Why we must resist the erasure of human lives
From Indigenous peoples to Jesus, history shows that attempts to erase lives and legacies ultimately fail when others remember their stories.
By Julie A. Ferraro | FāVS News Columnist
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News.
There are a number of sayings about being remembered after death. One comes from the late author Terry Pratchett: “Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?” Dan Brown, another modern author, is credited with this one: “So long as they speak your name, you shall never die.”
In contrast to these hopeful sentiments about an enduring legacy, if only in the hearts of those one loved, is the tendency by some – throughout human history – to “erase” those who were notorious, controversial or resented for their gifts.
It’s sort of a similar attitude to “cancel culture” but only happens after a person’s last breath has been taken.
When ‘cancel culture’ turns into erasure
Examples, in reverse chronological order:
The Indigenous people of the United States were subjected to “erasure” of their language and culture almost from the time Christopher Columbus arrived on these shores in 1492, through modern day. Thousands killed in unjustified battles were written off as “savages,” while the rest were confined to reservations, living in abject poverty — yes, even today! — while their oppressors enjoy unprecedented wealth and continue to steal their land.
Perhaps a small “bright spot” in this tale: the dubbing of the original Star Wars film (that was later designated “Episode IV: A New Hope”) into Diné, the Navajo language, about 10 years ago.
Erasing people groups or individuals
Hitler led the effort to erase the Jews, which resulted in World War II, because others of good conscience saw the evil in this massacre of innocents, simply because they were different, by a power-hungry tyrant. Hundreds of thousands put their lives on the line to end the slaughter and are remembered in memorials and other tributes around the globe.
As someone who enjoys a bit of history now and then, I read Julia Baird’s exceptional biography, “Victoria, the Queen” after watching the film “Mrs. Brown” starring Dame Judi Dench. The British royal family, in the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th, tried to erase Scottish ghillie John Brown from the record of Queen Victoria’s life. Whatever the relationship between Her Majesty and her trusted Highland servant, they — especially her eldest son, who became King Edward VII — did everything in their power to wipe him “off the books.”
They burned John Brown’s diary, and dissuaded the Queen from writing a memoir about him. They burned letters Victoria had written about him, and entries in her own diaries. They destroyed statues erected in his honor.
Yet, his memory lives today — albeit incomplete — because others, outside royal influence, held onto bits and pieces that allowed people to learn what a devoted servant and protector John Brown had been to the Queen.
Erasing Jesus
From a faith perspective, the Pharisees and other temple leaders tried to “erase” Jesus from the landscape of the Middle East, and thought crucifixion would discredit his message of love, peace and tolerance. More than 2,000 years later, we know how that effort worked out.
The Romans almost successfully erased many of the individual cultures of the peoples conquered as their Empire expanded throughout Europe and Africa did a horrendous disservice to the generations that followed.
Besides the library at Alexandria being burned and those early writings reduced to ash, there’s no telling how many stories of the exceptional — and the ordinary — were lost. The examples of the early Church’s desert mothers and fathers, for instance, survive only through accounts written, and often embellished, decades and centuries after these holy men and women lived.
As human beings, created in the divine image, the deliberate erasure of any one person by those with the power to shred records, delete computer files or burn/ban books is an absolute disgrace.
Whether viewed as “different” or other derogatory terms, we are all worthy of love, respect and dignity — in life and in death — and our stories should remain to inspire future generations.
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