Chris Jepson: No victors on judgment day

I’ve read history all my life. I enjoy it almost as much as fiction. Wait. History is fiction. I like to think not. It is suggested however that, “History is written by the victors.”.

A fascinating fact of American history is that 12 American presidents owned slaves (eight owned slaves while in office).

I’m interested in when an idea first becomes discussed. For example, when did the idea of slavery as an immoral abomination enter into popular discussion in America? The first anti-slavery organization in America was The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage, founded in Philadelphia in 1775. Undeniably the topic of slavery was much discussed in the American colonies, such that by 1775 Quaker societies were actively forming to oppose it.

This is a relevant date because it establishes a timeline for evaluating the actions of the people of that era. It is one thing to be a slaveholder and claim not to have been exposed to the idea that slavery was an abominable act. But if Quakers bandied about such “ideas”, ignorance could no longer be a sufficient defense. No longer could it go unchallenged that enslaving human beings was no different from managing other large farm animals.

One of the rich dichotomies in American history is the juxtaposition of the intellectual brilliance of our Founding Fathers with the fact that so many of the signers of Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were active slaveholders. How can a man as brilliant as Thomas Jefferson have been a slaveholder all his life? What does Jefferson’s accommodation with slavery say about our own efforts today when acting upon the knowledge of what is right?

If a man as bright as Thomas Jefferson will not in his lifetime do what is morally called for, what hope today for us lesser mortals?

We see this today regarding the question of homosexual rights. We know that discriminating against gays is morally wrong, as was slavery 150 years ago. We observe Americans opposing gay equality based on religious texts. Just as the Bible was once employed in the defense of slavery, today’s faithful use Biblical chapter and verse to marginalize gays. History will not judge them gently.

What makes an individual a more compassionate human being? The brilliant Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for his homosexuality and wrote (in 1897) the most mournful of accounts of his imprisonment in “De Profundis” (Latin: "from the depths"). This is one function of literature; to expose us, in this case, to the pain and suffering of another human being who happened to be gay. How can our LGBT community be marginalized when the fact of their humanity is ever-present? Can one “legitimately” discriminate today out of ignorance?

Another example of an idea debunked through knowledge and public discourse is the world’s scientific community overwhelmingly asserting that human activity (carbon release) is warming Earth’s climate. The oceans are rising, land heretofore productive will become farrow and humanity will suffer profoundly as a result.

Climate deniers are unable to claim ignorance when refuting climate change because the facts are undeniable, verifiable and widely disseminated (publicized). There is a moral issue at play here and we have the historical example of Thomas Jefferson. He knew slavery for what it was and did not act. I fear America today will do the same regarding climate change.

There will be few victors when our history is written, when we are judged.