The Great Lie

[kpete]

The Great Lie

by Tim Lewis

The first part of the Great Lie
Is to deny
That slavery was savage, barbaric—
Instead, bleating and placating
With soft metaphor and subtle explication
That so many owners were good and kind,
And most slaves redeemably well-treated,
Never whipped, never maimed,
Never shipped into coffle lines,
Iron masks or necklaces of horns,
But lofted with warmed clothes, adorned quarters,
And a living comfortable and soft



The second part of the Great Lie
Is to deny
The evil of the system, comparing it
To northern industry, wage labor,
Whining that New England factories
Had slaves engaged for sorry pay
In conditions just as forced, or worse,
And to ignore the curse of servitude,
Of rapes and killings, broken families,
Branded hands and faces, clipped ears,
And the right for us to choose
Our lives and fears.

The third part of the Great Lie
Is to imply
That most enjoyed their bondage,
Paternal-dwelt, indentured,
Childlike, unprepared,
Household servants cared for well,
Enjoying beds and meals and comfort,
Too simple or unstressed to venture
Into a savage, killing world
Where their lack of skills and laziness
Would squeeze them into destitution,
Rather than soft plantation ease.

The fourth part of the Great Lie
Is to deny
That the war concerned slavery at all,
To quote Lincoln, extend excuses
That states' rights, homestead
Protection were the real concerns
For Davis and his plantation friends,
And to ignore why so many poor
Refused to fight, fled, deserted,
Or were enthused by the Union side
—Half of white Virginia seceding from
The enslaved creed of the state.

The fifth part of the Great Lie
Is to deny
Slave wisdom, endeavor and capacity,
As competent as whites,
As brave, hardworking and as fit
—Or that they carved their freedom
Desperate with each flighted hour,
Stating that most plantations snoozed
Unperturbed by war dispute
—Loyal in repute, trusted, free—
A whitewash that bruises today,
In unabashed denial of equality.

The sixth and final part of the Great Lie
Is to deny
Even the existence of wartime slaves,
Their flight and engraved resistance,
Their willingness to ambush,
Burn barns and houses, poison,
Refuse to work, sabotage, go slow about,
Flow freedom into their own firm hands,
Fight for Union forces and to scout,
Despite the frenzy-butchered slaughter,
Of Confederate soldiers' assault
On a race's quiet-ennobled valor.

Let us no more apologize or lie,
Let us no more glissade nor simplify,
Let us no more squirm nor ignore,
But let us straight and truthful say,
With courage in our humbled hearts,
That we were terribly, terribly wrong,
And slip upon our bended knees
To beg forgiveness for inhumanities,
Seek ways to give in recompense,
Build memorials to their memory,
And take their peaceful, offered hands
In final joint identity.

I do,
I bow my head
And beg forgiveness
On behalf of all
Who have defended slavery

And defend it still. . . .

more:
http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2010/08/the-great-lie/61422/

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Thank you KPete.

I have the distinct honor of giving the 5th rec, thereby placing this thread onto the Greatest list. May it rise to the top, as it deserves.

[myrna minx]

2. K&R n/t

[G_j]

3. Let us no more apologize or lie,

K&R
:applause:

[OneBlueSky]

4. when I saw your headline, all I could think was "Which one?" . . .

there are so many Great Lies out there . . .

[VioletLake]

5. Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America

http://www.withoutsanctuary.org/

[2 Much Tribulation]

6. If the true facts behind The Great Lie no longer with us (slavery) are there no longer abuses?

In the main, I don't mind the spirit of the poem, but by setting up one egregious form of slavery, perhaps The most egregious form (Southern plantation slavery), as the Great Injustice as opposed to (as the poem argues) wage slavery in the North, etc., then this poem has the negative effect of reducing concerns and outrage for remaining forms of slavery, even if they are not as bad as Southern plantation slavery. the idea is that "we're better off today" than in the mid-1800s and before.

The poem also exaggerates the status and evolution of Lincoln's PUBLIC positions on slavery, not to mention his private opposition to it at all times. Initially he did of course say it was all about Union and not expanding slave states. That position changed during the War, and then ultimately Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation occurred, and finally Lincoln's first utterance that freed slaves should have the right to vote IMMEDIATELY led to his assassination by John Wilkes Booth. I'm not in the belief the poem does full justice to Lincoln.

All of the above being said, I fully support efforts to un-whitewash the past, especially the history of slavery (which continues in this country to this day). I only prefer that, in the process of doing that, Lincoln not be misrepresented and efforts against other forms of slavery not be damaged by the implication that "today's not as bad as southern plantation slavery."

[kpete]

7. a search for truth

not perfection, kp

[2 Much Tribulation]

11. I am quite sure that you approach this, as do many DUers, as a search for truth

I guess I'm just feeling that a "Great Lie" broken into six parts is, for the author's purposes, closer to being a Judgment than a Search for truth. I'm assuming the poem is published formally and not a draft or something just thrown out for discussion purposes.

That being said, if everyone can and does approach the OP as a search for truth, then yes, that does tend to dissolve the concern. Many poems and other pieces of art are searches for truth.

[2 Much Tribulation]

12. Here's a good quote that perhaps catches some of that spirit:

"Art can offer a chance for society to collectively reflect on the imaginary figures it depends upon for its very consistency, its self-understanding." -- Brian Holmes

I assumed, rightly or wrongly, that the author didn't completely put this particular poem out there in the spirit above.

[bertman]

8. Too late to REC, but thank you for posting this, kpete. Very eloquent.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. Michael Parenti has pointed out some of the contradictions in slavery

For example, slaveowners always complained about how "lazy" their slaves were, yet the men and women who owned the plantations did no work whatsoever. Slaves did all the housework and acted as personal servants to dress and groom Master and Mistress. Plantation owners even hired overseers to supervise their field slaves and keep records for them. They spent their entire lives at leisure. They didn't even bring up their own children, turning the infants and young children over to slave women whose own children had to be neglected, and sending the older children away to school.

Of course the "laziness" was understandable, because slaves received no reward for working hard. No matter how hard they worked, they wouldn't get paid, they'd still be slaves, and their children would be slaves. Pretending to be lazy and stupid was a means of passive resistance.

[Loudmxr]

10. The Emancipation Proclamation freed all the slaves.

My friend Borden Olive of the Los Angeles Human Relations Commission, before he spoke at one of our functions, told a story about how his mother told him that the slaves in Kentucky were not included in the EP. "We had to fight for our freedom and never let anyone tell you different.!" He told the story at our Burbank Human Relations dinner on Juneteenth.

Kentucky wasn't included in the Emancipation Proclamation.

[2 Much Tribulation]

14. Kentucky was a "border state" not completely part of the Confederacy

The Proclamation was directed at the states seceding. I assume this explains, but not necessarily justifies, the discrepancy you point to.

[malaise]

13. Thanks for this

So true