I loved studying history in middle school and high school. Sadly there was so much to cover in a very short time that it was like the Readers Digest version of the story of humankind. Even the college level classes that I had to take were quick overviews of mankind’s impact on the evolution of different times and places. Because I did not major in history I only learned a smattering of whatever professors and curriculum designers believed that I needed to know. It fell to books and documentaries to fill me in on the details that I had missed in the rush to get a general idea of the major world events. Suddenly I became fascinated with the long arc history and found myself digging for more and more details like a dedicated archeologist of facts. 

We humans have done some incredibly wonderful things, but we have also been the perpetrators of great evil either through ignorance or greed. In most cases it was indeed greed that prompted people to use and degrade others for the sake of improving their own status and wealth. The enslavement or abuse of others has been a shockingly common theme in history that is all too often ignored or even forgiven as though those who did such things were not able to discern the wrongness of using people as though they were somehow deficient and unworthy of respect. 

My informal study of history has led me to believe that it has always been important to point out instances of man’s inhumanity to man. Somehow throughout history there have been decent and brave souls who were willing to risk countering generally accepted customs that they believed to be wrong. They were unable to simply look away in fear of being ostracized and more often than not their courage became a part of the thread of change that illuminated and eliminated many of the most egregious practices that humans contrived. 

While the open ownership of slaves is mostly a thing of the past, there are still underground organizations and war torn nations trafficking people as though they do not deserve the kind of freedom that most of us enjoy. Children are still being used as laborers in dangerous conditions. We are a far cry from honoring the value of every person who lives on this earth. 

CNN recently uncovered a massive scamming organization operating from a remote area of the war torn country of Myanmar. What was once mostly jungle has been transformed into a self sustaining “city” in which workers are recruited from around the world with false promises of jobs. Once they arrive they must surrender their passports and they essentially become slaves locked behind heavily policed gates. They are then trained to scam people out of their money by posing as friends and confidantes to their victims. Those who refuse to follow orders are beaten and starved. Everyone is expected to earn lots of money for the organization by bilking innocents. The pressure to succeed in the scheme is enforced with torture and threats of death. Those who come expecting a real job become pawns who never receive pay of any kind. The victims that they are trained to befriend and then coax into a fake investment program lose thousands and sometimes even millions of dollars. Both the slave laborers and their victims are innocent parties in an evil system that seems to exist in full view without consequence. 

Here in the United States there have been multiple instances of migrant children working in factories that provide products for well known and reputable companies. Efforts to ferret out and fine the wrongdoers have been mostly unsuccessful as there are not enough inspectors to keep up with the demand. Additionally, those who knowingly hire underage workers often find ways to hide their youngest employees when examiners arrive. It is often only when the children are seriously injured that their presence in jobs where they should not be come to light. It is estimated that the underground use of child labor is present in virtually every state in our nation. In fact, many of the products that we use have come from places around the world where children are used for long hours in dangerous situations.  

It is so much easier to remain ignorant of the wrongdoing of mankind throughout history and in the present. Nobody wants to think about evil. It is so much more pleasant to only focus on the goodness of people. Nonetheless, pretending that the immorality of humans did not or does not exist right in our own backyards almost certainly insures that it will continue without interruption and sometimes even with unearned forgiveness. 

It is naive to create excuses for the slave trade no matter where and when it took place. It is wrong to use people to enrich greedy adults! Facing the reality of such horrendous behavior in our human history is the best way of being alert to the possibility of such things happening again. Pretending otherwise to protect a person’s or a nation’s reputation is simply wrong and even children are capable of grasping such truths.

I knew enough when I was seven years old to complain to my parents about the treatment of the Black people who lived in my city. I witnessed them in the back of the bus I rode to downtown with my mother. I saw the different water fountains and restrooms. I realized that they were not allowed to eat with us or move into our neighborhood. It did not take much analysis in my young mind to know that what was happening to them was wrong. 

The world would become a much better and safer place if we were to simply be honest about the horrific mistakes of humans made in the past and the present. We don’t have to dwell on such things but we certainly need to discuss how to avoid such wrongdoing in the future. We need truth and knowledge to be able to do that.

There are age appropriate ways of teaching everyone how evil can creep into even the best intentions if we are not aware of it or how it works. Instead of banning the teaching of uncomfortable topics or insisting that waking up to facts is somehow wrong, we do ourselves and our children a disservice by not discussing how to right wrongs without hate and vengeance. It may be painful, but in the end a well informed society is a much better one than a community built on fairy tales. Our freedom to speak is perhaps the most important aspect of true independence. We must protect it with unfettered honesty. The search for truth is our greatest right and responsibility.