Reliable slavery history 2/24/17

Note: this post, originally titled "reliable historic preservation," recorded prepared statements for a Senate session on April 6, wherein the bill failed. Since then a house session was conducted and HB 944 also failed. See http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?s=16RS&b=HB944&sbi=y . Key revisions are bracketed.

It is hard to understand how a legislative session allows false, inflammatory statements like the one attributed to Rep. Patricia Smith, D Baton Rouge, " . . . what we see are the statues of our enslavement." Ms Smith should be called into question by the State of Louisiana, which holds that speakers have freedom of expression but may be held responsible for the liberties they take. (See Article I, Paragraph 7, Louisiana Constitution.)

The historical timeline shows that American civil war monuments commemorate white Christians at war with white Christians to settle more erroneous Bible interpretation. The southern states defended what the Catholic Church had promoted for 1700 years: slavery was an institution ordained by the Christian god. Throughout history, particular thinkers railed against slavery while Africa developed slaves as a commodity. There are no monuments to the African slave trade. There are no monuments to the Atlantic slave trade! 

Robert E. Lee suffered the wrong side of the religious war over the consequences of African slave trade to the American, eastern seaboard colonies. The white Christians who defended common-sense correction of Bible interpretation were at war against the Church--to free the slaves. Church with a capital C means Catholic Church. 

Protestant Christians, originating in the 16th century, were, in 1861, in the last throws of a squabble the Church introduced. During the 3 and 4th centuries, the Church canonized the Bible including books both old and new that condone slavery. Without that canonization, people in the 4th century who trusted the physics of slavery--chains, whips, torture, brutality to slaves and burdens to masters--the-indisputable-facts-of-reality, hereafter The Facts--rather than the canonized "word of a god" might have kept Christianity from involvement with slavery; might have kept Europe from making deals with African evil. And Protestants reformed too slowly from the Church's stain. The Church put too much emphasis on religion, which humans can rationalize as surrogate for The Facts. Humans must discover and conform to The Facts.

History shows that woe begs woe. The Louisiana Black Caucus should confront the woe they are begging. Ms. Smith's statement with "our enslavement" implies either she is a slave or blacks today are slaves, when slavery ended in 1865, and racial civil rights were established in 1964-5. 

Possibilities turned negative in 1969 with the founding of the Congressional Black Caucus and promotion of black power and liberation theology respecting black Americans. Ms Smith and all Louisiana legislators should be collaborating for real-no-harm private-liberty-with-civic-morality or better. For example, most citizens should be working to overthrow the binds of cycling struggles for dominant Christian opinion, in 2016, black church v white church. Private-liberty-with-civic-morality or public-integrity is the overarching goal of this website. Application in this context is explained in the text below.

legis.la.gov/Legis/BillInfo.aspx?s=16RS&b=SB276&sbi=y

Louisiana Senate committee hearing on SB 276, April 6, 2016. Failed.

          The April 6 proceedings were a little unsettling, due to a squabble with witnesses in favor of the bill, and my performance was not pleasing to me. With unexpected time limitations, I was able to deliver only about 20% of my speech, but thought Senator Peterson cut me off after a good sentence, which ends, “human supremacy,” in the original text of my speech, below:


Reliable historic preservation

Chairman Peterson; committee members; and fellow citizens. Thank you for the chance to speak. Senator Mizell, thank you for SB 276 and for bringing it to the Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs.

I am Phil Beaver, a taxpayer. I support historic preservation. Here is an opportunity for Louisiana to lead by example. A chance for Louisiana’s adults to collaborate to help each child and each child to be born and thus ourselves. However, the act, as stated, seems political, and power does not foster understanding.

History is itself affected by events that were predicated on temporal revisionist history. For example, Abraham Lincoln, for political purposes, revised to 1776 the founding of the USA. Funding began on June 21, 1788, with provisional ratification of the constitution for the USA that would not be fulfilled until December 15, 1791. Lincoln used his 1850 views on the Declaration of Independence to trump the constitution for the USA, and there has been confusion ever since.

The Louisiana Heritage Protection Commission’s work must be grounded in the facts, and in 2016, the facts can best be obtained through integrity and expert research on the Internet: Most people suffer bias in their expressions of history. SB 276 needs a suitable amendment to that effect.

As I speak, if you relate to my words, phrases, and sentences but would make changes according to your experiences, please take note, because together, we can create a better future.

I am for preserving well-grounded historical monuments, provided that, as human understanding unfolds plaques are amended as necessary. With America’s unique beginning, especially the emergence from colonial slavery, factional Christianity, and British common law, or Blackstone, the USA is in a position to intentionally advance human morality and try to catch up with technological advances. However, the civic people of the United States must come forth and collaborate for civic morality. We must collaborate for civic morality.

I also represent a Louisiana educational corporation, A Civic People of the United States; we think 70% of inhabitants merely need communication . . . for collaboration. By “civic” we refer to both necessary and coincidental human connections during shared moments in shared places—streets, cities, states and so on. Collaborative civic morality is for people here . . . now; for persons’ lives while they are living the lives and for children and beyond; behavior for shared safety and security in the broadest perspective; securing life, liberty, and property so that each person may pursue personal interests, such as religion or the arts, in privacy. Personal pursuits are for privacy. Religion is for privacy.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, for reasons he understands, is acting to take down historical monuments that, due to failed appreciation of past human accomplishments, excite some people’s negative emotions. Plans are to erect replacements that will understandably offend some people. Redistributing offence is costly.

Instead, the historical monuments, regardless of their past justifications, can, based on complete historical perspectives, commemorate one of mankind’s pivotal, yet unfulfilled events. A people—a nation—endured civil war to stop injustice due to long-established, erroneous beliefs. A hundred years later, justice could have been fulfilled. But, even after the 1964-65 civil rights acts, new division was opened by religious believers. The new dividers include the Congressional Black Caucus and black liberation theology, both originating in 1969, the still existing Confederate States of America, the KKK, the Black Liberation Collective, and other groups who do not collaborate for an overarching human culture: a civic people. Poverty is often cited as the crux of the debate, but 80% of Americans under 18 years old and poor are non-black. And some minorities come to America with nothing but gratitude for civic liberty and soon thrive. Erroneous beliefs would rebuke the realities of physics, such as . . . real-no-harm beliefs are for private pursuits while civic morality is a mutual human duty.

The American Civil War demonstrates that dependence on religion for civic morality begs personal ruin. Every person’s spiritual god is precious and must be cultivated in reality to avoid error. The civil war confronted two long-standing, erroneous beliefs: first, Africans selling Africans is just another commodity trade that benefits the rest of the world, and second, the slave-master relationship was ordained by the original Christian god. To perceive humility towards whatever may control the unfolding of reality, please hear lower case “g” when I speak “god.”

With the above two global fallacies, slavery was colonized in America. To free the people—this nation--from slavery, white Christians brooked war with white Christians. Yet, so far, the possibility for mutual civic liberty lies fallow--trapped in the past. Events have presented our generation the opportunity to resolve the consequences of slavery. We know enough to effect the reform. Together, we know enough to assign slavery and racism to the past. Past generations have left us the privilege to end racism.

Historical timelines, starting nearly 4000 years ago, show that We the People of the United States is itself a victim of slavery. However, some groups deem their victimization supreme: perhaps native Americans and descendants of traded slaves. Some falsely claim they were never considered of “we the people.” But there is no supreme possession of victimization in America.

Liberation theology, with its Marxist economic demands can be applied to any minority: women, non-theists and others. However, for civic morality, most people in most societies and associations must collaborate for an overarching culture: a civic people. Human people are civic people.

Please consider the timeline leading to 2016’s civic division today’s rebuke of the reality of physics. Notice, I am neither addressing “social” division, which involves choices, preferences, and impositions nor civil division, which references opinion-based law. I refer to civic morality, not social morality such as religious morality.

Three thousand, eight hundred years ago, the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi referred to slavery as an established institution. However, the physics of slavery--chains and whips, psychological cruelties, tearing families apart, rape; masters often neglecting responsibilities for safety, food, clothing, housing, and medical care—the physics . . . makes it plain that humans cannot enslave humans except by arrogant, cruel force.

Africans forced Africans into slavery and traded them as commodities under local gods. A person could say that diverse African gods competed to create a slave-rich continent.

Sixteen-hundred years ago, Bishop Augustine of Hippo “argued that the institution of slavery derives from . . . the [original Catholic god] and is beneficial to slaves and masters.”

Nearly 600 years ago, Pope Nicholas V issued to Portugal a monopoly on African-slave trade to promote a Catholic god in Portugal and eastern South America; 50 years later, Pope Alexander VI granted Spain a monopoly on African-slave trade to help colonize the Americas for a competing Catholic god; in 1496, Henry VII claimed corresponding colonizing privileges on behalf of a British, Protestant god. Two others joined the god-competition.

In 1765, colonial British subjects realized they were being dominated—subjugated--by homeland British subjects. So colonial patriots, about 40% of free inhabitants, complained, then with no relief from home named themselves “states” and declared independence from England.  In 1788, with a thirteen-states economy dominated by slavery 8:5, neither staunch abolitionists nor common-sense thinkers could devise responsible means to undo colonial slavery:  free the slaves. We the People of the United States ratified the constitution for the USA delaying emancipation for a possible viable future. Thank goodness the states did not decide to remain free and independent--divided.

During the next 50 years, civically moral Christians and others, who increasingly could not bear to return escaped slaves to masters, breached commitments they had ratified in the constitution for the USA. Many Christians rejected Bible interpretations that supported slavery. Others, rebuking common-sense physics, preached Bible verses to defend African slavery. In 1865 civil war words Abraham Lincoln said: “Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other.” Lincoln’s statement seems contradictory since no god divides itself.

In 1861, economic and political powers changed to an unfavorable slave-states ratio, 15:19. Despite inferior military power, on February 4, 1861, seven states formed the Confederate States of America, CSA, concluding their declaration of secession with the god-words: “. . . public opinion at the North has invested a great political error with the sanction of more erroneous religious belief.” The South’s god would defeat the North’s god with inferior military power; would rebuke physics.

On March 4, Lincoln, in his inaugural address, taunted the CSA, especially by arguing that congressional acts, such as the 1850 Fugitive Slaves Act, made upholding Article 4 Section 2 of the constitution for the USA a states’ dispute rather than a national dispute. Quoting Lincoln, “There is some difference of opinion whether this clause should be enforced by national or by State authority, but surely that difference is not a very material one. If the slave is to be surrendered, it can be of but little consequence to him or to others by which authority it is done.“

It is up to us to fulfill Lincoln’s obscure plea for relief from Christian god-competition. We the People of the United States must uphold the preamble. Lincoln asked the CSA, “Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice of the people? Is there any better or equal hope in the world?” (Emphasis mine.) Perhaps this statement was too subtle for those times.

Lincoln knew the North’s military advantages and accepted civil war when the CSA fired on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Lincoln called up the military on April 15. Virginia seceded on April 17.

Virginian, Robert E. Lee did not invite the dreadful, sudden decision he faced at Lincoln’s bid for Lee to lead the Union army nine years after Lee had stopped being a slave-master. In a circumstance beyond his control, Lee chose to defend family, home, property, city, state, and personal god. Lee was a victim of the history I just reviewed. Let the person or persons who would go to war against his own in the perspectives of Lee’s moment in Lee’s lifetime come forward and state his or her reasons.

We assert that Robert E. Lee was a victim of 4000 years of human error. We assert that we, a civic people, are collective victims and need to collaborate together to overcome the errors of the past so that we do not, ourselves, become responsible for future woe. Again quoting Lincoln, “Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh."  Rather than black supremacy or white supremacy, the people need human supremacy.

Viewed from the above historical perspective, the pope and two European countries could apologize for erroneous Catholic gods; three European countries could apologize for erroneous Protestant gods. A possible representative of diverse African gods could apologize for rebuking physics respecting slavery and slave trading. James Madison’s legacy could apologize for ignoring Chapter XI Machiavellianism: The prince-priest partnership need not heed the people.  Every person alive is a victim, and we can recover--by collaborating together for civic morality while holding private our no-real-harm religious or cultural pursuits.

Perhaps the Catholic Church feels it has apologized for rebuking the physics of slavery, for example, with the Pontifical Academy of Science founded in 1936, the Vatican Observatory dating from 1580, and by embracing evolution as the objective truth that does not negate the Catholic god. These acts represent a strong respect for the reality of physics and the corresponding discovery of human ethics.

However, we want neither apologies nor retributions for the past. We want to put the past in the past and help a super-majority of Louisianans collaborate for private liberty with civic morality (PLwCM) both while we are alive and for our children, grandchildren and beyond. We want to collaborate for private liberty with civic morality.

Most persons would like to avoid dilemma like Robert E. Lee faced--deadly violence over opinion long debated both without and within personal religion; countrymen killing countrymen; family against family; white Christianity at war against white Christianity --with no heed for the physics of reality. In 2016, we know better but are acting the same. We are not promoting human supremacy.

A suitable plaque at New Orleans’ Lee Circle would remind domestic and world visitors of arrogance against physics: erroneous religious belief. New Orleans would serve a civic people of the world. But . . . replacing Lee Circle would maintain the cycle of civic immorality. The cycle is continued in 2016 when black Christian god blames white Christian god without confronting those ancient African gods that inspired Africans to enslave and sell Africans.

However, a civic people of the United States would enable every no-real-harm church or culture to flourish in civic morality. Let no-real-harm religions freely debate the colors of United States gods—red, white, black, yellow and others—in privacy rather than to conflict with civic morality. But let adult, heartfelt satisfactions be collaboratively subjugated so as to create a way of living that is inviting to children and children to be born.

Let us collaborate to improve political morals as fast as humankind advances technology. Humankind discovers physics and learns best ways for humans to benefit from understanding. Disputes over monuments should be resolved to accommodate educating children and creating strategies to assure that each child succeeds in the three decades’ transition to collaborative adulthood, with confidence for a full life, intending to contribute to the future . . . and fairly participate in American capitalism. For fairness to happen, collaborative children must become stakeholders—part owners in American capitalism rather than merely consumers. Adults should also convert labor into assets: save and invest in the USA. Let adults do all they can to help children and help themselves. These ideas for children are beyond today’s topic, but we stand ready with proposals to improve the best economic system ever proposed: free-market capitalism.  Let us turn our focus to the noble task of benefiting from future Louisiana life together rather than struggling for factional supremacy.

Civic collaboration can both improve these ideas and make the resulting, better-ideas happen. It can start with approval of SB 276 with the amendment to make certain the work is grounded in the facts. Legislative oversight of historical preservation can help advance civic morality if the complex facts rather than human emotions are employed in the process. Louisiana citizens can achieve private liberty with civic morality.

Thank you for your kindness and patience.

Results for the hearing: SB 276 failed on a 5-4 vote, Senator Peterson casting the deciding vote. The session is on video at senate.la.gov/video/videoarchive.asp?v=senate/2016/04/040616S~G_0, with SB 276 starting at 1 hour, 18 minutes.

 

Copyright©2016 by Phillip R. Beaver. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted for the publication of all or portions of this paper as long as this complete copyright notice is included. (Introduction only revised on February 24, 2017)