Blog 443 – 10.22.2016

The preamble to the Constitution of the Unites States of America begins with three wonderful words, “We the people…” What a wonderful experiment in government of the people, by the people, and for the people this American Dream has been but there have always been some people who were left behind.

When Columbus sailed west from Spain it was not to find the New World but to find what he hoped would be a shorter easier trade route to India. And like most of us, slow to admit he had made a mistake, he called the people of this new land Indians. Some people now days trying to be more politically correct call them Native Americans.

I have often thought Columbus was quite a salesman. I mean look a the brass it took to come to a place with a native population of millions and claim to have discovered it. It would be like arriving in New York City, planting a flag, and saying, “I claim this place for the Queen of Spain.” The powers that be of that day did not recognize anyone else other than themselves as truly people. In the beginning of this new nation conceived in liberty there were millions of black slaves that were considered little more than property to be bought and sold.

Yet there were others who were thought even less of, the misnamed Indians. It is said that Columbus and his men reduced the native population by more than six million in the first few years of their occupation of the New World. Adolph Hitler is thought to be a monster for the holocaust he led against the Jews. And no sane person can deny that killing over six million people is insane if not monstrous. And yet we set aside a day each year to honor Columbus and on any given day you can find some channel broadcasting the image of Hitler and telling and retelling the story of the Third Reich.

But what of the millions of people we destroyed in our rush to occupy this great land from sea to shining sea. Did you know the name they gave themselves is translated “the first people.” What was their crime that we destroyed them so mercilessly? They were in the way. Those we didn’t kill out right we transported to concentration camps we called reservations. Sound familiar, Hitler I think may have followed our model when developing his Final Solution for his Jewish problem. They were in his way as the Native Americans were in ours.

Where is the encouraging word in all this? Just this, it is never too late to learn the lesson that love like time heals all wounds and wounds all heels. Don’t you think it is high time we stop thinking less of people who look, worship, or think different than we do and start practicing what we preach – that “all people are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

When I was a boy Superman was on TV every week day standing for Truth, Justice, and the American way. We could use more heroes like that today.

Your friend and fellow traveler,
David White