Attitude towards history: I have a feeling after reading <I also have a dream>

Although the training of starting a new job is very busy every day this week, I still took time to read Linda's "I Have a Dream", which should be the one that touched me the most in the author's close-up look at America series. The title of the book comes from Martin Luther King's famous sentence "I have a dream" is naturally about the racial issue in the United States. The author starts from the first group of Puritans who landed on the North American continent and started slavery for more than a hundred years, and experienced the American Revolutionary War in the middle. During the period, the North first reflected on and abolished slavery, while the South decided to secede from the United States in order to save slavery. President Lincoln launched the Civil War with excessive optimism without legal recognition. Later, Martin Luther King led non-violent non-cooperation. The black affirmative movement to fight racial segregation, until the subsequent passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution and the Affirmative Action Act to implement the protection of ethnic minorities through legislation. Today, opposing racial discrimination has become the basic consensus of the whole society, however , Although the racial issue has become an absolutely "politically correct" existence, conflicts and contradictions still emerge one after another, and even become more and more complicated because of diversity and racial integration.

As a minority immigrant living in North America, in the process of gradually integrating into the local culture and life, I have a deeper and deeper feeling for the "multiculturalism" here, and at the same time more and more Think about issues of racial discrimination and minority equality. I feel that many Chinese people use the filter of racial discrimination to comment on other people of color, and this is what I am trying to overcome. As the author writes in the book : "Everyone has their own race, class, experience, etc., and everyone has their own limitations." On the other hand, I am not in favor of equating all issues with race issues and then making simple and rude "The discrimination felt by ethnic minorities may also be more than the actual discrimination, because ethnic minorities are a minority, of course, they are relatively disadvantaged, and the mentality of the disadvantaged is often sensitive and vulnerable". Moreover, pluralism The racial conflict under the transformation is no longer a simple contradiction between blacks and whites. There are also more and more Asians, Hispanics, Middle Eastern immigrants, etc. living in North America. Everyone needs to integrate into the local culture, and at the same time And try to maintain their uniqueness. "Without sufficient conscience, discrimination can occur between any race".

In addition to the issue of race, what this book caused me to think about the most is the attitude towards history. Our society and civilization are constantly improving. Looking back on the history of the past, every country has places that need criticism and reflection today. So, As we live in the contemporary era, what attitude should we take to face the stains and even the crimes of our country? It is to simply think that it has nothing to do with us, or try to avoid mentioning it, or even try to cover up the past, just to maintain The so-called "national glory" or "don't give excuses to those with ulterior motives and foreign attacks"? If so, then the country will not progress or even see hope. "A piece of land, a group of people, and even the entire human race , its real hope lies in its introspection and conscience, which in turn is based on reason." We like grand narratives of history, such as glorious achievements, victories in great battles, or It is a memorable historical figure and event, so that history has been greatly simplified by us. "It is not only washed by long-distance waves, but also washed by time. When it floats across the sea, it is not only a skeleton, And it is a fossilized bone. It seems that after being simplified, it appears clear and easy to grasp, but the historical lessons it leaves people with flesh and blood are often lost along the way."

In my opinion, when looking at past historical events, especially those disgraceful "stained" parts of one's own country or culture, the first thing to do is to confirm and acknowledge the facts, and this is the basis for the whole society to discuss and reflect together. "Any historical behavior, there are always various people who will reveal and criticize it from various angles. In the end, you can see all aspects of a historical event, and the history you know is complete. Only at this time can you possibly With all aspects of thinking and reflection, people can say that they have truly learned the lessons of history." Such reflection should be based on the awakening of human nature and conscience. Make a condescending general comment on the event, and then give an empty similar line or program to educate the public. What is really meaningful should be to analyze and track the details of those events, and then find such an event. What weaknesses or omissions in the system are revealed, and finally there is incremental progress and reform. Don't forget that history is to be taught to the next generation, so what is the purpose of education? "Education is to help a child in A more successful search for one's own happiness in the future life is not about shaping a suitable screw for the social machine." If the history education that the next generation receives cannot even discuss and reflect on history openly and honestly, how can this generation be expected to Better to pursue your own happiness.

I like a passage from the author: "In our view of history, we can always wisely discover the evil deeds of others, and at the same time always correspond to our own glorious deeds, but rarely in the mirror of history, When we see the clear and ugly ape face and even the ape tail that we once had like others, we can probably doubt whether we are too smart. Under such a historical view, it is difficult to What essential progress is there, because all possible historical lessons have been rejected by us." The recent discovery of the remains of children in Canadian aboriginal boarding schools has sparked national discussion and reflection. I know, I only know that Canada's policy is very caring for Indigenous People in all aspects. Because of a series of reports and discussions these days, I went to learn more about what happened in this land and what happened to Indigenous children. , and more understanding and recognition of the various policies towards Indigenous People. Canada Day on July 1st this year witnessed the 154th anniversary of the founding of Canada, but because of the recent incident with aboriginal schools, many people called for the cancellation of Canada Day, which can be seen on the forum Various opinions, I am not in favor of canceling Canada Day, acknowledging and reflecting on history does not mean that we have to deny everything about this country, I wrote this paragraph on Reddit: I know Canada is not a perfect country, no country is perfect. We have stigma in our history, we must reflect, but not cancel everything. We are willing to admit the truth, we are taking responsibility and making reparations, everyone has the freedom to discuss this issue and push for progressions, that's why I feel proud of being a Canadian.