Monday, July 26, 2010

A visit to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

We visited the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center the day before yesterday. The center is located near the great OHIO river,which is the dividing line of north and south.In the center,I've learned a lot about the history of abolition of slavery.Besides,we've seen a film called Brothers of Boarderlands,which narrated how white abolitionists organized together to assist fleeing the blacks. I'm deeply moved by the story and I have some thoughts about the history of that period.

I think about human suffering. I believe that the period of abolition and the later civil war is the most traumatic episode in American history.But in fact,the equality was not ensued even after the declaration of the legal abolition of slavery. They had no basic civil rights,and strict segregation in public transportation,theaters,sports could be seen everywhere.Many of them continued to work as tenant farmers as a result of poverty and ignorance.In a word ,they still suffered a lot.So why is human history full of suffering? I think maybe it is partly because of an evil from human nature, something like aggression,selfishness and prejudice.It makes people become too ambitious to conquer and have no sympathy to the weaker .In retrospect,American history has many sufferings and victims,such as the blacks,Indians,Hispanics and Asian Americans.Perhaps the significantly miserable sufferings stem from the Americana's unique character that it is a country of immigrants like a melting pot.


What encouraged me most is the Haman's eternal pursuit of happiness and freedom. While going for it, people from different races and religions can ally together and trust each other to overcome the difficulties to reach the noble goal . I think it deserve to eulogize the heroes like John Parker,the white abolitionist who help the blacks to escape and Markin Luther King,the leader of the civil rights movement.They're willing to sacrifice their lives to help people away from oppression and pursue the dream of freedom. In the innermost of their heart is the generosity ,sympathy and the most beautiful virtues that enlighten the humans step.

Life is a dramatization of good and evil.No matter who we are , we have the right to be free and equal. Maybe some sufferings once destroyed the illusion of building a society of equality and freedom,but we can fight and pursuit . Never give up. Maybe the scars have not entirely healed, the struggle is to be continued,but we have dreams, and I believe that we'll get it in the end!
Best wished to all ~~

1 comment:

Mike Lohre said...

Emily: you show so much heart and insight in this post. I just love it. Thank you for your reflections and I hope everyone reads them.