“Where do national myths originate? They do not emerge by happenstance. Rather their creation and spread are an exercise of power. Influential historical actors, from antebellum slaveholders to the moguls of Hollywood and those Slotkin calls the ‘political classes’, have attempted to develop and disseminate broadly acceptable myths to serve their own interests.”
Linked article below gives an introduction and link to an article that appeared in the June 20, 2024, issue of the #LondonReviewOfBooks (#LRB), a magazine based in the #UnitedKingdom.
Shatz addresses the false conflation of #antiZionism with #antisemitism by #USA politicians and others. He explains that argument is not new, and it has never been shared by all #Jews. The books he reviews in this essay single out #Jewish voices that were sharply critical of the main leaders of #Zionism in the years before Israel was established, as well as after 1948.
Yeah, the U. S. Declaratory of Independence really helps people*:
'"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands... they should declare the causes...." This was the opening of the Declaration of Independence. Then, in its second paragraph, came the powerful philosophical statement:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Gov- ernments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.
It then went on to list grievances against the king, "a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an ab- solute Tyranny over these States." The list accused the king of dissolving colo- nial governments, controlling judges, sending "swarms of Officers to harass our people," sending in armies of occupation, cutting off colonial trade with other parts of the world, taxing the colonists without their consent, and waging war against them, "transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny."
All this, the language of popular control over governments, the right of rebellion and revolution, indignation at political tyranny, economic burdens, and military attacks, was language well suited to unite large numbers of colon- ists, and persuade even those who had grievances against one another to turn against England.
Some Americans were clearly omitted from this circle of united interest drawn by the Declaration of Independence: Indians, black slaves, women. In- deed, one paragraph of the Declaration charged the King with inciting slave re- bellions and Indian attacks:
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.'
“But the four men who rode atop the wave of the Gilded Age were Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan. Their business activities during the final four decades of the nineteenth century drove America’s ascension into the most powerful industrial nation on the planet. And they shaped the rules that governed the US economy for decades to come.”
Today is Juneteenth. Michelle Garcia, Editorial Director of NBCBLK, curated Flipboard's Good Life newsletter this week. She chose a range of stories about the past and present of Juneteenth, including a look at the "Harriet Tubman of Texas," the commercialization of the holiday, and the work that still remains. "Now that it's a federal holiday, part of figuring out how to mark the day as a nation comes with educating the public about it," writes Garcia. Here's her Storyboard.
In a new Social Science History article Robert Lieberman argues that the study of US politics shares origins, concepts & methods with the field of comparative politics. Recognizing this helps us understand the current crisis of American democracy & governance.
Open access! https://doi.org/10.1017/ssh.2024.5
I'm an #Irish citizen now (still holding on to my #US citizenship and voting #Democrat though). Yesterday=first time I voted using this system.
Better-designed system, imho. Sharing so fellow #American#voters can get a sense of how this works. I wish it were everywhere in #USA. Apparently, it's only shown up in limited areas.
“ICC MUST INVESTIGATE BRITISH MINISTERS FOR COMPLICITY IN GAZA WAR CRIMES: Now the International Criminal Court is seeking to issue an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu, it must investigate his accomplices in the British government.”
“Seven British ministers – including Rishi #Sunak, David #Cameron, Grant #Shapps and Kemi #Badenoch – must be investigated for aiding Israel”
[..]
“British ministers have consistently defended Israel’s attacks on Palestinians as the death toll has mounted to the tens of thousands. They explicitly reject South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Evidence suggests UK ministers just don’t care about international law or how many people – Palestinians or Britons – are killed in Gaza.
At the same time, the British government is refusing to publish the legal advice it has received on whether Israel is violating international law in Gaza.”
Je me souviens surtout des téléphones portables de dirigeants EU piratés (France / GB / USA) et personne n'a condamné le gouvernement israëlien comme iles même l'ont pourtant fait contre les #USA et sa #NSA avant. 🤔