Is the air and water badly polluted in the USA? Is there rampant racism across the country? These are just two of the many questions that get different answers than they should from many Americans because they don't understand history.
Let me explain. Fifty years ago, the level of air pollution in the USA was much worse than today. The same was true of water pollution. In New York City, the sky often looked green on a hot summer day because of the extraordinary pollution levels. From an office in a tower over Manhattan, you could see a brown cloud of pollution grow as rush hour traffic brought millions of people to work. There were days when people were told to stay indoors because of the levels of pollution. Then all sorts of changes were made. During the Nixon administration, there was a big push to cut pollution. The EPA was established, emission standards for automobiles and trucks were set, factories and power plants were made to cut particulate emissions, and many other steps were put in place as well. Over the next 20 years, the level of pollution from many sources was cut by over 90%. Despite this, there are still a great many Americans who just don't know the history. They will tell you about the terrible air pollution without realizing how much has been done.
Another example is water pollution. Fifty years ago, raw sewage was often dumped into rivers and other waterways. Using New York as an example again, you find that in 1970, nothing lived in the Hudson River. Literally one third of Manhattan bathrooms sent their sewage directly into the river without any form of treatment. This was replicated across America. Then in the early 70's the federal government began financing water treatment and sewage treatment plants across the country. Americans no long dump their sewage into the rivers, etc. Fish and other marine life have reappeared in the rivers and streams. Nevertheless, if you ask the average American about water pollution in the USA, many will tell you it is a big problem.
Then there is racism. Sixty-five years ago, it was a different world. There were segregated schools. Hotels and restaurants refused service to people on the basis of their race. Neighborhoods were kept segregated by legal restrictions in deeds that prevented future generations from selling to minorities. In many places, minorities could not vote. On television, there were no blacks except for servants or stories set in Africa. All manner of jobs were restricted. Then in the 1960s and 1970s laws were passed and enforced which ended all that. It is a different world. It doesn't mean that there are no people left with racist thoughts, but institutional racism is gone. Still, if you ask the average American about racism, many will tell you how it is a major problem that is getting worse, not better.
Look, none of this is to say that pollution or racism should be ignored because they used to be worse. Rather, the idea is that people need to know the actual facts about the past because all of these problems need to viewed in actual context, not in some construct that is divorced from reality. If America is to make good decisions about where we go from here, we need to know the truth about the past. The cliché right now would be to quote something like those who do not know history are destined to repeat it. It's not just a cliché, however; it's the truth.
Let me explain. Fifty years ago, the level of air pollution in the USA was much worse than today. The same was true of water pollution. In New York City, the sky often looked green on a hot summer day because of the extraordinary pollution levels. From an office in a tower over Manhattan, you could see a brown cloud of pollution grow as rush hour traffic brought millions of people to work. There were days when people were told to stay indoors because of the levels of pollution. Then all sorts of changes were made. During the Nixon administration, there was a big push to cut pollution. The EPA was established, emission standards for automobiles and trucks were set, factories and power plants were made to cut particulate emissions, and many other steps were put in place as well. Over the next 20 years, the level of pollution from many sources was cut by over 90%. Despite this, there are still a great many Americans who just don't know the history. They will tell you about the terrible air pollution without realizing how much has been done.
Another example is water pollution. Fifty years ago, raw sewage was often dumped into rivers and other waterways. Using New York as an example again, you find that in 1970, nothing lived in the Hudson River. Literally one third of Manhattan bathrooms sent their sewage directly into the river without any form of treatment. This was replicated across America. Then in the early 70's the federal government began financing water treatment and sewage treatment plants across the country. Americans no long dump their sewage into the rivers, etc. Fish and other marine life have reappeared in the rivers and streams. Nevertheless, if you ask the average American about water pollution in the USA, many will tell you it is a big problem.
Then there is racism. Sixty-five years ago, it was a different world. There were segregated schools. Hotels and restaurants refused service to people on the basis of their race. Neighborhoods were kept segregated by legal restrictions in deeds that prevented future generations from selling to minorities. In many places, minorities could not vote. On television, there were no blacks except for servants or stories set in Africa. All manner of jobs were restricted. Then in the 1960s and 1970s laws were passed and enforced which ended all that. It is a different world. It doesn't mean that there are no people left with racist thoughts, but institutional racism is gone. Still, if you ask the average American about racism, many will tell you how it is a major problem that is getting worse, not better.
Look, none of this is to say that pollution or racism should be ignored because they used to be worse. Rather, the idea is that people need to know the actual facts about the past because all of these problems need to viewed in actual context, not in some construct that is divorced from reality. If America is to make good decisions about where we go from here, we need to know the truth about the past. The cliché right now would be to quote something like those who do not know history are destined to repeat it. It's not just a cliché, however; it's the truth.
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