Dept of Alternative Facts: Replace

replace: (v) to change one object with another similar object

One the the conspiracy theories floating around in recent years is Replacement Theory. The logic, this time around, is that people of color, specifically legal and illegal immigrants to the USA, are part of a plan to replace people of European ancestry. The implication here is not just that the racial/ethnic composition of the USA is changing, but that some organization is orchestrating this.

I would agree that the racial/ethnic composition of the USA has been constantly changing over the past 500 years as various waves of people from different part so Europe and other parts of the world came over, sometimes at our government’s encouragement, sometimes due to people fleeing political, social, and economic situations in their home countries.

Over the past few years, the owners of our local paper have been transferring the leadership of the paper to their children and other staff. The husband has been writing a weekly column for the past 25 years or so. Recently, his daughter filled in when he was not able to complete his draft. He has written about this, and also applied this idea of replacing oneself to our aging political leaders who are not transferring their power and leadership to younger generations.

This prompted me to write about being replaced:

Letter to the Editor,

I see that D (Unbased Opinion, 12/7/22) believes in Replacement Theory. Yes, presidents Biden and Trump need to be replaced by younger leaders (as do Pelosi, McConnell, Feinstein and most the other politicians who are in their 70’s and 80’s). 

D and P have proactively set up to be replaced by their children who have taken on active roles in managing the paper, just as P did when she took over from her aging parents. Every generation does this, on a personal and society level.

This is no conspiracy theory about white people being replaced under the control of some secret society.  We all get replaced at some time.  Sometimes this does mean that people of other backgrounds, races, and cultures replace those who have been in charge under what ever circumstances.

Immigrants from around the world are replacing those of us of European decent, just as my Prussian and Norwegian ancestors replaced people from England and Native Americans, who lived in Oklahoma and North Dakota.  And, the Italians and Chinese replaced the Irish who replaced the African slaves. Of course, that does not mean that the Norwegians, Prussians, Germans, Poles, Italians, Irish, African, nor Native Americans completely disappeared.  They went on replacing people elsewhere.

What is important is not whether we get replaced, but what we leave for future generations.  Do we leave them livable infrastructure of housing, roads, communication, and energy sources?  Do we leave them with traditions and art which hold a variety of cultures and beliefs together?  Do we leave them with values, work habits, and beliefs which give them purpose?

Those who come after us will not live life exactly as we do.  But, we do not live life as our past generations did either.

Advertisement