CLEAN SLATE . . .

Even while watching "American Idol 3," I am able to have some non-vacuous thoughts ... and my first non-vacuous thought of the evening flows as follows: why do we want to nullify our country's history?

I was just reading an article in the New York Times about comments made by United States Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. He was speaking at a fundraiser for the Historical Society of Frederick County, and mentioned that Roger Brooke Taney, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice from 1836 to 1864 had an "admirable" career. Chief Justice Rehnquist's comments made the news, not only because he is the Chief Justice, but because Taney was the author of the Dred Scott decision, the man who said -- on behalf of a seven-member majority -- that freed slaves (and their descendants) did not qualify as American citizens and had no right to bring suit in federal court.

The fact that this is news, and the fact that Rehnquist was duly described as being known for his conservative views, got me thinking ... there are people out there, myself included, who shudder at the Dred Scott decision. We also shudder at our past as a slave-owning nation, as a country that segregated black and white citizens, as a people that abide by separate-but-equal laws, as a government that corralled its citizens of Japanese descent into internment camps. People offended by this past demand apologies, ask that history books be written and rewritten, and continue to (rightfully, in my humble opinion) protest strong and lingering vestiges of injustice. But ... even as I recognize that many events in my country's past are distasteful and antithetical to everything I believe in, mustn't I also acknowledge that this is our history, and that it cannot -- should not -- be changed?

The America we know now, for all its goods and evils, did not materialize out of thin air. We comprise a young country, but our history does not lack its fair share of drama, significance, upheaval, leadership, retardation and most importantly, growth. Where we started, as a mere compilation of colonies ... where we went, through Civil War and Reconstruction and Jim Crow and immigration and World Wars and civil rights and feminism ... where we are now ... this is who we are, this is what America is. To try to change it, to pretend it never happened, to overlook it, to futilely apologize for it, even to brush it aside as "the past," does an injustice to this country and the people and events that shaped it.

We continue to shape the United States and lead it down the twisting, turning path it is supposed to travel. Just as individuals turn to their geneaology and genetic make-up for answers and guidance as to their personalities, traits and behaviors, America would do well to look to her past, with pride even. As in any lifetime, America has had moments of shame, even downright evil. But to be totally cliche for a moment, haven't these moments built character, made the country stronger? Thus, is there not something to be proud of in the fact that wretched things like slavery and internment and hosing of citizens in the streets and restricting voting rights were finally seen for the evil they are? We learned our lesson, and continue to do so daily, thanks to the events in our history. Why erase it? Why ignore it? Why deplore it?

Just a thought ...

***

RETURN TO VACANCY . . .

It is a travesty that Redheaded John is still a contestant on "American Idol 3." I'm sorry -- I know he's slightly nerdy (some might [erroneously] think charmingly so), I know he's only sixteen years old, I know he has a somewhat unique sound, I know he's still 'discovering himself' and in the awkward stages of life. Heck, his voice is still changing, for all I know.

But I'm sorry, he's got to go.

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ROOM FOR RENT . . .

I purchased a new super-sized package of all-cotton Q-tips the other day. I just opened them, and to my chagrin, I discovered that the Q-tips have plastic stems!!! I find plastic-stemmed Q-tips to be highly irritating. There's too much give when you're cleaning out your ears (I know there is no medical reason to, but I do so anyway), and when your hands are wet or recently lotioned, the stem becomes slippery and highly dangerous. Call me weird, call me a traditionalist, call me empty-headed for even thinking about these things semi-seriously ... but it bugs me that I have to go through 500 bendy plastic-stemmed Q-tips before I can go back to the store and purchase the correct ones.