Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Thanksgiving and American Atrocities
On the occasion of Thanksgiving, Robert Jensen writes on Alternet of the iniquity of America and white Americans. Expounding on what he characterizes of a genocide of indigenous peoples, he ties in what happened to American Indians with the Iraq war.
What happened to American Indians is a national disgrace. The more I have learned of it, the less I see to defend. Indeed our forefathers had feet of clay. We must come to terms with the brutality of the subjugation of the Indians.
But to say that we must come to terms with it is not to say there is nothing to celebrate about America or that we cannot take pride in our forebearers' accomplishments. That is true of more subjects than just the Indians. At least two and perhaps more of my great-great grandfathers were Confederate soldiers. I am under no illusion that this country would be better had the South prevailed. I know what my great-great grandfathers did was wrong, but I do not despise them for doing what they saw as right.
We must recall and learn from what has gone wrong in this country, but we must also recall and celebrate what is good. This country was founded on the premise of certain "self-evident" truths: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We have not always lived up to that standard, but we have generally tried and progressively moved closer and closer to it over time. What more can be asked of human endeavor?
This Thanksgiving, we can all be thankful that this country set out on its voyage to a just and free society and has continued on that voyage to this day.
Hat tip to Instapundit.
To reply, email texthepontificator at yahoo dot com.
What happened to American Indians is a national disgrace. The more I have learned of it, the less I see to defend. Indeed our forefathers had feet of clay. We must come to terms with the brutality of the subjugation of the Indians.
But to say that we must come to terms with it is not to say there is nothing to celebrate about America or that we cannot take pride in our forebearers' accomplishments. That is true of more subjects than just the Indians. At least two and perhaps more of my great-great grandfathers were Confederate soldiers. I am under no illusion that this country would be better had the South prevailed. I know what my great-great grandfathers did was wrong, but I do not despise them for doing what they saw as right.
We must recall and learn from what has gone wrong in this country, but we must also recall and celebrate what is good. This country was founded on the premise of certain "self-evident" truths: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We have not always lived up to that standard, but we have generally tried and progressively moved closer and closer to it over time. What more can be asked of human endeavor?
This Thanksgiving, we can all be thankful that this country set out on its voyage to a just and free society and has continued on that voyage to this day.
Hat tip to Instapundit.
To reply, email texthepontificator at yahoo dot com.
// posted by Tex the Pontificator @ 11/23/2005 07:37:00 PM 
