Journal #32 (Extra)

Michelle Romero
English 48A
Dr. Scott Lankford

Lies My Teacher Told Me
Ch. 6-John Brown and Abraham Lincoln

"The farther we get away from the excitement of 1859 the more we are disposed to consider this extraordinary man the victim of mental delusions" (Loewen 176).

This quote discusses the history of John Brown's legend. Loewen discusses how at different time periods in American history, Brown started being referred to as a lunatic. For example, while many black leaders of the time actually thought of him as a hero, white history textbook authors began to depict him as mentally ill and not altogether "with-it," especially after 1859. By doing this, it nullifies his work and discredits his cause. It basically causes people who read these textbooks and did not know the man personally, to easily forget him. Sure, you can read that he may have done a few things, but who cares if the man was insane, right? It makes a reader skip over him as having done "nothing of importance" to quote Columbus. And who would know the difference having not lived in that time.

I am not necessarily surprised by this, but it does remind me to think about who the "outcasts" are in current society. I mean many, many very influential people in history were exiled from their countries and thrown out of their states. Yet, years later, we somehow look back and decide to pick them back up again, as it becomes convenient, nevermind that we despised them while they lived. It just goes to show how conceded we are. If it doesn't suit us to include a person's philosophy we put them in a box, and if and when we decide that their philosophy is now our new one, we take them out and put them on the shelf to add to our collection, as some sort of adornment, as if to take credit for THEIR achievements and THEIR insight.

Amazing.