During the 250th birthday year of the United States, many are taking up the challenge of family exploration for the first time. If one's immigrant ancestor arrived early, there was a likelihood one would be related to a founding father or mother. Many of my family immigrated early to America, so I have discovered many surprises. For example, my 10th-generation great-grandparents came over on the Mayflower in 1620. Before you think that's special, there are probably at least 30 million Americans related to at least one of those Pilgrims, though many don't know it. Two fell overboard. My cousin drowned. One was recovered alive. Because he escaped from death, we have had two Presidents Bush.
The Mayflower voyage is significant for several reasons (Thanksgiving dinner, etc.), but of great importance was the Mayflower Compact that the men signed before they landed in what would be Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Compact outlined Self-government and the rule of law. This became the first working governmental document in North America, a forerunner to the later U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution.
I'm not fond of water, especially large bodies of H20. The scientific name is aquaphobia, or fear of bodies of water. For medical reasons, I have to avoid water in my nose. I could explain why, but trust me, you don't have the time! If I were with my Pilgrim ancestors and their friends, and someone asked, "Who would be willing to go to the New World?" my hand wouldn't shoot up.
There were 37 Separatists (people who wanted to separate from the Church of England) on the Mayflower, along with the ship crew and non-Separatists, for a total of 102. Half would die that first winter, including my 10th Great Grandfather, William White. Imagine the stories each could tell! They endured hardships to find a place where they would be free to practice their faith and way of life.
America is full of such stories, both good and bad. As a nation, we can learn so much and not repeat some of our earlier mistakes. Remember, "Those who forget their past are doomed to repeat it." "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." by Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana. It's hard to remember our past if we aren't aware of it. That is the challenge of the education of our youth. They can't remember the past because they haven't been properly taught it. The core meaning remains the same: a society or individual that fails to retain the memory of past mistakes and their consequences is likely to repeat those same catastrophic mistakes over again. If we don't know history, we will forget the lessons of socialism and communism. That is an easy trap for our young who want a cause to be sucked into.
The Mayflower experiment was not a perfect example, nor were our founders. After 50 years of relative peace, the colony and Native Americans engaged in King Phillip's War. The Indians lost, which set up the impetus for further incursion into Native lands. Slavery started long before the Pilgrims, with the Spanish in 1526. The British would follow suit by bringing 20 slaves to Virginia in 1619. It seems no one's hands were free of guilt. Some tribes in Africa would sell blacks from other tribes to white slave traders.
One reason for such division with other peoples was that they didn't bother to know each other's story. Stories build connections. When you don't know another's story, conflicts and misunderstandings grow. It is important to know each other's story.
During this quincentennial anniversary of America, let us pause and hear the stories around us so our differences become our strengths.
