Transformational moments always see those who will be on the right side of history and those who will land on the wrong side.
Those who land on that wrong side do so because they are often beholden to misguided social or economic forces. And those forces can be compellingly strong.
One of the best examples for me of that strength came a few years back when Terry Gross was interviewing Adam Goodheart, author of 1861: The Civil War Awakening. In that “Fresh Air” interview, Goodheart stated that asking the South to give up slavery in 1861 was no different than asking the United States to give up oil today.
Just like the Southerners defending their “cause” in 1861, there will always be those among us who will defend the indefensible. Part of our history is that of the head-scratching logic that decried giving women the right to vote, that prevented African Americans equal access to everything whites were entitled to, to the now awful remarks directed at the kids and young adults in the “March For Our Lives” movement.
The odd thing for me right now is that, while I’m baffled at the horrible and stupid statements the Rick Santorums and the Wayne LaPierres of the world are making about how misguided these kids are, I’m not all that angry. I can’t be angry because I’m confident they will join that group whose members include Jefferson Davis, George Wallace, Bull Connor, Ann Coulter and Phyllis Schlafly.
I’m Andrew Nelson, and that’s my perspective.
