the world. We may not be perfect, but America is the closest nation to perfection that there is on Earth. America is built on the concept of a “color blind meritocracy” not race. That is why immigrants from India and Asia have the highest average incomes in America, not Caucasians. If we were a racist nation, how could that be? The answer is simple as proved by the facts, America is a nation built on freedom!
