The month of May has been designated Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. These designated months are important, in my opinion, because it gives people an opportunity to reflect on their own heritage and educate the general public. I was ignorant of this aspect of my history until a few years ago, after which I wrote this post in 2016. I was never taught this in school. In fact, a history teacher I know never even heard of the Chinese Exclusion Act. To quote C.S. Lewis, "What do they teach them at these schools?" It is time to rectify that problem. Myths are fiction. History is not, and we shouldn't substitute or accept one for the other.*
A few years ago, I read a novel based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. In this case, it was told from a housemaid's point of view. There were a few storylines that were over the top, in my opinion, but my main objection was that this book burst my bubble. I didn't want to know about how hard a servant's life was in the Regency Era. I didn't want to think about lack of plumbing or chamber pots. I preferred to imagine Austen's works through the lens of modern film adaptations with their beautiful costumes, dancing, witty dialogue, and actors with historically inaccurate perfect teeth.
But history is not as nice and tidy as a novel or a film. Sometimes it is easier to edit my intake because I don't want to face the toll sin has taken on mankind since the fall. Being a self-revisionist may shelter my sensibilities, but nostalgia, no matter how pretty, is no substitute for the truth. As George Santayana said, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." I would also humbly add that we may have trouble understanding the present if we don't know our history.
I've been shaken by recent racist incidents involving Asian Americans. In listening to people's stories, we are still considered "perpetual foreigners" no matter how many generations we've been Americans. Why is that? History gives the answer.
Since the 1880's the United States government enacted legislation to prohibit the immigration of Chinese citizens and forbid naturalization. The "threat" imposed by the "Yellow peril" was hyped to the point that Asians were driven out of towns and even lynched out of fear of their supposed pernicious influence on American culture and taking employment opportunities away. The Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943, but the quotas for Asian immigrants were still very low. Finally the 1965 Immigration Act opened the door for immigration, not only from Asia but other countries as well. When I learned about this, I was floored. The immigration act took place during my lifetime, and I'm not that old. This also explains why I was one of two Asian kids in my school district. Our families were allowed in. Others were not. Fifty years is also a drop in the bucket when it comes to history. Perhaps this is why some people have a hard time accepting Americans with Asian faces and still ask us, "Where are you really from?"
It is easy to assess peoples struggles and conflicts only through the lens of today, but we only have a partial picture at best. While laws may have been changed for the better, how many generations does it take to change attitudes? How many generations does it take to overcome the economic policies that were made to separate and discriminate? We are not detached from events that have taken place before our time. Our attitudes are shaped by the culture in which we were raised, often unbeknownst to ourselves, and it is highly probable that we are unwitting recipients of its baggage. Perhaps our discussions would be more profitable if we opened a history book and learned about our past. Being aware of the good and the bad may help us not repeat it.
* Not to mention the 9th commandment violation.
A few years ago, I read a novel based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. In this case, it was told from a housemaid's point of view. There were a few storylines that were over the top, in my opinion, but my main objection was that this book burst my bubble. I didn't want to know about how hard a servant's life was in the Regency Era. I didn't want to think about lack of plumbing or chamber pots. I preferred to imagine Austen's works through the lens of modern film adaptations with their beautiful costumes, dancing, witty dialogue, and actors with historically inaccurate perfect teeth.
But history is not as nice and tidy as a novel or a film. Sometimes it is easier to edit my intake because I don't want to face the toll sin has taken on mankind since the fall. Being a self-revisionist may shelter my sensibilities, but nostalgia, no matter how pretty, is no substitute for the truth. As George Santayana said, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." I would also humbly add that we may have trouble understanding the present if we don't know our history.
I've been shaken by recent racist incidents involving Asian Americans. In listening to people's stories, we are still considered "perpetual foreigners" no matter how many generations we've been Americans. Why is that? History gives the answer.
Since the 1880's the United States government enacted legislation to prohibit the immigration of Chinese citizens and forbid naturalization. The "threat" imposed by the "Yellow peril" was hyped to the point that Asians were driven out of towns and even lynched out of fear of their supposed pernicious influence on American culture and taking employment opportunities away. The Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943, but the quotas for Asian immigrants were still very low. Finally the 1965 Immigration Act opened the door for immigration, not only from Asia but other countries as well. When I learned about this, I was floored. The immigration act took place during my lifetime, and I'm not that old. This also explains why I was one of two Asian kids in my school district. Our families were allowed in. Others were not. Fifty years is also a drop in the bucket when it comes to history. Perhaps this is why some people have a hard time accepting Americans with Asian faces and still ask us, "Where are you really from?"
It is easy to assess peoples struggles and conflicts only through the lens of today, but we only have a partial picture at best. While laws may have been changed for the better, how many generations does it take to change attitudes? How many generations does it take to overcome the economic policies that were made to separate and discriminate? We are not detached from events that have taken place before our time. Our attitudes are shaped by the culture in which we were raised, often unbeknownst to ourselves, and it is highly probable that we are unwitting recipients of its baggage. Perhaps our discussions would be more profitable if we opened a history book and learned about our past. Being aware of the good and the bad may help us not repeat it.
* Not to mention the 9th commandment violation.
Comments
Post a Comment
Civil and pertinent comments are appreciated. Trolling will be deleted. Thanks.