Back To Zero
作者：陳國雄
If a math problem is too hard to understand
It helps to go back to zero
Or back to the starting point of the equation
I often say I like numbers
You can’t argue with the truth in numbers
Numbers equal or don’t equal
Numbers are greater or not greater
1 comes before 2 and 3 follows
No one can say 1 2 3 is bad science
or fake news
Simple as that
Numbers are so perfect
they even help explain our universe
We don’t always need to use big numbers
with complex equations and physics
to explain our world
We can use small numbers like 1 2 3
to explain the small communities we live in
For example
Let’s look at why racism is still so rampant
in America
I bet that surprised you didn’t it
I mean going from math to racism is bit awkward
Ground zero in US history
That is where numbers come into play
Did you know there were 16 presidents
leading up to America’s civil war
and 28 presidents after US civil war
Lincoln was the 16th?president
when he was assassinated
This is where small numbers speak ever so loudly about America’s embryonic heritage
Before the civil war 12 presidents
enslaved humans and 4 did not
12 is bigger than 4 by a factor of 3
12 US presidents kept human slaves
when the US was newly born and immature
Only 4 presidents did not enslave humans
before US civil war began
If you missed the significance of these small numbers let me say it in a different way
Year 1789 the brand-new nation
promoted America as the “Land of the Free”
President #1 enslaved 630 African people
President #2 enslaved 600 humans
#3 enslaved 100 human property
#4 kept 75 humans in bondage
#5 enslaved 200 fellow humans
And on and on
for 7 more slave owning US presidents
From 1789 to 1837 that equals 48 years
of slave owning US presidents
in a supposedly “free country”
If only US schools taught us why US founding fathers enslaved so many Africans
And why US first president kept moving 630 enslaved humans between north and south states
every 6 months
And why slave owning presidents dominated
US presidency for 48 years
Why did the US keep electing slave owning presidents in a “free country”
Who were these Americans
who voted for slave owning presidents
1
1 group was the number
1 group of similar men voted for slave owning presidents for 48 years
White European male were the only free men legally entrusted to vote for a US president
US was a new nation of “freemen”
If only you were white and not black or brown
Only white occidental men voted in the US
Not African, not Native American, not Mexican, not Asian
In the first 48 years of a young nation
you could not be elected US president
unless you owned or enslaved Africans
Want to change racism in America
Do your math first
The math history lesson ends here until next time
