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From: maria cunningham
T1: mcc343@aol.com
Date: 4/10/01
Time: 9:43:05 AM
Remote Name: 205.188.198.153
Imagine history were to be taught form the perspective of the average working class member, not at all censored to make the leaders and anyone with power and money appear to be a the saints that they never were. Other countries sometimes view us as a superpower of a country, that their is nothing we cannot accompish. This is in fact why so many have immigrated here, in the past to reap the benefits that come with freedom and democracy. However, books that we have read in class show the underside of history. In Labor's Untold Story we learned how protest and free speech were acts that were very punishable by law, however, this does not stop the people. The owners and lawmakers knew strenghth came with numbers so many unions became illegal too, some went as far as to make employees swear to not join. Many were also blacklisted if they did join. These were all respectable forms of civil disobediance, that got us the improved conditins we have today. Learning this type of history although it is evil and completely wrong to treat any individual like this is still somewhat hopeful because it shows the will of the worker. How they were not willing to accept exploitation. How men like Eugene Debs got himself in jail because he felt guilty fighting on the outside, then ran an election campaign from his cell. A message like this reinforces the old belief that one person can make a difference. And I still don't understand why history cannot be taught in an honest straightforward manner.