Wednesday, August 30, 2017

The Equal of Any People Anywhere

Robert Smalls, a slave pilot, led a daring escape during the Civil War. While the captain of the ship was ashore, Smalls quietly piloted the Confederate steamer Planter from Charleston, South Carolina, to the safety of the Union fleet outside Ft. Sumter. The crew and passengers consisted of 16 people, seven of whom were women and children. Once beyond Confederate waters, Smalls raised a white bed sheet as a flag of truce. In addition to the ship, cargo and passengers, Smalls brought word that the Confederates had abandoned their position on the Stono River in South Carolina. Upon turning her over to the Union, Smalls said, "I thought the Planter might be of some use to Uncle Abe." Smalls and his crew received the customary prize money for the captured ship. He was made the pilot of the ship until 1866.
Back in March of this year I had the chance to visit the National Museum of the United States Navy at the Washington Navy Yard (where The Nuke works). I chronicled that visit over a couple of posts but the first was here.

It was a really quick visit while we waited for The Nuke to return from her office (we had just flown in from Little Rhody and she had to stop by her workplace to do something for the admiral). I took a metric crap ton of photos with my cell phone (pretty much running the battery down to naught) but came away with a number of stories. This is one.

This story started over at Bayou Renaissance Man with this post of his. The story sounded familiar, the face on the cover of the book looked familiar, so out came the cell phone and after scrolling through all those photos, there he was, Robert Smalls. The opening photo is a detail from one of the photos I took at the Navy Museum, the text below is a copy of the text under the photo in the museum. (It wasn't all that legible in the photo.)

Mr. Smalls had quite a career. He represented South Carolina in Congress (as a Republican) for a spell and one quote attributed to him seems particularly apt to me in these somewhat trouble modern times...
"My race needs no special defense, for the past history of them in this country proves them to be the equal of any people anywhere. All they need is an equal chance in the battle of life." Representative Robert Smalls said. (Source)
He's absolutely correct.

For as long as this country has existed, people of all races, creeds, and religions have contributed to make these here United States a beacon of hope to the world. If we go down into the darkness, that's it, game over man.

We need to move beyond such petty considerations. We are Americans, we should be setting the example to the rest of the world that a representative, Constitutional Republic such as ours works, and works well. Sure there are bumps in the road, nothing worth having is easy.

Mr. Smalls seized his freedom, he stood up for what he believed in. He made a difference.

There are those who insist on seeing our differences, and setting one group above another, I hate that.

We are, One Nation, Under God, Indivisible...

Now let's make that liberty and justice for ALL part a reality.

Or we shall have no peace.




You can read more about Robert Smalls here and read about the author of the book Peter mentioned in his post here.

16 comments:

  1. Which is why "Black Lives Matter" is only a partial truth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup.

      They do, but so do others. All lives should matter.

      Delete
  2. "Or we shall have no peace."

    Truth, Sarge. I fear that loss of peace is inevitable, spurred on by a complicit press and shadowy masters with the financial means to push their agenda.

    Back in the early ninety's I made a remark in an office hallway conversation about "The press's agenda...". A young engineer came back with "Agenda? Wow, you must be paranoid!"

    I would like to talk to him again today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed. There are forces at work with lots of money behind them, whose agenda we can dimly perceive if we don't listen to the media. Much of what is reported as "news" is a cover, a smokescreen to confuse the issue, or a distraction to make you focus elsewhere.

      Set us against each other and anyone can waltz right in and take over. Scary times.

      Delete
  3. Thank you for making this fine American known to me.

    I agree, scary times indeed.

    Paul L. Quandt

    ReplyDelete
  4. You wrote "We need to move beyond such petty considerations." I think in general and for the absolute overwhelming majority of the population, we have. It's the fringe minority on both sides, and more so on the left, that want to foment dissension and pit one side against the other, hopefully sweeping up centrists with weak fortitude in their endeavors. Being cheered by the media the whole time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. These neomarxist, postmodern knuckleheads in the professional victim class of grievance industry have divided themselves into tiny groups which are presently feeding on each other. In that respect they are largely self-limiting, but they've caused a lot more problems than their numbers should be able to support, largely because a great many folks now have social and other media platforms do their thinking for them. But, I'm singing to the choir here I suspect.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now turn to page 23 of your hymnals...

      Yup, we pretty much see eye to eye on all that nonsense.

      Delete
  6. OFF TOPIC

    Hey juvat, I've got a new acronym for you: IMWTK. Inquiring Minds Want To Know. Whatcha think, huh, huh.

    Paul

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So how do you pronounce it? IMWTK...

      Delete
    2. Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe with an " i " between the w and the t. ( Shrug with hands raised. )

      PLQ

      Delete
    3. Thank you.

      Paul

      Delete

Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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