Oh yes, we are at it again: “Take down Nelson!”
I hold no brief for Nelson and his ilk but I have to give myself pause and wonder if any of my African ancestors were responsible for selling their “brothers” to those who carried on the slave trade. On the other hand, I know that the family of one Caucasian ancestor born in 1806 did have slaves.
When I observe our population, I wonder what percentage is of “pure” African stock or are we all really mixed and if so what does it matter that some ancestor was a so-called white supremacist. Did your ancestor see him/herself as such? Do we see ourselves as black supremacists?
If we acknowledge that our forebears, over whom we had no choice, were who they were and they too had no choice over their previous generation, why do we wish to eviscerate – deprive of its essential content – our history, to proclaim only one leg of our lineage?
We are enjoined to learn from history so as not to repeat the undesirable aspects of it, and so I and millions of others have moved on. Is it only those who keep holding up the rear view mirror of the past that want to keep us wedded to that part of our history?
For goodness sake, acknowledge our history and move on. Acknowledge that, guided or misguided, people of many stations of life contributed to the Nelson statue.
That is history just as it is a historical fact that President Barack Obama held the United States’ highest office for two terms and no matter how much Trump and his Republican colleagues undo legislation and regulations signed by President Obama, it will always be history that he made those changes. We all need to help make changes that influence the future, not just seek to amend the past.
My concern, if any, is what is the colour of my soul and what is the colour of another persons’ soul?
Behaviour may be an indicator but not skin colour. Indeed, the skin may be as white as snow but the soul may be black as tar or indeed it may shine brightly. Similarly, beneath a black skin may be a soul that shines bright or it may also be black. The condition of the soul influences everything we do, say or think.
The other day, driving along in the area of Foul Bay, I saw a lady who my eyes determined had some physical deformity, yet she managed a smile and a wave. I said a small prayer for her healing, as I always do when I see people who I perceive need physical healing.
I was, however, immediately reminded that I should have perceived the soul, not the body. And I thought, “Colour me blind to the physical. Let me always see the soul.”
We transform our own souls by sincere prayer for God’s divine love. Just do it. That to me is more essential than moving a statue. Let us pray.
