With this mindset, is it ever possible to judge anything?
"At the time, it made sense to help racists (who happened to be our allies) imprison and possibly hang a black agitator. We now know it was wrong, but back then who knew?" Um, ok. So when is it right to denounce those who helped racist regimes?
I agree with your general point, but at the time U.S. was locked in an existential struggle with the Soviet Union and essentially was taking all sorts of actions around the world against many parties sympathetic to communist causes. Not saying it's an excuse, but it does provide some context
It's extremely tiresome to watch actions being justified because the "big bad" communists were out there. And what is this about an existential struggle?
The only real struggle between the two nations was who would dominate the rest of the world. I don't consider this existential. China is doing just fine without wanting to take over the rest of the world.
It's great revisionist history going on right now with Nelson Mandela's death. If you don't know the real history, you would think the States was right there beside Mandela fighting for freedom.
"At the time, it made sense to help racists (who happened to be our allies) imprison and possibly hang a black agitator. We now know it was wrong, but back then who knew?" Um, ok. So when is it right to denounce those who helped racist regimes?