the west was won with tears & blood

something i’ve been thinking about is our inability to conceptualize the cost of freedom in terms of the impact it’s had on the human psyche. you could make a sound argument that the actions of those who expanded the western frontier could be painted black & white in terms of morality, but it’s much more complicated than that. those who secured freedom experienced injury & trauma they couldn’t bear to speak of—it was defended with tears & blood.