[Vision2020] Twister, anyone?

[Joan Opyr]

In defense of dear old Dad, Nate Wilson writes:

>There are two things to be pointed out here. The first is this: If Melynda 
>is right, and Uncle Tom's Cabin and Roots are the authorities, then at 
>worst my father is a poor historian.

The point, Nate, is not that your father is a poor historian; the point is 
that he isn't a historian at all.  Historians usually have academic training 
in their chosen subject area.  Even when they don't have the PhD (as in the 
case of the great Barbara Tuchman), they've read widely, studied with 
experts, and subjected their ideas and theories to the scrutiny of juried 
publications and peer review.  Your father is not a historian; he's a 
polemicist, a Bill O'Reilly or a Rush Limbaugh, albeit on a much smaller 
scale.

The argument that Doug is making in his writings on the old South is that 
things weren't all that bad for black folks, and even on those rare 
occasions when Massa fell short of the ideals of compassionate ownership, 
there's still a Biblical case to be made in justifying the institution of 
slavery.  Like Melynda, many of us take issue with Doug's methods, his 
conclusions, and his choice of topic.  This is comic book history, Son.  It 
fits easily onto a quarter sheet with plenty of margin and room for a 
Sea-Monkeys ad.  Once again, why slavery?  Why the old South?  What does the 
Confederacy have to do with the ideal practice of Christianity?  It puzzles 
me that I never seem to come across a Fundamentalist musing on the Sermon on 
the Mount, arguably the single most important speech Jesus ever made 
regarding his ideals and philosophy.  Instead, they always seem to be 
getting bogged down in Leviticus.  It's a shame -- kind of like stopping in 
Kissemmee-St. Cloud when you were really hoping for Disney World.

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment

PS: Entertaining as they are, I won't address your musings on evolution 
here, Nate, except to say that if your father is no historian, he's no 
scientist either.  Don't talk to me about groin-stretching to make one's 
points -- you're clearly limber enough to play Twister with the Cirque du 
Soleil.

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