History sure has been unkind to peoples in different settings all over the world.
I often think of America and what a great country she is, and how blessed I am to enjoy her magnificence. But I also think of those who, from the inception, contributed to her present-day status. Europeans, African slaves, indigenous peoples, all participated, voluntarily, or involuntarily, in the formation and development of the United States of America. The blood, sweat, and tears of millions have left a trail and legacy in the history books.
Some have argued that it was a “Manifest Destiny,” a design by God, that Europeans should settle this great expanse and exploit its natural resources, and in the process create the greatest superpower in human history. Yet, though founded on the principles of equality and disregard for class, race, or religion, the nation took a few hundred years to live up to its professed doctrines.
One reflects on a history that also includes lands taken from Native Americans and enslaved labor brought to work those lands. Crimes against groups of peoples were part and parcel of the process. Somehow, it’s hard to look back with a Machiavellian perspective, and give a standing ovation on the basis of the philosophy that the end justifies the means.
Make no mistake, millions of Americans – born and naturalized – stand in awe of this great land. They are thankful to be a part of a country that affords everyone the opportunity to pursue their maximum potential – and to do so in a society that does not bow down to royalty or require social class or religion as a prerequisite to achieving the best in life.
I do wonder though why so many innocents had to be destroyed for a great country to emerge. Was it just another example of Darwin’s theory of the survival of the fittest? Was there really a “Manifest Destiny”? Was there no other way for such a magnificent country to emerge?
Perhaps the writer’s imagination in me rises too often and rouses my sentimentalities and consciousness to events of yesterday best left alone. Perhaps, one needs to focus absolutely on the status quo and the future. In my journey through life as a writer I often seek answers…and I am often bewildered at the sacrifice of untold millions throughout human history in all parts of the world.
Indeed history seems to have been unkind to many. Somehow, some events of the past six thousand years, and of today, in America and in different parts of the world, seem to counter the concept of a Divine Being. Maybe God has stepped aside to let us do our own thing? Maybe the metamorphoses that nations, societies, peoples, groups, individuals undergo are a constant struggle for superiority – without the intervention of a God?
What I do concede is that America’s history does have its blemishes – but so does the history of every civilization. Maybe the day will come when we no longer have to claim that it was divine destiny that some be sacrificed so that others could prosper.
Possibly, the answer is to accept the mistakes of the past without reference or need for divine justification. Perhaps, we all need to acknowledge that casualties are inevitable as history evolves…and that, as modern societies, we must learn to adapt, to minimize suffering, and try to enforce equity…and to continue our march forward, without looking back too much at the past…and without seeking divine justification for the acts of man.
