My husband asked for tickets to go see To Kill a Mockingbird for Christmas. It was a small ask, so we got tickets to go late in January. I knew it was a famous book, the only book by Harper Lee, but knew nothing more about it, which feels a little disappointing to say after seeing the play.
If you don’t know the story, it is essentially about the trial of a Black man in the Deep South who is accused of assaulting a young white girl. We see the story play out through the lens of a white “progressive” lawyer and his family. I’ll say no more in case you want to see the play or read the book—both highly recommended.
One line stuck out to me was said by the lawyer to one of his children. Paraphrasing, it was something to the effect that the south hasn’t forgotten the past in losing the Civil War, and how much that still hurts the pride of southerners. History has been written that the South lost and the North won.
If one looks just superficially, this would appear to be true. The South surrendered. Slavery was abolished. Reconstruction took place. And now, well, we all live as one happy country.
Except we don’t.
As we were driving home discussing what we just saw, both of us agreed in a sad way, that the play is as appropriate to current times as much as it was in the 1930’s. Then my husband made an observation which feels a little worse than the South still living the anger of losing. He said, in looking at U.S. history and what is still happening in our modern times, the war was never actually lost, it just looks different today.
The war continues and most people don’t even realize it.
Unfortunately, the continuation of the war today has many northern states involved. States that never had large populations of slaves (discrimination yes, slavery no). States that fought in the Civil War to keep the country together—we have to remember the Civil War did not start to end slavery, it started to keep the south from succeeding as a separate nation. One of the results was emancipation, but as a byproduct, not a priority.
So what does the modern day Civil War look like in reality?
Essentially it is a war of laws and enforcement, of suppression and disenfranchisement of a perceived class of people, mainly Blacks but also people of color as a whole. Side note: The laws and enforcement also suppress and disenfranchise low income and those with a lack of education, a population that hasn’t realized it or doesn’t care as long as they are seen to be better than Blacks and people of color.
This quote by President Lyndon B. Johnson still, unfortunately, holds true today for many Trumpists and Republicans:
“If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.”
The war continues when welfare moms are portrayed as Black women who do drugs and have babies to increase their check, whose goal in life is to live off the dole of the government, therefore, cutting welfare services (SNAP, TNAF, WIC, Medical cards, etc.) is okay.
The war continues when the national (and some state) minimum wage is kept at poverty levels because the bulk of these service level types of jobs are people of color.
The war continues when early voting is not allowed on Sunday’s as that is the day many, especially Black voters, exercise their right to vote. Think “souls to the polls.”
The war continues when voter roles are purged of mainly Black registered voters.
The war continues when precincts in predominantly Black neighborhoods are given broken voting machines, continually run out of ballots, have fewer voting machines, or have precincts changed at the last moment thus hindering the ability to vote by people working a job with a non-forgiving boss or two jobs to keep feed and keep a roof over ones head.
The war continues when those who have been incarcerated aren’t able to vote because they are incarcerated, or are not able to vote after they have served their debt to society when Blacks and people of color are disproportionately incarcerated.
The war continues when a person who has served their debt to society must then state they’ve been convicted of a crime on a job application, thus limiting opportunities for employment and advancement (this also helps attribute to recidivism, and profits since many jails and prison are now for-profit businesses).
The war continues when an employer (mostly service industry jobs in which Blacks and people of color disproportionately work), can limit your work hours so as not to have to provide an employee with sick time, vacation time, or health benefits.
The war continues when law enforcement can gun down a Black boy or man (often unarmed), acting as judge, jury, and executioner with impunity, then drag the dead boy or man’s life through the mud to prevent being tried for murder.
The war continues, and
The war continues, and
The war continues because so many people of conscious remain silent, therefore acquiescing to the demands of privilege.
The war continues to the detriment of us all.
And thus, the war continues…
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 