A Brief History
On July 4th, Americans celebrate their Independence Day, a holiday that signifies their freedom. During the month of June 2015, Americans experienced a host of developments in the expansion of this freedom. In any case, to paraphrase Bob Dylan, the times sure were a-changin’ in June 2015!
Digging Deeper
June 2015 included events, incidents and policy changes that the older generation among us probably did not expect to see take place in their lifetime.
To begin, early in the month, Olympic medalist Bruce Jenner, a father of six, changed his name to “Caitlyn” and began referring to himself with feminine pronouns. While he cross dresses and has undergone some cosmetic surgery to look more feminine, he has not (yet) undergone sex reassignment surgery. Regardless, he has been championed by the transgender community for his recent actions.
Meanwhile, a similar incident that captured American headlines this past month concerned Rachel Dolezal, the former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter in Spokane, Washington. Despite having a birth certificate identifying her race as white with an ethnic ancestry as German and Czech with “faint traces” of Native American, Dolezal self-identifies as black (African-American).
Questions concerning identity were also raised with regards to what it means to be a “Southerner” in America. Predominantly white Southerners have long regarded the Confederate battle flag as emblematic of their heritage. Given that the reason the Southern states seceded from the Union was for states’ rights to practice slavery, most Northerners and an overwhelming majority of black Americans consider the flag a symbol of slavery and treason. Accordingly, on June 22, 2015, the Governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, called for the Confederate battle flag to be removed from the U.S. Civil War memorial on the grounds of the South Carolina State House. Then Walmart, the largest store in the United States, announced that it will withdraw all merchandise featuring the Confederate flag from sale at its stores and online. One day later, Amazon.com followed suit by announcing that it too is removing Confederate Flag merchandise from sale.
Lastly, on June 26, 2015, in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, in a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court declared state bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, effectively legalizing it across the United States.
Question for students (and subscribers): What do our readers make of these significant changes in American society? Are we headed in the “right” direction, or are these early signs of some kind of apocalyptic erosion of values and traditions? Do you agree that people have or should have the right to reject their biological gender and ethnicity and instead identify as whatever gender or race they so choose? Is it reasonable that stores should not sell controversial flags even to say historians using such items for educational purposes? Should marriage rights also be extended further to say polygamists? Finally, what other changes do you think will occur in America in the near future? What changes do you think should occur? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below section below this article.
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information on this generation of change, please read:
Greenberg, Eric H. and Karl Weber. Generation We: How Millennial Youth are Taking Over America And Changing Our World Forever. Pachatusan, 2008.
And yes, while Confederate flags may no longer be available, you can still purchase Bruce Jenner action figures from Amazon.com:
Starting Lineup – Bruce Jenner – Timeless Legends 1996 Edition – Collectible.
