100 Years
I just wanted to point out that even though this book was published 108 years ago, we really aren’t that far removed from the sentiment presented in this book. Think about it…since 1897, this world has seen the advent of cars, airplanes, television, radio, travel into space, internet, nuclear power, etc. So many advances packed into the last 100 years. And yet, the 19th Amendment allowing women the right to vote was only passed in 1920, within most of our grandparents’ lifetimes . Segregation within the United States officially ended in 1954, within most of our parents’ lifetime. In 2005, gays still do NOT have the legal right to marriage. So really, are we that evolved from where we were in 1897, when it not only okay to sing a nursery rhyme titled “Ten Little Niggers,” but to also caricature them as apes and promote the product for mass consumption? Are we really that far away from publically ridiculing and bastardizing a minority as long as the majority who has the loudest voice deems it acceptable?
