I, too, don’t remember how prejudiced Pa was but I’m not surprised , either. It’s a testament to my parents and to influences as I got older that none of that stuck with me. I think adults so often underestimate what truths children can bear in their expansive imaginations and big hearts and are in fact often trying to protect themselves by not telling the whole truth- and perhaps, out of ignorance, don’t see the importance of telling the whole truth .
Good and important post! However, I will always love the Little House books. When I think back on them, I remember all the passages that instill self-sufficiency and the importance of homemaking and farming. Kids, I think, remember the characters' actions and thoughts much more than the context (e.g. being afraid of Indians on the prairie, or Pa entertaining in blackface). Also, the Prairie book is one of the least interesting, in my view ... I hope you & your daughter will give On the Banks of Plum Creek, the Long Winter, and Little Town on the Prairie another try! :-) Similarly, for adults, an incredible memoir is "A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains" by Isabella Bird, her journal from 1873 about riding horseback solo around the Colorado mountains. She's an incredible badass hero, wrapped in the Victorian mindset of the day. It's startling and offensive how she occasionally lets loose the most racist, classist statements in a prim, matter-of-fact way about the people she encounters, as someone in the 1870s might do, but that doesn't detract from the power of her historical story and the inspiring brave feats she accomplishes. It shows the prejudice of the day, which is very unpleasant yet enlightening to help understand her life and times.
I struggle with any attempt to "cancel" writing that we've now decided is offensive. We have to make choices about what speaks to us while still recognizing that there are issues. I still love Huck Finn and The Grapes of Wrath, but I don't fault people for saying they cannot read it anymore. And I still have a special place in my heart for the television show, I just had to admit that for me, I've had to step away from the books 🙂 But more important than the books is a willingness to hear the whole story so we can both see how far we've come and how far we still need to go. I believe that Wilder still plays an important role in our understanding of westward expansion. And Isabella Bird sounds fascinating!
I'm torn on this one. First, the guilt is uniquely American but the behaviors we feel guilty for are not. In fact, what's shockingly unique is that we even consider what we did to be generally not something we'd do again. We are quite literally one of the very few nations to even consider, let alone accept this.
I read my kids the Little House series and yes, there are phrases and concepts that wouldn't fly today. Yet we aren't exploring indigenous cultures through Pa. We are exploring western expansion through Pa. Finding out why the west looks like it does REQUIRES understanding Pa. Because he was more of a progressive at that time.
You mention 'This is what it is to grow up white in America.' That's about as broad stroke as you can imagine. That might be what it means for you specifically but not for the vast majority I'd wager. It's also a uniquely liberal white (specifically female).
I say going to war made me into a Libertarian. I stepped back and I can see the issues with most of our wars. Yet I can see how weird we were compared to most. I can look at the travesty of the Native Americans (book: American Holocaust). I can also see that the natives weren't egalitarian and peaceful prior to us as well. (A conservative estimate is that about 20,000 people were sacrificed per year in the Aztec Empire, and about 5,000 of them were sacrificed in Tenochtitlan)
So yes, it is an aspiration. And it's so aspiring that millions struggle and sacrifice just to get across our borders every year, legally or otherwise, to have a chance in what was created. Yes, there are a lot of warts on history, but what came out of it is so good that even people in first world nations jump on the chance to immigrate here.
The 4th of July used to be about reconciliation. If white people turn it into a self flagellating lament, then that reconciliation you desire is unlikely to happen because we can reconcile much faster through aspiration than we can through denigration.
Here's a wonderful essay on the 4th from the perspective of immigrants.
I, too, don’t remember how prejudiced Pa was but I’m not surprised , either. It’s a testament to my parents and to influences as I got older that none of that stuck with me. I think adults so often underestimate what truths children can bear in their expansive imaginations and big hearts and are in fact often trying to protect themselves by not telling the whole truth- and perhaps, out of ignorance, don’t see the importance of telling the whole truth .
Good and important post! However, I will always love the Little House books. When I think back on them, I remember all the passages that instill self-sufficiency and the importance of homemaking and farming. Kids, I think, remember the characters' actions and thoughts much more than the context (e.g. being afraid of Indians on the prairie, or Pa entertaining in blackface). Also, the Prairie book is one of the least interesting, in my view ... I hope you & your daughter will give On the Banks of Plum Creek, the Long Winter, and Little Town on the Prairie another try! :-) Similarly, for adults, an incredible memoir is "A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains" by Isabella Bird, her journal from 1873 about riding horseback solo around the Colorado mountains. She's an incredible badass hero, wrapped in the Victorian mindset of the day. It's startling and offensive how she occasionally lets loose the most racist, classist statements in a prim, matter-of-fact way about the people she encounters, as someone in the 1870s might do, but that doesn't detract from the power of her historical story and the inspiring brave feats she accomplishes. It shows the prejudice of the day, which is very unpleasant yet enlightening to help understand her life and times.
I struggle with any attempt to "cancel" writing that we've now decided is offensive. We have to make choices about what speaks to us while still recognizing that there are issues. I still love Huck Finn and The Grapes of Wrath, but I don't fault people for saying they cannot read it anymore. And I still have a special place in my heart for the television show, I just had to admit that for me, I've had to step away from the books 🙂 But more important than the books is a willingness to hear the whole story so we can both see how far we've come and how far we still need to go. I believe that Wilder still plays an important role in our understanding of westward expansion. And Isabella Bird sounds fascinating!
I'm torn on this one. First, the guilt is uniquely American but the behaviors we feel guilty for are not. In fact, what's shockingly unique is that we even consider what we did to be generally not something we'd do again. We are quite literally one of the very few nations to even consider, let alone accept this.
I read my kids the Little House series and yes, there are phrases and concepts that wouldn't fly today. Yet we aren't exploring indigenous cultures through Pa. We are exploring western expansion through Pa. Finding out why the west looks like it does REQUIRES understanding Pa. Because he was more of a progressive at that time.
You mention 'This is what it is to grow up white in America.' That's about as broad stroke as you can imagine. That might be what it means for you specifically but not for the vast majority I'd wager. It's also a uniquely liberal white (specifically female).
I say going to war made me into a Libertarian. I stepped back and I can see the issues with most of our wars. Yet I can see how weird we were compared to most. I can look at the travesty of the Native Americans (book: American Holocaust). I can also see that the natives weren't egalitarian and peaceful prior to us as well. (A conservative estimate is that about 20,000 people were sacrificed per year in the Aztec Empire, and about 5,000 of them were sacrificed in Tenochtitlan)
So yes, it is an aspiration. And it's so aspiring that millions struggle and sacrifice just to get across our borders every year, legally or otherwise, to have a chance in what was created. Yes, there are a lot of warts on history, but what came out of it is so good that even people in first world nations jump on the chance to immigrate here.
The 4th of July used to be about reconciliation. If white people turn it into a self flagellating lament, then that reconciliation you desire is unlikely to happen because we can reconcile much faster through aspiration than we can through denigration.
Here's a wonderful essay on the 4th from the perspective of immigrants.
https://www.thefp.com/p/all-immigrants-are-born-on-the-fourth-of-july