Have Historians, Scientists and Archeologists Gone Too Far?
In the 1960s I was in grammar school in a suburb of New York City. We swore the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag (there was one in every classroom) every day. We sang ‘My Country Tis Of Thee'. We learned straight up history without a lot of commentary. Our principal and most of the teachers were fair. When it came to things like slavery, they condemned it.
Fast forward to Junior High (7tb-9th grade in NY). No pledge, no flag, no patriotic songs and convoluted views of history. For example, there were no history classes. Instead, history was taught and dissected by young teachers not long out of college in Social Studies class.
The principle and office staff were “progressive” and those with similar views were the staff members and teachers they hired. There were some advantages. For the first time girls were allowed to wear pants to school and they played contemporary music in the lunch room.
I went to the library a lot, so I wasn't all that upset when my Social Studies teacher spent most of his time talking about how the founders of our nation were slave owners who poked some of the females, that then gave birth to illegitimate children.
"Thomas Jefferson fathered at least six children with his enslaved woman, Sally Hemings. Four of these children, Beverly, Harriet, Madison, and Eston, survived to adulthood. Jefferson freed all four of Sally's surviving children, either in his lifetime or through his will. The Jefferson-Hemings controversy revolves around the debate over the relationship between Jefferson and Hemings and the paternity of her children." - Google
It didn't surprise me when the very liberal Jimmy Carter wrote in one of his novels that the early American patriots went too far. I guess he thought we should have stayed a British Colony.
Today, almost anyone who made a major contribution to our nation comes under fire for supporting what some believe is a capitalist system on steroids, designed to benefit the rich and, compared to them, make low wage workers out of the rest of us.
Modern Science seems intent on doing things that should concern people; not just in terms of their ethically questionability, but because they can bring about all sorts of new and dangerous medical challenges. They are, for example, growing replacement human body parts on pigs.
In attempts to stop genetically transferred diseases in their tracks, scientists and geneticists are using methods to alter the makeup of children before they are born. Sounds good, but this method may also offer parents the chance to have designer babies with just the right look that they want. That can have far reaching and unknown consequences. They have also managed to find ancient viruses…
“Ancient viruses, including giant viruses and others found in permafrost, have been discovered and revived by scientists. These viruses, some as old as 30,000 years, can still infect hosts, raising concerns about the potential for future outbreaks as the planet warms and permafrost melts.” - Google
Then there are the de-extinction efforts to bring back animals not seen alive on earth for thousands of years. Their recent success with the de-extinction of Dire Wolves shows us how serious scientists are about this effort. They next hope to ressurect Woolly Mamouths.
Did they not see the commercial that says, “It's not nice to fool Mother Nature” or Jurassic Park?
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