Beach Haven

In several articles National Geographic authors describe various topics connected with slavery and the ship known as the Clotilda. This particular ship is noted because it was the last ship to bring enslaved people from Africa to the United States. The final voyage was after a law was past that made it illegal to bring new slaves to this country, though the law at that point did not make slavery itself illegal. The ship owners and crew were obviously aware they were breaking the law because they offloaded their cargo in clandestine ways. As soon as they did, they sailed her up a river where they burned and sank the ship.

The series of articles includes depictions of the technology of the ship Clotilda itself. There is a series of maps (another form of technical knowledge) depicting slave-ship routes and numbers of enslaved people forced along each of the routes between Africa and various parts of North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. For example, the map shows how mainland North America received 307,000 slaves directly. At the same time over 4 million were taken to the Caribbean, many later were moved into North America, or the products they created directly benefited North American people. The map shows around 3.8 million were sent to mainland South America, with perhaps similar North American benefit. One other bit of technology I’d like to mention is the use of modern underwater tools to find and document the final whereabouts of the Clotilda. Underwater archaeology was not really possible to any extent even in the early part my lifetime. Here we are today with sophisticated imaging to find anomalies that we can then directly approach and explore in the water environment.

Archives and media are other forms of communication technology here. Sales of humans were documented, but so were the aftermath events to the people who were Clotilda victims. This issue of the National Geographic magazine describes the lives of some of them after emancipation, and their efforts to settle a new town that still exists today. Africatown, AL still has buildings built by its founders, many of whom were Clotilda survivors and their descendants.

As one who studies societal effects of technology and technological effects by social issues, I’m reminded by this series of stories how human aims drive technical development for well or ill. Acts of both evil and good were facilitated by and inspired creation of specific forms of technology. These kinds of stories remind me why the ideas of technological determinism are relegated to former thought, and themes of co-production are more generally accepted. Specific technical expression is not inevitable, but influenced. Social choice is not driven by technical advances, but both change each other. For example, despite all our access to online texts, when we lost electrical power in our home this past winter my hands and eyes turned to hard-copy. When I spend long hours in a car my ears turn to the same content through hands-free connectivity. These options and their use came to be by choice and the inspiration of necessity. None of that technical expression was inevitable.

Bibliography
Bourne, Joel K. 2020. "Cruel Commerce." National Geographic, February: 52.
—. 2020. "Saving Africatown." National Geographic, February: 61-65.
Brasted, Chelsea. 2020. "Owning the Past." National Geographic, February: 66-67.
Diouf, Sylviane. 2020. "Journey of No Return." National Geographic, February: 53-55.
 

Autumn is my favorite time of the year. Maybe it’s because I can identify as I’m in that part of life, but the cooling of temperatures somehow feels refreshing to me. The days grow shorter which means my running workout tends to be in the dark more and more (early morning or after dinner). Michelle and I are beginning the process of moving back to our home in Georgia. For us this will be a long process over some months. We’ll have to endure some separation. We’ve been through it many times over the years. Since our marriage we moved six times (this will be number seven) which has always involved some separation. My work has also taken me away from family often, occasionally for extended periods. This move feels more real now as when we arrived at the house in Georgia it was for all intents and purposes empty. We are taking advantage of the emptiness to update some wall colors and repair a thing or two.

Change is something we’ve grown accustomed to, but it is still challenging. When the future seems unsure to us we can fret. This is definitely where faith comes into play. Despite the challenge and fretting associated with change, it’s also brought some incredible growth for me personally, and for both Michelle and I as a family. I will leave comment on how the moves were for our children up to them to say. It all seems to me like a mixed bag, like everything else about life.

Some of my favorite cartoons over the years have been the Calvin and Hobbes series. Interestingly enough, as part of my post graduate studies I’ve learned that both of those names belong to well-known philosophers of science. Fitting that a recurring series within the cartoon has involved scenes where Calvin (a rebellious young boy) and Hobbes (a stuffed tiger that is alive in the eyes of Calvin) are streaming out of control down a deadly mountain (usually in a wagon or on a snow sled). As they careen toward certain destruction they nonchalantly discuss some philosophical idea or another, usually punctuated by a horrendous crash. There’s something to be said for this pattern, though generally I tend to philosophize post catastrophe as I try to make sense of whatever just happened. I won’t claim to succeed very often, if at all, in making sense of things. Like Calvin and Hobbes, I think it’s fair to say most of my personal catastrophes tend to be self-inflicted. I have plenty of scars to attest. I generally refer to my scars (seen and unseen) as ‘stupid marks’. I guess we all learn in our own way. I don’t know about you, but my learning process seems mistake-driven by and large. The mistakes are generally my own, though not always.

Moving offers an opportunity for clarity. Do I really need all these things? There is so much in the house that needs to just be tossed. I scratch my head and wonder why we have some of this stuff in the first place, and why we persist on holding on to much of it. There has been some therapeutic value in removing some of the clutter of life. If nothing else, clearing things out brings back a pleasant memory or two as we sift through the accumulation. How much clutter do we all carry in our inner person? Are there things we should just leave behind? Are there others we should cling to in order to stay grounded in testimony, in identity, in family?

Here is at least one example of something of inestimable value to cling to:

1 Nephi 8:24
And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.

The iron rod is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Search for those things of value to hold. Let go of those that do not add value to your life.
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