History is a cycle of oppression and peace, the progression of science and society. Humans always look to the past, judging the actions from decades to millennia before. We do not, however, always set our eyes on the present and observe with that same critical mindset.
History grants us the ability to learn from our mistakes as a species and as a global community. As a society, we judge our past and ask, “Why?” Still, we repeat our mistakes; we judge history and celebrate social progress while we replicate the inequities of the past.
Many settlers from Britain established homes on the East Coast of what is now the continental United States. Some came for gold, others for glory. Some settled in America to have the autonomy of religion, away from the Anglican Church. They came to the New World with high hopes, but they were not the only ones here.
The Native Americans had various cultures and practices long before the Europeans set foot on the pre-American soil. When white settlers came, they attacked the natives. Later, they forced some to learn English and convert to Christianity. They oppressed American Indians even more than England had oppressed them; not only did the colonists strip American Indians of their religion, but much of their culture as well.
Before the 1960s, segregation and racism secured themselves deep into the heart of the country. Interracial marriage had no legal legitimacy, and people not of European descent had only partial rights. Now, society considers interracial marriages a social norm and an acceptable practice; I would not be alive today if this was not the case. Unfortunately, some cannot reflect on our past and apply the lessons we learned to today.
We refuse to take into account the teachings of the past, even when it comes to the rights of marriage. Any two people have the right to join in legal marriage, no matter their race, culture or sexual orientation.
Those who fight against moving forward, those against having an open mindset, influence the selection of the knowledge of the public. We are missing lessons from our past only because part of society fails to recognize them.
As a teenager in the 21st century, I, along with most others, can say “slavery is bad” without a second thought. Our world has witnessed the cruelties and the dehumanization of slavery. Few know, however, that slavery still exists.
Saipan, an island in the Northern Mariana Islands commonwealth of the United States, harbors numerous textile factories that employ thousands of men, women and children who spend more money than they receive in order to survive; they went into debt to secure work in America.
Most work 12- to 16-hour days, and if they are fired, they must return to their home countries, only to face great debt, the result of coming to Saipan in the first place.
Women also sign contracts to wait tables in the U.S., but only upon arrival do they realize they are trapped in colonial America. Some women are forced to work in nightclubs and offer sexual favors to strangers. They are sex slaves. They cannot escape. Men, too, suffer the consequences of agreeing to work in “American” Saipan.
All of these people struggle to leave, but they are deeply in debt and some have their passports taken away. Legal slavery still exists, even in America, even after promises of transforming sweatshops into safer working environments.
Officials claim to improve the working conditions of the sweatshops for the laborers, but only after more than a decade of human-rights activists pushing the issue into the light and for the awareness of the public. Because Saipan has a history of the abuse of power and of people, shouldn’t the laws and the rights of the country, of the “land of the free,” reach to include the people of America’s territories?
Years from now, future generations will scrutinize our actions and ask, “Why?” The answer is willful ignorance, an unwillingness to extend our rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” to others.
Elle Rathbun is co-editor in chief at El Diablo, the Durango High School student newspaper. She is the daughter of Paul Rathbun and Vicki Kuan of Durango.
