What we now refer to as America started with the arrival of Indigenous people of Siberian origin before 15,000 BC. Many cultures formed and disappeared, and then what we all know of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in 1492 was the beginning of the colonies.
Some data I obtained from several sites on the subject:
**From the time Europeans arrived on American shores, the frontier—the edge territory between white man’s civilization and the untamed natural world—became a shared space of vast, clashing differences that led the U.S. government to authorize over 1,500 wars, attacks and raids on Indians, the most of any country in the world against its indigenous people. By the close of the Indian Wars in the late 19th century, fewer than 238,000 indigenous people remained, a sharp decline from the estimated 5 million to 15 million living in North America when Columbus arrived in 1492.
Even more fundamentally, indigenous people were just too different: Their skin was dark. Their languages were foreign. And their world views and spiritual beliefs were beyond most white men’s comprehension. To settlers , all this stoked racial hatred and paranoia, making it easy to paint indigenous peoples as pagan savages who must be killed in the name of civilization and Christianity.**
We’ve all heard this cautionary tale – those who do not heed the lessons of history are condemned to repeat it. Never has that been more clear to me than as I witness President No. 45 and the minions who applaud his reckless behaviors, his hateful rhetoric designed to divide, his trampling laws to suit his agendas, his total disregard for truths in small and very big ways. Most horrifyingly to me…. are all the supporters who are willing to give him a pass because in some way he speaks to their fears, their own prejudices, their hates, their needs and he gives them a free pass for any behavior associated with it. I doubt any Tr&mp supporters read my posts any longer, but if you are reading this and you will vote for him again, I absolutely believe that the only reason you can abide this man in office is because you harbor within yourself some of the prejudice, hate, or greed this man projects daily and you want action and permission, validation for those things. It means nothing that you are “religious”, the hypocrisies there have been too many. I no longer care who this offends – I am assaulted daily with the damage he’s doing to this Country’s integrity, this Country’s soul.
And that brings me back to my post title. Who is America? I used to believe, with every fiber of my being…. that in this day and age we were for the most part a generous, intelligent, enlightened lot despite a not so perfect government.. although one must acknowledge here we are damned lucky to have lived in a Democracy with the freedoms we have clearly taken for granted. Did we fail the ultimate test with these freedoms? Have we fallen too far down the rabbit hole to redeem ourselves now that social media and news outlets and the President himself give us full power with a few clicks on our keyboard or speeches or articles to weave a tale that suits our agenda, to unleash those concealed (not buried, not destroyed, not diluted) racist bents some of us still hold close to the vest? And all this newfound bold display of untruth and hate is then devoured by those who favor it’s content. Let others be damned who are different or may be in need or have rights of their own, US FIRST. Well… that’s how it all started here in America. Are we to repeat the mistakes of the past?
What does America’s soul look like today? It surely isn’t charitable, kind, or respectful under this administration. Prosperous? I don’t know – would you consider opening the flood gates once again to polluting our waters, destroying our remaining pristine forests, walking back air pollution regulations, electing a man who lies to all daily, spews rhetoric designed to divide the nation, paints immigrants as the enemy, of which we are ALL if you want to be honest,…. are these qualities of a prosperous, healthy nation? What price is too much to pay for perceived monetary gains? Where’s the line? is there one? …..
It feels like we have sold our soul. And you know …. I don’t like what that implies specifically.. the collective “WE” in this narrative. Because not all of us has fallen for this nonsense. Not all of us is OK with this erosion of our values, or morals as a country. I and the many who feel as I do are not to blame for the ugly, corrupt, narcissistic picture that is currently being sold as “America”. Will not carry that baggage as if it is my badge to wear. I will resist.
Our country has always been a melting pot, a seaming together of many cultures, many religions, many nationalities, a picture taken with a wide economic lens. We’ve overcome many hard things to become a strong nation, one I hope will find it’s way once again among our people, within our government, and as a participating cooperative enlightened member of the worldwide community, a beacon in preservation and respect for life and the health of our planet, in the natural world and the spiritual. It sure as hell isn’t what we are right now, but we’ve proven before we are capable of change, and I hope enough of us can right this ship before it’s too late.
Hello, I always agree with your words and posts. I am afraid of the direction our country is taking now with # 45. He just makes me sick, literally. His followers seem to care about only one issue and do not see the whole picture. What # 45, his ethics, lies and what the GOP are doing to our environment, our allies, workers rights, consumer rights, the courts and laws and the deficit are intolerable to me. I wish more people would pay attention.
Of the Empire by Poet Mary Oliver
“We will be known as a culture that feared death and adored power, that tried to vanquish insecurity for the few and cared little for the penury of the many. We will be known as a culture that taught and rewarded the amassing of things, that spoke little if at all about the quality of life for people (other people), for dogs, for rivers. All the world, in our eyes, they will say, was a commodity. And they will say that this structure was held together politically, which it was , and they will say also that our politics was no more than an apparatus to accommodate the feelings of the heart, and that the heart, in those days, was small, and hard, and full of meanness.”
This was written by a woman who usually wrote about the beauty in nature, the carefree daisies in the field, in the small joys of everyday living. When someone with those sensibilities can write about us this way, we should pay heed. Karen’s mother
I love you and your Mom and your unending kindness toward me especially right now. I pray with all my being that enlightenment happens to these ignorant and hateful fools.
Preach on, sister.
There was an episode of “This American Life” about politics, and they went to a town hall meeting in, I think, Wisconsin. Some people were ranting about how minorities were foreigners who needed to be expelled. Then a guy said, YOU are all the foreigners. I’m a Native American. YOU are all the invaders.
And the attendees broke up in laughter.
I grew up in an area where most of the place names were Indian, yet I had never encountered one, since they were kept on the reservation. Shame, shame, shame.
This is, as always, so thought-provoking and spot on, Karen. We (collectively) have lost our way, though there are many strong individuals who are fighting tooth and nail to keep their souls and that of our nation. I can only hope that this will win. I look back over history — really frightening times like WWII in Europe, the McCarthy era here. We have all had great trials in the past and it has been ugly getting out of them. But in the end… yes. We must continue to be active and vigilant. And hope.
God and the Universe please bless the Poets, Resistors, Journalists –and the elected officials–who still believe in American ideals. I have hope that after the 2020 election, things will righten themselves. But…I come from a life steeped in politics, and it’s all about corporate money being allowed into our election process. I spoke to my Congressman recently and he says the DCCC strongly encourages them to ‘phone for funds’ every night. Not a level playing field if your constituents are not wealthy.