Staff Reports
In the colorful echo chamber of today’s political circus, there’s always a new act. This time, it’s the Chicago mayor, Brandon Johnson, taking the stage. His bold, albeit puzzling, stance has been making headlines. Johnson recently declared that the land was built by slaves, a statement that left some historians scratching their heads and sent critics into a whirl.
What’s surprising here isn’t just the potential for historical misunderstanding—Illinois was a Union state and by the time Chicago became the city we recognize today, slavery had long been abolished. Instead, the surprise lies in how resonant Johnson’s speech is with the “woke” script often parodied in so many satirical skits. You know, the kind where you squint and wonder if you’re watching a political rally or the latest animated series on Disney Plus. The speech rolled on with the rhetoric of reparations and systemic issues, sounding not too unlike the slogans regurgitated like a broken record in numerous activist handbooks.
It’s a time-tested trope, the rewriting or romanticizing of history to fit a narrative. Sifting through the city’s past, one finds neither records of slavery’s contribution to Chicago’s growth nor evidence of indigenous grand architectural achievements in the city. Instead, Chicago’s story, like many cities, is marked by industry, immigration, and innovation. Brandon Johnson might do well to study this context before trying to sell a catchy but faulty tale of historical oppression.
Critics were quick to pounce on this rhetoric, proposing that such fanciful narratives are less about historical truth and more about fueling a political agenda. When some leaders use their platforms to signal virtue or moral superiority by rewriting history, it tends to spark more division than unity. And while we’re talking responsibility, Johnson’s strategy has been contrasted with how the rising gun violence in Chicago is being managed—or arguably, mismanaged. The notion that the city doesn’t need federal assistance, or that adding more police won’t help, has some folks, even those leaning left, raising their eyebrows. Chicago faced a grim tally over the Labor Day weekend with dozens shot; hardly a cause for dismissing external aid or assistance.
And right there in the background is the federal government, amid ongoing discussions about the need for external support to deal with the escalating crime rates. While to some this might sound like an impressive action plan, others wonder if federal intervention will become a political hot potato, especially given how discussions are often fueled more by drama than by solid planning.
In closing, let’s not forget that wielding history selectively like a toy sword can backfire. This saga in Chicago highlights the hazards of embracing hyperbole over hard facts. Perhaps it’s time for leaders to have a fresh look at the history books, not just as a lever in political gamesmanship but as a rich source of lessons that can genuinely help guide their cities forward—hopefully, without the aid of a cartoon script.
