Not Forgotten

The Lay of the Land

By Lyn Messersmith

Not Forgotten

A majority of the books I’ve read recently have been war stories; unusual for me. My reading buddy, retired from military service, is understandably drawn to those topics, but sometimes, unable to wade through a book she enjoyed and recommended, I decide that, “you had to have been there.” Most of us require an anchor of common experience to really understand something.

Tallgrass, by Sandra Dallas, is a novel about interaction between a rural community and residents of a Japanese internment camp during World War Two. Growing up, I knew such places existed, though it wasn’t happening next door. Still, my parents made sure we never bought anything labeled “made in Japan,” for years afterward. There was plenty of suspicion regarding people with a German surname too, although most families in my neighborhood, including my own, had some German ancestry. Many of those names had been Americanized to avoid censure. Somehow, we never commented on that.

A Star for Mrs. Blake, by April Smith, is historical fiction, set around a program our government implemented after World War One that sponsored overseas trips for Gold Star Mothers to visit the gravesites of sons who made the supreme sacrifice. Apparently, segregation and prejudice were alive and well in the official realm but commonality of grief among the mothers managed to circumvent it. Incidentally, the total mobilized forces of the U. S. during World War One came to 4,355,000. Multiply that by however many family members would have been affected, and you have the ultimate in common experience.

Even as we clamor for equality, humans are inclined to sort themselves into categories. We attach labels, affiliate with groups, dress in certain ways, and speak slang that is common to our chosen community, thus eliminating the need to examine our true beliefs. And it’s easier to justify questionable behavior if we surround ourselves with people who speak rudely, dress inappropriately, or promote violence.

The premise that all people of a certain race, creed, occupation, or geographical background are alike is akin to claiming that purple is purple, plain and simple. Actually, purple includes violet, lilac, magenta, mauve, and various other shades, each suggesting a particular message.     

History offers plenty of examples of attempts to control society by labeling. Hitler comes to mind, but religion, entertainment, news media, marketing, schoolyard bullying, and peer pressure use the same tactics. The other side of the coin is exceptionalism. Author and therapist Mary Pipher says that down deep, each of us believes we are the sanest member of our crazy family. But chances are great that each member of your crazy family holds similar views of themselves, so here you are again, grouped and labeled with all the rest.

Perhaps the most important quality we can instill in our young people is the ability to think independently. How many of us back up our opinions with research that includes more than one side of a question? What percentage of our belief system is based on someone else’s interpretation? Have we truly learned from the past? Countless lives have bought us the freedom to build a more perfect union. We need to take that challenge seriously.