The indigenous peoples appear to have responded to their attempted destruction with a sincere forgiveness and desire to share their love of the earth and all her creatures (us included) with a society gone astray. The native capacity for forgiveness is humbling indeed.
I have found the same here in S.C. from the millions of citizens who are the descendants of slaves. When the Mother Emmanuel Massacre took place here in Charleston in 2015, the immediate response of almost all of the victims' family members was to go to the jail where the unrepentant racist murderer was being held, and one by one go up to him and forgive him. I remember that after the Massacre, I couldn't stop crying for days. I apologized to all of the Black people I saw, "I'm so sorry. I'm just so sorry!" I remember one lady who worked behind the deli at the grocery store where I shop coming out from behind the counter, hugging me, and saying, "Sweetheart, YOU didn't do it. There's nothing to forgive." Charlestonians decided to make a human bridge across the Ashley River, standing on the 2.5 mile Ravenel Bridge, holding hands. The line of people was 4 miles long, far too long for the bridge. We were evenly mixed, Black and white, and the hugs, smiles, and tears were everywhere. Soon after, our great Mayor Tecklenburg ordered that the statue of John C. Calhoun be removed from the town center. (Calhoun was the greatest "apologists" for slavery of anyone in the South.) I couldn't stop, and joined Black Lives Matter. I was one of two white people who joined -- and the only white-haired one. Many of the young girls had been in public school with my daughter. When they saw me, they came running up to me: "Mrs. Sherpa! Mrs. Sherpa!" and hugged me. Their acceptance of me, and the truly unconditional love I experienced, was one of the best things that has ever happened in my life. We just have to stop being afraid of each other, just try harder to listen to each other.
Thank you, Marina. That surprised me. I guess it shouldn't have. I would get SO frustrated when I'd hear white people calling out, "WHITE lives matter!" Of course they do. The whole point of BLM was that BOTH Black AND white lives matter. Without BLM, the message was the same old: "White lives matter. Yours don't." -- which is abhorrent to me, and should be to everyone!
Couldn't agree with you more, Steven. Since 1493 there has been the continuous and insatiable desire for wealth at the expense of vast numbers of humans. Hubris and greed are more prevalent today than with the royals of the15th and 16th Centuries and the robber barons of the 19th and 20th Centuries. We have grown scientifically, but very little as humans. Because wealth is being hoarded by the top 1% of the world's population, vast majorities are struggling to survive. We can land a used rocket on a pad in Florida, but we can't seem to care for our poor and disadvantaged, even in America where there should be no poverty. I am an optimist by nature, but it is getting so much harder as I watch neighbors and others who should know better supporting a wanna' be dictator, and he just may accomplish his goal. We'll see in a few weeks whether we may be able to continue toward a more equal society, or be prepared to go the route of ancient empires of the past, destroyed from within, again by hubris and greed.
“On Indigenous Peoples Day, we honor and celebrate the 11 sovereign Tribal Nations and robust urban Native communities that enrich and strengthen our state’s cultural landscape, economy, and heritage.”
My Minnesotan Governor Walz has issued a proclamation renaming this, OCTOBER 14, 2024, officially Indigenous Peoples Day in Minnesota.
"I can’t help but comment on our present day: How strange it is that many of the same people who have eaten the fruits of progress are determined to not just keep the rewards for themselves, but make life poorer for everyone else." It is strange, and terrible. And put in context with your excellent "5-minute, 500 year" history presentation, the reasons lie therein. Many blessings to you for the wonderful work that you are doing.
As you have so eloquently pointed out, Steven, we have made remarkable technological progress over the last 500 years. The pace of that progress, we should also note, is accelerating exponentially. But where will it lead if our basic ways of thinking are still governed by shortsighted self-interest? Should economic progress be the only gauge by which we measure ourselves? What should our larger goals be? Do freedom and happiness enter into the equation? What do those terms even mean?
We need historians and philosophers, poets and writers to address those questions. Alas, however, we treat education as a commodity for sale, rather than as a birthright. Until that changes, we will continue to treat the process of training the human mind as a means of maintaining the status quo.
Hi Homi, You and I certainly see the same picture. I'd like to expand on one comment in your post. Shortsighted self-interest... yes, shortsighted in the sense of lack of understanding, To grasp long term self-interest one has to realize how inter-dependent the individual is on family and community to survive. Very few have the physical, emotional, skills, and knowledge to survive by ones-self. It is in my best interest to care for you.
Lynn, you are absolutely correct. Thank you for enlarging on the thought. To paraphrase what you are saying, we can never attain happiness and freedom for ourselves by being selfish and inward looking. (That's essentially what I meant in using the phrase "shortsighted self-interest.") We can only ever be truly happy, truly free, when we extend ourselves to others in order to bring them happiness and freedom as well.
I appreciated the serious contrasts depicted in Steven’s essay identifying the many great developments over time that sadly we probably take for granted.—-
And—-
In contrast, the costs -some unforgivable- resulting from those developments.—-
Excerpt:
…”Fast forward to the present, where we find extraordinary levels of literacy, dramatically increased lifespans, and technological advances that give virtually everyone access to global communication and knowledge….”
Re: Pope Alexander VI and the “right” to “spread Christian civilization throughout the New World”—juxtapose that with the NBC report that Columbus was actually a Jew pretending to be Christian. Maybe God does have a sense of humor after all.
There are other indicators such as his writings and people in his sphere of influence who assisted him being Jewish but converted to Christianity. Spain wasn’t a very friendly environment for Jews. Perhaps most ironic was the source of funding:
— 1492: Columbus Sails, Spain Expels Its Jews
In underwriting the expedition, the royal couple depended upon more than Santangel’s participation. April 29,1492, the day Columbus received authorization to equip his fleet, was also the day the Edict of Expulsion was publicly announced in several of the larger Spanish cities. The timing was not coincidental. For the Catholic monarchs, the anticipated revenues of forfeited Jewish property represented a substantial “down payment” on Columbus’s venture. Indeed, the two events were linked to the final moments of joint departure.—
My heart cries when I allow myself to consider all the past inhabitants of our world who have never had a chance. Many never knew what freedom was, and more never had opportunity. Even blessed as we are, we still are drawn to ruin it all.
How fitting to quote from a 17th century writer. After all the driving forces on the US Supreme Court looked back to the 17th century to overturn Roe v. Wade. Alito in particular relied on Sir Matthew Hale’s cruel and distorted view of women. Hale was considered an outlier by his peers. From witch trials to rape, I believe he’s exerted an oversized influence on women’s lives for hundreds of years only to be revived in a claim for some sort of historical legitimacy in striking down Roe.
In the 20th century, the age of skyscrapers, the Prosperity Gospel and Dominion Theology were born. No longer were humans to be humble and self-sacrificing, good stewards. They were to strive toward attaining wealth as a symbol of godly approval. Forget that "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God".
"Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
It was proclaimed as the time to dominate society in the name of god’s will. Not so different than the 1800s Manifest Destiny. Beliefs that not only don’t require reasoning but reward blind obedience.
Now we have in many positions of power people who promote a specific form of Dominionism, the Seven Mountains Mandate (control of the 7 spheres of society: business, arts/entertainment, media, government, family, education, and religion).The goal is to bring the kingdom of god to Earth so the “end times” (rapture) can occur. The marriage of domination of society with god’s will & salvation.
Early this morning, I mentioned to my son, about the stick catching the returning rocket in mid-air, "We've made such tremendous progress in science, yet, we are still in the dark ages in terms of understanding what it means to be human and philosophy... stuck in our animal nature." Now, Steven write about this. Are there connecting vibes?
Thank you for this reflective writing today. I feel it is time for everyone to take a pause and read your article and take heart. Many today are thankful to go to school just to eat. We have legislators wanting to cut free hot lunches at school, but these same people have taxpayers pay for their food. Teaching to share and give is a gift amazing parents pass along. If this would have been taught by parents there may be less greedy, self-serving, and unhappy people. Sharing and giving brings joy.
From Camus and Sartre to a new book of Genesis? Re- Genesis? Megatrends on steroids? La Tres Nouvelle Epoque? From a Shining City on the Hill to the Phenomenal Planet? PS. I tried. Too much time on my hands.
The indigenous peoples appear to have responded to their attempted destruction with a sincere forgiveness and desire to share their love of the earth and all her creatures (us included) with a society gone astray. The native capacity for forgiveness is humbling indeed.
Indeed.
I have found the same here in S.C. from the millions of citizens who are the descendants of slaves. When the Mother Emmanuel Massacre took place here in Charleston in 2015, the immediate response of almost all of the victims' family members was to go to the jail where the unrepentant racist murderer was being held, and one by one go up to him and forgive him. I remember that after the Massacre, I couldn't stop crying for days. I apologized to all of the Black people I saw, "I'm so sorry. I'm just so sorry!" I remember one lady who worked behind the deli at the grocery store where I shop coming out from behind the counter, hugging me, and saying, "Sweetheart, YOU didn't do it. There's nothing to forgive." Charlestonians decided to make a human bridge across the Ashley River, standing on the 2.5 mile Ravenel Bridge, holding hands. The line of people was 4 miles long, far too long for the bridge. We were evenly mixed, Black and white, and the hugs, smiles, and tears were everywhere. Soon after, our great Mayor Tecklenburg ordered that the statue of John C. Calhoun be removed from the town center. (Calhoun was the greatest "apologists" for slavery of anyone in the South.) I couldn't stop, and joined Black Lives Matter. I was one of two white people who joined -- and the only white-haired one. Many of the young girls had been in public school with my daughter. When they saw me, they came running up to me: "Mrs. Sherpa! Mrs. Sherpa!" and hugged me. Their acceptance of me, and the truly unconditional love I experienced, was one of the best things that has ever happened in my life. We just have to stop being afraid of each other, just try harder to listen to each other.
God bless you 🙏🏽. But it is shameful that only two white people joined in!
Thank you, Marina. That surprised me. I guess it shouldn't have. I would get SO frustrated when I'd hear white people calling out, "WHITE lives matter!" Of course they do. The whole point of BLM was that BOTH Black AND white lives matter. Without BLM, the message was the same old: "White lives matter. Yours don't." -- which is abhorrent to me, and should be to everyone!
Couldn't agree with you more, Steven. Since 1493 there has been the continuous and insatiable desire for wealth at the expense of vast numbers of humans. Hubris and greed are more prevalent today than with the royals of the15th and 16th Centuries and the robber barons of the 19th and 20th Centuries. We have grown scientifically, but very little as humans. Because wealth is being hoarded by the top 1% of the world's population, vast majorities are struggling to survive. We can land a used rocket on a pad in Florida, but we can't seem to care for our poor and disadvantaged, even in America where there should be no poverty. I am an optimist by nature, but it is getting so much harder as I watch neighbors and others who should know better supporting a wanna' be dictator, and he just may accomplish his goal. We'll see in a few weeks whether we may be able to continue toward a more equal society, or be prepared to go the route of ancient empires of the past, destroyed from within, again by hubris and greed.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Richard.
“On Indigenous Peoples Day, we honor and celebrate the 11 sovereign Tribal Nations and robust urban Native communities that enrich and strengthen our state’s cultural landscape, economy, and heritage.”
My Minnesotan Governor Walz has issued a proclamation renaming this, OCTOBER 14, 2024, officially Indigenous Peoples Day in Minnesota.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Py9kbXQFU8RkAkcS/?mibextid=WC7FNe
"I can’t help but comment on our present day: How strange it is that many of the same people who have eaten the fruits of progress are determined to not just keep the rewards for themselves, but make life poorer for everyone else." It is strange, and terrible. And put in context with your excellent "5-minute, 500 year" history presentation, the reasons lie therein. Many blessings to you for the wonderful work that you are doing.
Thank you.
As you have so eloquently pointed out, Steven, we have made remarkable technological progress over the last 500 years. The pace of that progress, we should also note, is accelerating exponentially. But where will it lead if our basic ways of thinking are still governed by shortsighted self-interest? Should economic progress be the only gauge by which we measure ourselves? What should our larger goals be? Do freedom and happiness enter into the equation? What do those terms even mean?
We need historians and philosophers, poets and writers to address those questions. Alas, however, we treat education as a commodity for sale, rather than as a birthright. Until that changes, we will continue to treat the process of training the human mind as a means of maintaining the status quo.
Hi Homi, You and I certainly see the same picture. I'd like to expand on one comment in your post. Shortsighted self-interest... yes, shortsighted in the sense of lack of understanding, To grasp long term self-interest one has to realize how inter-dependent the individual is on family and community to survive. Very few have the physical, emotional, skills, and knowledge to survive by ones-self. It is in my best interest to care for you.
Lynn, you are absolutely correct. Thank you for enlarging on the thought. To paraphrase what you are saying, we can never attain happiness and freedom for ourselves by being selfish and inward looking. (That's essentially what I meant in using the phrase "shortsighted self-interest.") We can only ever be truly happy, truly free, when we extend ourselves to others in order to bring them happiness and freedom as well.
We are, as you say, all interdependent.
I appreciated the serious contrasts depicted in Steven’s essay identifying the many great developments over time that sadly we probably take for granted.—-
And—-
In contrast, the costs -some unforgivable- resulting from those developments.—-
Excerpt:
…”Fast forward to the present, where we find extraordinary levels of literacy, dramatically increased lifespans, and technological advances that give virtually everyone access to global communication and knowledge….”
remember that many Indigenous populations that faced genocidal destruction centuries ago recognize they’re already living in a post-apocalyptic world.
somehow this struck me like no other.
I've been very slowly making my way through Chris La Tray's Becoming Little Shell
Sometimes as I fly into cities, I live near to downtown Seattle, I can't help but see them as a weird cubist fugal blight
.
Re: Pope Alexander VI and the “right” to “spread Christian civilization throughout the New World”—juxtapose that with the NBC report that Columbus was actually a Jew pretending to be Christian. Maybe God does have a sense of humor after all.
For real? Well, then God's sense of humor is fearsomely dark.
Among the DNA testing results were the Y chromosomes which are the strongest indicator. https://www.thelocal.com/20241014/new-evidence-suggests-christopher-columbus-was-spanish-and-jewish#:~:text=For%20centuries%20it's%20been%20widely,actually%20a%20Spanish%20Sephardic%20Jew.
There are other indicators such as his writings and people in his sphere of influence who assisted him being Jewish but converted to Christianity. Spain wasn’t a very friendly environment for Jews. Perhaps most ironic was the source of funding:
— 1492: Columbus Sails, Spain Expels Its Jews
In underwriting the expedition, the royal couple depended upon more than Santangel’s participation. April 29,1492, the day Columbus received authorization to equip his fleet, was also the day the Edict of Expulsion was publicly announced in several of the larger Spanish cities. The timing was not coincidental. For the Catholic monarchs, the anticipated revenues of forfeited Jewish property represented a substantial “down payment” on Columbus’s venture. Indeed, the two events were linked to the final moments of joint departure.—
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/destination-the-new-world/
My heart cries when I allow myself to consider all the past inhabitants of our world who have never had a chance. Many never knew what freedom was, and more never had opportunity. Even blessed as we are, we still are drawn to ruin it all.
How fitting to quote from a 17th century writer. After all the driving forces on the US Supreme Court looked back to the 17th century to overturn Roe v. Wade. Alito in particular relied on Sir Matthew Hale’s cruel and distorted view of women. Hale was considered an outlier by his peers. From witch trials to rape, I believe he’s exerted an oversized influence on women’s lives for hundreds of years only to be revived in a claim for some sort of historical legitimacy in striking down Roe.
https://www.propublica.org/article/abortion-roe-wade-alito-scotus-hale
In the 20th century, the age of skyscrapers, the Prosperity Gospel and Dominion Theology were born. No longer were humans to be humble and self-sacrificing, good stewards. They were to strive toward attaining wealth as a symbol of godly approval. Forget that "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God".
"Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
It was proclaimed as the time to dominate society in the name of god’s will. Not so different than the 1800s Manifest Destiny. Beliefs that not only don’t require reasoning but reward blind obedience.
Now we have in many positions of power people who promote a specific form of Dominionism, the Seven Mountains Mandate (control of the 7 spheres of society: business, arts/entertainment, media, government, family, education, and religion).The goal is to bring the kingdom of god to Earth so the “end times” (rapture) can occur. The marriage of domination of society with god’s will & salvation.
https://religioninpublic.blog/2024/05/13/belief-in-the-7-mountain-mandate-appears-to-be-growing-in-the-last-year/
Early this morning, I mentioned to my son, about the stick catching the returning rocket in mid-air, "We've made such tremendous progress in science, yet, we are still in the dark ages in terms of understanding what it means to be human and philosophy... stuck in our animal nature." Now, Steven write about this. Are there connecting vibes?
Could not agree more, Lynn.
Thank you for this reflective writing today. I feel it is time for everyone to take a pause and read your article and take heart. Many today are thankful to go to school just to eat. We have legislators wanting to cut free hot lunches at school, but these same people have taxpayers pay for their food. Teaching to share and give is a gift amazing parents pass along. If this would have been taught by parents there may be less greedy, self-serving, and unhappy people. Sharing and giving brings joy.
Thank you, Cynthia.
Steven WOW!!! Bless your acknowledgment for all the indigenous
Atrocities and the slave atrocities
May we never forget ❤️ Marsha
Thank you, Marsha.
From Camus and Sartre to a new book of Genesis? Re- Genesis? Megatrends on steroids? La Tres Nouvelle Epoque? From a Shining City on the Hill to the Phenomenal Planet? PS. I tried. Too much time on my hands.
Bless you, Mr. Beschloss!
I am now a paid subscriber. Thank you for this article. I will save it to re-read again and again.
Thank you kindly, Linda.