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11/29/21 – Weekly Post: “The Past is Still With Us”

We are coming to the end of Native American Heritage Month.  The struggle for equal rights, which includes having a life of dignity, continues.  We have all heard the statement; those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it. But do we really comprehend it?  Discrimination is not a thing of the past and genocides continue despite international law prohibiting them.  Indeed it is difficult to confront our past. Shame, anger, grief, and a sense of responsibility are unpleasant to experience.  In fact some States are attempting to prohibit teaching concepts such as systemic racism and classes that offer the perspectives of minorities.  The only way to change is by confronting these realties, committing to change, and living up to our aspirations of a just and equitable world where “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood (UDHR Article 1).”  We need to understand what so many minority groups have experienced.  Their experience needs to be heard. If we are to transcend prejudice we must understand the past, how it is still with us, and what it means for our future.  

https://www.npr.org/2021/10/05/1043156113/canada-indigenous-children-residential-school-burial-search