W.E.B. DuBois gave the keynote address May 13, 1952 at a meeting sponsored by the American Labor Party held in Madison Square Garden. 17,000 people were in attendance. This is an excerpt from that address:

“What is wrong with the United States? We are an intelligent, rich and powerful nation. Yet today we are confused and frightened. We fear poverty, unemployment and jail.
We are suspicious not only of enemies but especially of friends. We shrink before the world and are ready to make war on everybody. General Eisenhower has assured us that “we can lick the world” and we are preparing to spend billions of dollars to do it even when we do not know whom to fight or why or how.
Of the thirty-five civilized nations of the world, we and Japan are the only ones which have refused to sign the International Treaty promising not to resort to germ warfare; and it is widely charged that we are now using bacteria in China.”

One may read this and find it to be prophetic. But sadly, what it indicates about the United States is that in the past 50 years, we have learned nothing. If these words were simply oracular we could praise the foresight and wisdom of W.E.B. Dubois. Alas, we are left to shake our heads at our own stupidity and failure to learn from our past.

DuBois was a prophet. He recognized that what foolishness we abide today becomes our legacy. I can only imagine how disappointed DuBois might be if he were alive to see his indictment go unanswered.

There are 191 member states in the U.N. the vast majority of which could be classified as civilized nations. Could DuBois, only 50 years ago, have imagined a world so progressive yet so depraved? The USA is still in the business of being the BMOC and exerting its influence presumably to the inurement of the "little guy". Yet we sit and watch the genocide in Darfur and insist that we have "work" to do in Iraq/Afghanistan/Iran. We are like a mechanic who pours sugar in his neighbor's gas tank and shows up to render his services to help fix the problem. DuBois was a first-person witness to the abolition of slavery. He has seen the depths of depravity that humanity is capable of attaining. Will we continue to disregard our prophets? Are we even capable of learning from our mistakes?

PAX

E