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I concur. History is the past. It is a matter of fact, we should learn from it, improve and move on. I hate the liberal movement that selectively highlights the trendy bits, demands retrospective outrage and recompense and then totally ignores the rest. Yes, the human race has a history for treating different ethnicities, people with differing sexualities and females badly... on the whole. 

The Japanese butchered their way across South-East Asia and the Pacific. They killed millions of helpless, defenceless people. Men women and children. Some of the atrocities so unspeakably outrageous that civilised folk cannot imagine that one human being could possibly do that unto another.

It happened.

The Germans committed unspeakable acts... genocide waged upon the old-aged through babies. etc, etc...  No mercy whatsoever.

These acts were committed when? Well, the leader of my country, who is still working today, was an adult, working as a military truck driver at the time.

This dreadful period of history occurring during a current working adults lifetime. There will be perpetrators of these heinous crimes walking amongst us even now.

And yet within that same adult life-time, the Germans and Japanese are now respectable world leaders. Complete impunity and immunity. It is considered impolite and rude to mention what they did.

The ACW effectively ended slavery within the USA. Should that not be celebrated, respected and learned from?,

The invaders of any country take slaves. In my country the Romans, the Saxons, the Vikings, the Normans... et al. They all enslaved their conquered populace. China? Russia? Built upon slavery. Ah, but that is ancient history.

Well, the within the adult life-time of the Queen of Great Britain, the Germans ran their factories with slave labour. Mercedes Benz, BMW, Siemens etc. The current German road network was built by slaves, with the dead mixed into the foundations. The Japanese built bridges and railways with slaves; many British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealanders and American POW's worked to death.       

We don't mention or remember them within the current liberal rhetoric. Not all slaves lives matter, apparently. The remembrance and outrage is very selective.

It would interest me learn just how many of those who would eagerly burn a ‘Gone with the Wind’ novel; burn it and ban it. Those who would tear down a Confederate statue or memorial for the sake of humanity; would like to, (or actually do) own a BMW, Mercedes, Nissan, Toyota et al… or maybe a Canon, Fujifilm or Nikon camera etc. etc. with a totally selective conscience?   

If we are tearing down anything that is considered offensive (iconic of, or related to slavery), then surely the actual companies that used slave labour are just as culpable as the works of art and literature, if not, more so?

History holds some terrible truths. Yes, we should face up to them. We cannot (should not) change history, we should look back with clarity and shape the future.

On the feminist front, I feel slightly privileged to have been born and raised in Britain. It’s by no means perfect, but I grew up; my formative years under a Queen and female Prime Minister.  Once again we have a woman Prime Minister. It is not strange and not unique. Throughout history this country has had many female leaders and many of those the most successful (Boadicea, Queen Bess and Victoria to name a few). My school Principals were women. I’ve worked for many female bosses and with many extremely capable women of superior intellect and ability than me. This country has recognised and celebrates many females in terms of artists, artistes, authors and heroines. My doctor of the past seventeen years is female. My long-standing bank manager and her wife are both women. I have a mother and had two sisters; I have a wife and two daughters.  I am proud of them all.

I have absolutely no sexist hang-ups pre-conceptions or agenda. Women as equals is all I have ever known. My father was a gentleman and respected the fairer sex. Not in a patronising way but from a natural admiration coupled with the instinctive sense that a male’s primary purpose upon this planet is to cherish and protect the females and children.

I was lucky enough to grow up in a country where female leadership was routine and normal. I was completely blessed to have been raised without alignment to any religion or religious beliefs. My dad hated the paedophile priests and vicars (his brother was assaulted, repeatedly by a churchman… it was common place and hushed up); and was appalled by the totally male dominant teachings and edicts in the Christian Bible.  I’ve travelled and seen that many other religions as well as Christianity teach male dominance and that the female is a secondary species, supplied by a God to the male for convenience; purely for procreation and domesticity.

At least the Ancient Greeks and Romans had interesting female gods. Female Gods on par with their male counterparts. The dark ages following the invention of the sexist Christianity and Islamic cults, has put us back behind those fairer religious times of four to two thousand years ago.

Cleopatra ruled the Egyptian empire two thousand years ago (a civilization that had flourished continuously for more than five thousand years at that point). Today in Egypt, with the surge of stricter adherence to the modern Islamic cult; a woman cannot rise above the rank of assistant head-librarian lest she be demonised. In some neighbouring countries a female committing the religious crimes of driving a car or accepting academic education or wearing cosmetic makeup is liable to be beaten, imprisoned or stoned to death (by the order of God, lest he be offended).

We are such fucking idiots, us humans.

Well, I watched Ken Burns's ACW series in its entirety. An extremely well made documentary; engaging and enlightening. Thanks for the steer!

Payback

Alluding to an illusion?

I dream of someday starting a book

Every generation is far better equipped for the task than the last.

No, it was auctioned on Ebay. I'm building a little collection of signed first editions. My others are all John le Carré, but I saw this and went for it. Very reasonable it was too.

This is topical, I was discussing the subject with a friend yesterday. The truth is that I really don't understand the e-book pricing on Amazon?

Okay, this is Amazon UK and UK Authors that I'm referring to, but I think the principle is same as the USA.

For example Kerry Fisher's. 'The Silent Wife' is a recent bestseller over here. It's in the bookstore window displays in paperback form for the standard £8.50 ($10.00 USD) and it is flying off the shelf.

However, it is concurrently sold at .99 pence on Amazon UK as a Kindle download.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silent-Wife-gr … rds=ebooks

For some strange psychological reason I can't read a novel on a screen. My kindle is used as a mouse mat and I need the paper and print. However, I was pleased to pay my $10 for the book and friends who can get on with the screen reading say they'd happily part with £5 for the Kindle download, considering it a bargain at that price.

Why is it 99p for a proven bestseller?

Claire Douglas, does it differently. A strategy I can at least understand. She's a UK bestselling Author with a highly anticipated new novel that was recently released, 'Last Seen Alive'...  She follows this with the free Kindle download of a short story, 'The Text' as a kind of taster/teaser. I'm sure it will promote a lot of interest in her other 'normally' priced novels.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Text-Claire-Do … rds=ebooks

There's also the other trend. Some of the naff free stuff became so popular, because it is so bad, that now it sells for big money. Like charging voyeurs to gawp at the train wreck. 

https://www.amazon.com/ANTIGUA-Land-Fai … nise+Ellis

Har! Not too quiet now!

(I predict)

Within my opinion there are two issues. Firstly nature; humans are the top of the food chain and act like it. We naturally regard every other species on this planet as inferior and less significant. Disposable. 

Secondly, religion. Every one of the hundreds of religious cults ever invented, ancient and modern, puts its own group of human believers at the centre of the universe. A conscious being(s), creator(s), made humans and provided this planet, this universe exclusively and entirely for us humans to use, abuse and destroy. Everything, animal/mineral/vegetable is inferior to those of these cults within their ideology.

The truth is we humans are a nasty self-destructing virus that will bring down this planet. We kill our environment the way cancer kills healthy cells and to the same end. In the meantime we sanctimoniously delude ourselves with our own superiority

Disgusting, stupid, treacherous people; the Clinton's/Trump's/Merkel's/Corbyn's/Putin's/Jong-un, et al... The best of the human race? In charge, running the show and leading us forward?

Cancer.

Sometimes you want to know precisely what you're getting. Then, you look to the unicorn. No fat. Just protein.

or is more easily distracted