I’m not sure why so many people have an issue accepting that slaves were involved in building the White House, or a need to somehow minimize the level of involvement of slaves. There’s a sociological pattern here that I don’t have the background to put a finger on, but it seems like some level of cognitive dissonance, a deep-seeded need to separate the idolatry of American history with the sometimes ugly truth. This need to belittle or deny Obama’s truthful statement seems very strange to those of us that accept the tragic realities of slavery and the sometimes less-than-honorable actions of early American citizens and government. Blind Nationalism feels threatened by anything that challenges the pedestal they’ve put America on. They do America a disservice by attempting to hide the past just because it isn’t pretty.