Earlier this month, Deb Haaland, the United States Secretary of the Interior and first Native American Cabinet Secretary was on TV, speaking about the abuse that Native American children suffered at the schools they were forced to attend for decades in the twentieth century. I could see that she was becoming emotional about it. It made me reflect on the fact that May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Even so, it left me with more questions than answers about the United States as a nation.
I don’t understand the United States of America when it comes to considering herself as a melting pot or welcoming all religions, creeds, and colors when it simply isn’t true. How can it be? Native Americans were nearly eliminated from the U.S.; they weren’t even counted in the U.S. Census until the 1960s. They were called savages and missionaries endeavored to “change” or “tame” them. The Chinese were treated badly and prized for their labor laying railroad tracks in the American West. They were termed the “yellow man” and “chink”.
At one point, the government had what they called, “Operation Wetback” in the mid-twentieth century. Japanese Americans were placed in internment camps during World War II, losing their homes and businesses and African Americans were enslaved, called the “n” word, and treated like beasts of burden.
Again, I ask the question, “Why?”
Why do we as Americans consider ourselves superior to other races and creeds in our own country, not to mention other nations? That Christianity is superior to the other religions of the world? I think back to when Europeans came to this country. There were vast areas of unclaimed land at that time. Why didn’t they just find another area of land to tame? Why did they seem hell-bent on taking the land from those that were already here?
The same with different religions. Why didn’t the pilgrims, settlers, etc., just accept this aspect of other people’s culture and adopt the “live and let live” mantra? Yes, I am aware that African Americans and Mexicans are not part of the Asian American and Pacific Islander diaspora but my message is still the same–we all need to get along. Accept each other’s differences. The alternative has become too chaotic, draining, and in many cases that we have seen, deadly.
We’re all members of the human race and we can all learn from each other. I don’t care for the term “tolerate”. Hell, you “tolerate” a heatwave, a bad hair day, or even a hangover. But I think that we can do a lot better than that, don’t you? We should be striving to do better so that life can be better for all of us.
That is, if we actually want to reach that goal.
Pamela D. Beverly
Your post struck a note with me, Pamela. I don’t get how the US (my country) can claim greatness. We aspire to it (half of us do, anyway), and keeping that vision foremost in our minds is vital, but talking about it and pretending it’s true, doesn’t make it so. If we really want to live up to the ideals this country was founded on, we have to recognize and atone for the utterly horrible actions of the past and actively work to make the American Dream come true for all. Hugs.
Exactly. We just need to admit to our mistakes and try to be better. We’re all human beings so none of us are perfect.
Hey Pamela! I just saw your posting; “I Just Don’t Understand” but couldn’t post a comment there so I took this alternate route!
You stated, “We can send astronauts to the moon and Mars, in the name of exploration. Some wealthy folks are able to go on a jaunty day trip to the edges of space. We can turn recycled plants into a number of products, for example, shoes. Some cities are painting their asphalt a light color.”
But in sharp contrast to what most people and from the sound of your tone you might be included here, so I will be straightforward and state that I do not believe that the entire human race is having any colossal long term effect on the climate and there is much science in the geological record and beyond to substantiate this premise!
The cosmic or electromagnetic energy spectrum along with the geothermal forces at work are the true regulators or thermostat of the planets climatological system which has had many ice ages and alternating warm up periods for millions of years and I doubt we are going to be here long enough for other reasons to be able to or that we should worry about it much; to me it’s akin to considering what continental drift will do to the planets land masses, so how could we prepare for those eventual changes if we even should be so foolish to try; rather pointless and not an imperative concern.
The things you mention that mankind is able to do these days is only scratching the surface of the myriad of possibilities which exist in fantasy, that are far outside of our capability. And we’ve gotten way too big for our britches as the old adage goes thinking we are godlike and have actual powers of the universe; when we have squat! People are mostly delusional, and causing way more social, political problems than they should because of it; we are very flawed in character or our innate nature and generally are way too self-centered to be of any benevolent character; so at best this race we run is a draw and at worst, perpetual war!
Blessings.
Strange. You should be able to comment.
Why do you assume that we’re not having an effect on this planet? More importantly, even when the problem seems looming, we just throw our hands up and decide to do nothing? Take going into space m, for example. When man first began going to the moon or anywhere else in space, for that matter, they didn’t think about what to do with the stuff that didn’t burn up before reaching the Earth’s atmosphere.
Same for nuclear waste. And the debris up on Mount Everest? I’ve already heard the answer to the junk left up in space: “Well, the Russians leave stuff up there.” So no one one does anything about it.