I cringe a bit at the title of this post from 2013, having gained a greater appreciation of the role of Jefferson in slavery and White supremacy, but get past the title. (See W.E.B. Du Bois quote at the bottom via the New York Times.) The post from Nirvana Cable is still terrific 9 years later.
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“At least Thomas Jefferson wasn’t afraid to write new code” — Transcending Culture — Medium.
It is my experience that the way culture has us in a total stranglehold is that we argue for—and from—our culture. Here in Kenya, I have engaged communities to examine whether or not their culture’s unwritten and largely unexamined social norms are capable of getting citizens where they say they want to go. We’re doing a deep dive into two social norms that we are calling The Culture of Silence (the legacy of oppression) and Wanting Something for Nothing (the legacy of aid).
By inquiring into the consequence of these norms—from the ground rules of inquiry—we are finding communities willing to transcend beliefs that have held them hostage and, once realized, they are free to co-create—negotiate—new social norms. We end up consciously working to create a new story, one that can be owned by everyone involved.
This is painstaking work, and we are finding that talking together to examine whether or not the current cultural norms will get the communities where everyone wants to go is the path. Now, the question is whether or not we will stay on the path when emotions get strong and we want to argue with each other rather than stay in negotiation.
“We must forget,” he writes, “that George Washington was a slave owner, or that Thomas Jefferson had mulatto children … and simply remember the things we regard as creditable and inspiring.” The difficulty with this approach, he continues, “is that history loses its value and incentive and example; it paints perfect men and noble nations, but it does not tell the truth.” Black Reconstruction,” “The Propaganda of History,” The Backlash Against C.R.T. Shows That Republicans Are Losing Ground https://nyti.ms/3gjK75f