Town Hall Reflection: Progressing as a Country

This week in my “Talking about Freedom” class we hosted a Town Hall Meeting on slavery. Each student presented an argument either condemning or condoning slavery from the viewpoint of a historical figure during the civil rights era.
          Read more about my presentation on Samuel Morse here!

During these speeches, I noticed a common thread between all who were defending slavery differentiating them from those supporting the argument. Every single person who supported slavery believed that those with colored skin are innately inferior. It was as if being black was a disease altering people to be less human.

On the other hand, abolitionists believed that race was only skin deep. They preached that there are no scientific findings that prove blacks and whites to be different beyond skin color.

If these two groups of people cannot agree on the basic facts of the argument, they will never agree on a greater outcome. It is simply not feasible. Both sides must first acknowledge one set of facts they both believe to base their argument on.

This issue is still present in modern-day politics. Many arguments including those on abortion, sexuality, and even gender will never be settled because both sides of the argument believe in a different set of facts. How can someone who believes life begins at birth convince someone who believes life begins at conception that abortion is okay? Simple, they can’t.

This leads us to the conclusion that our history is essential to learn to progress forward as a country.