May 1st is the International Labor Day, and for the workers in the world, Huzzah!
And, for the day (kinda like on 420 this year) as an adjacent topic, let me share something I think gets lost in the American educational system, or, really, the teaching-history part of school, age 5 to 18 (besides the Parkers and the Harrisons): the founding of Haiti.
I remember lessons on the Mongols and the Mughals, but not the Franks nor the Saxons. We got some Mesopotamia history (good) but almost no Mesoamerica (lame).
Did you know that Haiti was the only country in the world that was founded by a rebellion of enslaved people? Enslaved Africans and natives from the island, called Haiti (or 'Ayti') in Taino, had a successful insurrection and threw out their French oppressors.
Is it shocking that we were never told about that in school? The enslaved rebelled, successfully, and founded a nation. Is it shocking that few countries came to its aid when the Spanish side organized and engaged them in war? Is it shocking that in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, the international response seemed like a shoulder shrug and a juvenile, "Sucks for you, bro?"
I think we should find a way to celebrate Haiti and its founding as an important step in the Enlightenment era. It was the first country in the Western hemisphere to abolish slavery, obviously; but they're also the most likely to be declared a failed state...obviously, especially when no one wants to help.
Also, I want to learn more about Simon Bolivar and South American revolutions---which all happened after Haiti, by the by.
Anyway, maybe this is all stemming from witnessing the slow motion dissolving of the American democratic experiment, aided and abated by a pro-fascist group of terrified bigots. Maybe we all should fly the flag of Corsica, the large Mediterranean island that is currently a French holding, but remains a difficult place to colonize and/or subdue. The flag is called "the Moor's head," and represents marginalized people battling occupiers:
Anyway, Happy May Day!
