Final Thoughts

Overall the trip was real good. How can anyone complain about free airfare, lodging, and food to one the most expensive places in the US? I feel I learned a lot, met some great people, and experience something every American should get to--that is their roots. I am going to get on my high horse for a minute and then tell a few stories to end this chapter.

America has long since been a melting pot, a mixture of ethnicity and race. Everyone in this country can trace their ancestry back to different places. Sure there are a lot of those with Anglo roots, and from European descent, but now there is probably a representative from every country in the world living in this great country. It is really quite amazing if you think about it.

Because of all this diversity there really is nothing we have in common anymore. Ancestry, religion, race, ethnicity, social class, political affiliation, even language can all be different in this country. It is a great strength and at the same time can be a great weakness.

I would argue that the only thing Americans have in common is their history. That is why it is so important. It is the one thing we know we have in common with someone from rural Iowa, or New York City, or a small town in North Dakota. We all have different backgrounds yet every American shares in the same great legacy. Even those who have traditionally been disenfranchised can trace their roots to those that formed this country. What does it really mean to be American? It means we all share the same history regardless when our ancestors came here, whether they helped colonize hundreds of years ago, or came only yesterday. There is no other bond we might feel to than this. That is why it is so important. We have nothing else in common but our history.

Off the soapbox. A few stories now. Roger Carter. Heard of him. Didn't think so. I hadn't til this trip and Professor John Patrick hadn't until a few weeks before. So who is Roger Carter? Turns out this most benevolent man did one of the most amazing things in our history yet no one knows who he is. Grandson to the infamously cruel Roy Carter, Roger inherited his grandfather's slaves. Over four hundred in fact, making him the 2nd largest slave owner in the colonies(George Mason was first). You see the big problem with that profound document, the Declaration of Independence, is that while it contains perhaps the most famous quote in our country's history, the man who wrote it owned slaves, a lot of them. He wasn't the only one. That in and of itself is a facsinating topic. Roger Carter believed the words of the Declaration, and after a religious conversion of sorts, freed his slaves. He wanted no fanfare, for how could one expect or want glory of any sort when you are limiting someone's liberty? This act cost him not only finicially, but socially as well, as the Southern aristocracy was none to pleased with his actions. In actuality this is a very remarkable story, for as much as Jeffersona and Washington knew they were wrong in keeping slaves, they didn't do anything about it. Carter's actions are extremely rare, they are the opposite of the natural man. When you consider the Enron scandal there is little difference in the nature of man from then to now. Everyone looks out for themselves and most do little that would cost them their fortune and social rank. Truly a remarkable story. You can check out the book if you want it is called "The First Emancipator"

Next story. Our last night in Boston after a very nice dinner and final commemoration, John Roberts of Las Vegas, took all who wanted on his semi-historic tour of Boston. John is really a funny guy so I was excited for this event. I mean he is funny without getting plastered, so I could only imagine what it would be like after having a few. And with John it is never a few. Before we had even left John had consumed two bottles of wine at dinner.

I need to add that for those of you that know me well you know I have never had a drink. This was something new,(after rereading this sentence it sounds like I drank, I assure you I did not, I meant the experience of going) I am not sure if I have every really been in a bar. I am naive in many ways when in comes to drinking. I would have no idea how many is a lot, or the effects of not eating before drinking, or what a shot will do to you. I still don't fully know but I have a better idea after the tour.

Of note: A few nights before while in a rather seedy area Josh from Spokane found a chair that he slung over his shoulder to have in case they needed it. The chair became a torch of sorts on the tour, it was passed from one person to the next upon entering a bar and meant you had to take a shot at the bar. Even from my nondrinking standpoint I thought this rite of passage was clever.

John was ever the affable host, ever trying to mix in constitutional words with his explanations. He was really a sight to behold, jumping off the stairs doing toe touches to the song "Jump". By the end of the night most of our group was plastered. Even John, who can drink like a fish, was going downhill. When the final bar closed its doors he exclaimed, "Now to the underground bar." To which Karlye reminded him., "John were not in Vegas." That was a fitting end to a wild night.