I grew up in Washington D.C, and it has become abundantly clear what a bubble that was. My school taught me the value of tolerance, understanding, kindness to others. We celebrated MLK day with real enthusiasm, and even when teenage cynicism blunted our fervor a bit, we still held on to those ideals. And so, we convinced ourselves that everyone, or most people, shared these basic principles.
Well, as this election proved abundantly clear, I was wrong. But, if that wasn’t proof enough, Alabama just held a referendum as to whether or not to amend the state constitution removing the clause which calls for segregation. And it failed. The people of Alabama decided that they’d rather live in the American dark ages. The South hasn’t gotten over the Civil Rights movement; hell, they haven’t gotten over the Civil War. I think all the bad government we’ve had over the last ten years or so may be their revenge.
2 comments:
I don't think we've had bad government for the past 10 years. Past 4, absolutely. But Clinton? How can you call him bad? Just because he was a DLC Democrat and a little more conservative than part of the party, doesn't mean he ran a bad government.
Growing up in DC is like growing up in a bubble. However, you were even more insulated because of the high school you attended. The public schools in DC surely don't spend as much time on accepting diversity, especially because there isn't much diversity in DC. I think that it is very odd when you start to realize that not everyone else in the country thinks the same way and celebrates the same ideals. It was certainly a shock for me.
The 10 years I mentioned to starte din 1994 with the Republican takeover of Congress.
And I spent more time (8 years) in a public school than a private one. My experience is drawn from both.
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