Wolfgang, I recognized your post for what it was early on, a cathartic posting of feelings, facts, history. I did one of these myself years ago on Mudcat. I remember asking myself, after I hit the submit button, why did you do that, Mick? It is a fascinating post, and I read it with the eyes of a man who lived through roughly the same time in the US. Thanks for the look inside this time through a different set of eyes.

One thing that I found interesting was the "sanitization" of the history you described. It struck me because a Protestant friend from the North of Ireland once spent a great deal of time convincing me that she had never know or been taught anything of the struggles, the Black and Tans, the repression and gerrymandering, and all that the Irish Catholic endured. It was a moment for me, as I realized just how important the telling of history is, and how it can be used to control the minds, the thoughts, the beliefs, of a people. One can see its effects in the Middle East today. History depends on who is doing the telling.

All the best,

Mick