The Victors

We’re all basically mutts anyway, and deriving a superiority complex from accomplishments to which you personally contributed precisely nothing is vainglorious nonsense.

What’s especially funny is how these self-appointed “heritage Americans” want to inherit every ounce of ancestral glory while accepting none of the shame.

They’ll claim the Founders’ courage, the pioneers’ grit, the soldiers’ sacrifice, and the builders’ industry as evidence of their own superiority.

But slavery? Jim Crow? Racial violence?

Whoa, whoa, whoa. That was other people. Nothing to do with me.

Sorry. If you want to take personal credit for everything your ancestors did well, you don’t get to suddenly become an individualist when the ugly parts come up.

Here’s my hot take:

Preserve whatever is actually worthy of preserving. Save the songs, traditions, recipes, stories of courage, faith, sacrifice, and resilience. Celebrate your heritage freely and without apology. But do it without the bigotry, too.

Leave the racist wickedness in the past where it belongs.

You do not honor your ancestors by embalming their sins.

Better yet, carry your own weight. Make your own contribution instead of freeloading off the accomplishments of people five generations before you while hiding behind a medieval-knight avatar and cosplaying at greatness from your couch.

Character is not hereditary. You want an inheritance worth bragging about? Live a life your descendants will someday be proud to inherit