Wow, what a story!
The book “Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom” by Ilyon Woo is a wonderful, gut-wrenching, account of William and Ellen Craft’s escape from slavery. Despite knowing the outcome in advance, Woo’s telling produced physical reactions at multiple points along the Craft’s perilous route to freedom. The skillfully executed narrative is second only to the amount of effort dedicated to researching the subject matter. Well done!
The book evokes a wide range of thoughts and emotions, but as an independent-centric book club, I’m always attuned to material relatable to our predicament as second-class voters in the electoral process. Politics played a major role in the environment in which these events took place, but anti-slavery activists were also a vital component. Unless activists organize and build a movement, there can be no viable challenge to the status quo.
This period in our history was unlike any other (perhaps with the exception of the war of independence) in that the political waters roiled and then boiled to the point of a civil war. The “compromise” of 1850, with its enhanced “octopus powers”, merely delayed the inevitable. Despite recent remarks by a former President, the issue of slavery could not be negotiated, and it would not have died a natural death any time soon.
Although not nearly comparable to the South’s intractable position on the abomination that was slavery, I noted a few snippets directly relatable to today’s bitterly hostile political environment.
“Ward excoriated the “Northern dough-faces”—pliable collaborators—who would “lick up the spittle of the slaveocrats and swear it is delicious.”
Woo, Ilyon. Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom (p. 201). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition.
Sound familiar?
“Through false news, they would attempt to appropriate her will, her desire.”
Woo, Ilyon. Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom (pp. 319-320). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition.
For the discriminating consumer, how much of our political “news” has become suspect? Perhaps the better question is, how many consumers of news differentiate opinion-based entertainment from factual news? There are plenty of outlets for real news in the media sphere, but entertainment and opinion-based outlets command the attention of massive audiences, and their messaging is amplified on social media platforms. Although these tactics have been employed forever, a former president was able to denounce all criticism of him as “fake news” and his core supporters believed him.
The Southern contingent in Congress held that the preservation of the union was dependent upon the preservation of slavery. We can all understand why the preservation of the union required the Confederacy to be defeated in the Civil War, but fast forward one hundred sixty years.
No dispute today (except possibly abortion among the most radical pro-life faction) is incurable, yet we hear terms like “soft” or “cold” civil war often being used to describe the level of division in our current political environment. It doesn’t have to be this way.
In some instances, a compromise might be the best solution. In others, representatives must be willing to admit that the other side has the better idea. Neither can happen under our current electoral process. That must change, and it must change sooner rather than later. That’s why I’ve been involved with other independent voters and organizations seeking electoral reforms for the last twelve years. Progress has been made, but there’s much more to be accomplished. Thankfully, momentum is building. Even if due to an increasingly dysfunctional government, I’ll take it. Twelve years is a long time, but others in this space have been at it longer. So, I leave you with this.
“This was the seventeenth annual convention of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society… 1832: twelve White men in all, with leaders of the veteran Massachusetts General Colored Association bearing witness. As the ceremonies closed, Garrison declared, “Friends, we have met tonight in this obscure schoolhouse, but, before many years, we will rock Faneuil Hall.”
Woo, Ilyon. Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom (p. 156). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition.
And so, it came to pass.
Steve Hough is a lifelong independent and became an activist for political reform after retiring as an accountant. He is the director of Florida Fair and Open Primaries.
Mr. Fear is another voice I look forward to hearing as we digest the current read. His comments on the book, the author, and Independent Voters all ring true. The incredible journey of the Crafts, the tireless searching by Ms. Woo, and the challenge of gaining voting rights for the largest voting segment of our population have so much in common. One of those is Frank’s ending message: it will take time and patience and it will prevail. Parties are going nowhere and are not going away. It may take another twenty years for Independent Voters to realize their true potential. Those twenty years will go by anyway. Might as well use them for something worthwhile. We have Ellen and William to inspire us. And Frank to remind us.