iFrizz

As Americans prepare to stuff their faces with turkey, pie, turkey pie, and all manner of bread-related foods, and clock in millions of hours of TV football viewing, it’s worth considering the Pilgrims, originators of America's holiday. (I was just thinking that a Martian would have a very hard time understanding how football and overeating are linked to an otherworldly religious sect.) How do Pilgrims fit into American history and religious history in general?

The question Mr. Stephens asks is an important one for historians and American culture at large. In our age, how do the Pilgrims fit in? Certainly, we've moved beyond the simplistic (paternalistic and possibly racist) dualism of American Indian=good, European=bad, but have the Pilgrims moved along with us?

A thesis I've been putting around in my head lately is that modern history is so complex, ostensibly in an effort to avoid rigid black and white systems, that all first becomes gray, and then ultimately black. Those who were once the "good guys" became bad guys, then became simply products of their history and culture, and finally are seen as pre-enlightened objects of scorn and pity.

But history is not about good vs. bad (except maybe in WWII studies). The historian's job is to make connections between past and present. The Pilgrims, whether we like it or not, whether we see them as heroes or villains, are a part of (white) American history. Their story is our story, for good or ill.