This article is in response to an article posted yesterday by Brian Aderson. “Black Mob Murders 8 Year Old Black Girl…” It also addresses some of the comments that were made by readers. It’s possible that some things may never change.
“WHITE MAN’S BURDEN”
British novelist and poet Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem, in 1899, entitled “The White Man’s Burden: The United States and The Philippine Islands.”
Kipling warned the U.S. about taking up the “burden” of empire. Published in the February, 1899 issue of McClure’s Magazine, the poem came out during the time of The Spanish-American war and the Philippine-American War. The U.S. Senate soon ratified the treaty that placed Puerto Rico, Guam, Cuba, and the Philippines under American control.
Rudyard Kipling
WHAT Kipling was saying (in my opinion/understanding) was that European nations (France, Spain, Portugal, the Dutch, etc.) had attempted to civilize and educate third world lands. Two centuries ago, and as recent as the turn of the 20th century, those lands were still in the stone age, literally.
As Britain became the dominant world empire, she took up the cause to advance the rest of the world. It was a burden that they altruistically took upon themselves. It was a heavy burden to carry. The Burden cost the British dearly in treasure and blood. The Burden, rather than grow lighter, continued to become heavier and heavier until Britain’s back was finally broken.
Kipling was saying to the still young USA that they would live to regret taking on The white Man’s Burden of attempting to civilize third world lands acquired in the Spanish-American War and then the Spanish-Philippine War. He was saying, ‘We (Britain) tried it. The rest of Europe tried it. It was a heavy burden that broke all of us. We failed to civilize them. They can’t be civilized. If you (The U.S.) wants to give it a go, have at it. But be warned.’
YOU’RE THE VICTOR. WILL YOU PICK UP THE BURDEN?
Here is the poem. Following the poem, I’ve commented on what, to me, are key thoughts.
Take up the White Man’s burden—
Send forth the best ye breed—
Go send your sons to exile
To serve your captives’ need
To wait in heavy harness
On fluttered folk and wild—
Your new-caught, sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child
Take up the White Man’s burden
In patience to abide
To veil the threat of terror
And check the show of pride;
By open speech and simple
An hundred times made plain
To seek another’s profit
And work another’s gain
Take up the White Man’s burden—
And reap his old reward:
The blame of those ye better
The hate of those ye guard—
The cry of hosts ye humour
(Ah slowly) to the light:
“Why brought ye us from bondage,
“Our loved Egyptian night?”
Take up the White Man’s burden-
Have done with childish days-
The lightly proffered laurel,
The easy, ungrudged praise.
Comes now, to search your manhood
Through all the thankless years,
Cold-edged with dear-bought wisdom,
The judgment of your peers!
Source: Rudyard Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden: The United States & The Philippine Islands, 1899.” Rudyard Kipling’s Verse: Definitive Edition (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1929).
PERSONAL COMMENTS: (applying the poem to modern situations, civil unrest, our own nation building, trying to lift up those in our own country, including those who reject those attempts, etc.)
Send forth the best ye breed—
Go send your sons to exile
We always send off our best to fight our wars. Somtimes, it is necessity for our own survival. More recently, we sometimes wonder at the necessity. Their loss is a high price to pay. We’ll never know to what additional greatness our nation might have risen had those best of all Americans lived out their lives and contributed to our own nation.
U.S. TROOPS ARRIVE IN CUBA
serve your captives’ needs
We end up being held captive by those we protect and save. The care of others becomes burdensome. It’s like we can never leave, i.e. ‘The War on Terror’. Even in the case of our allies, we become “captives”. Look at the resistance to bringing our troops home from Germany 75 years after WWII. 30 years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Your new-caught, sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child
The peoples of the lands that we “protect” become sullen. They become resentful. Unappreciative. They do not think or act like advanced nations. They remain children, never maturing as a nation, as a people. Never able to govern themselves or provide for themselves.
reap his old reward:
The blame of those ye better
The hate of those ye guard—
As a reward for our attempts to elevate peoples, their resentment turns to anger and hostility. Everything wrong in those lands is blamed on the Americans, the “Occupiers”. We were advised by Kipling and by the Brits that this would be our reward.
“Why brought ye us from bondage,
“Our loved Egyptian night?”
This is a reference to the Bible. God, through Moses, liberated the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. The Israelites had cried for help. Once liberated, when things didn’t always go perfectly, they turned against their liberators…God, Moses. ‘Why did you make us leave Egypt? We loved the way things were!’
America is the recipient of such criticism today.
Comes now, to search your manhood
Through all the thankless years,
After all of the thankless years and your expenditure of blood and treasure, have you matured America? Search yourself deeply, as a nation, and decide if it’s worth it.
Cold-edged with dear-bought wisdom,
The judgment of your peers!
You’ve paid a great price for the lessons you have learned. What will you do with that wisdom? Judgement can be as sharp as cold-edged steel. How will your countrymen judge you today and in future generations? Will you continue to burden youself?
Anyway, that’s my take on “The White Man’s Burden”.