The Ties That "Bind"
Some years ago, as I visited a replica of an old Spanish village in New Mexico with my grandchildren, an old lady suggested I read the book "1491", by Charles C. Mann. I did that and I hereby pass her recommendation on to every reader who sees this blog. It's about the "Americas" before the Europeans took them over.
As I read the book, I remembered years before, around the time my children were born, I was told a story, in Maryland, by a descendant of one of the infamous "Indian Schools". They were used in the 1800s as one of various means by early white settlers in their genocidal practices against the native peoples they found here. As the story goes, the native peoples believed that nobody could "own" natural things like land, water, and the sky. They believed their Dieties provided those things for enjoyment by all. They also believed that while a person was young and had strength, they should provide for others. That way, when they grew old and lost strength, others would provide for them. The newly-arrived Europeans believed the polar opposite; hence the genocidal path was chosen by people like Andrew Jackson and Sam Houston to "solve" their problem.
As was the case in Europe, conquest was the primary method for acquiring and consolidating power within and among states. The Catholic Church originated and managed much of that activity. The same was true for the Americas; except for Canada and the United States (until Reagan). The Catholics believed that there were 3 races; the Red, the White, and the Black. Reasoning that it took two people to produce a child, and there three basic racial choices, they came up with 16 Raices (2 to the 3rd power) . These racial classifications are deeply inbedded in the laws and social beliefs of the citizens of the Americas today.
Over the years since 1491, race has been the underlying core for economic attainment and for all rules and laws governing the behaviors of people in the Americas. In the world, World War II and just about all wars since, have racial bases.
The foriegn policy of the United States toward Mexico and all of Latin America has followed this path over time. Teddy Roosevelt and the war in Cuba employed black freed slaves from the United States, serving as Buffalo Soldiers. The campaigns in the Phillipines were overtly racist. Batista, dictator of Cuba, carried a tin of white powder to apply to his skin -- thereby insuring he would be "white enough". There is a clear Color Line between those Cubans the Republicans adore, and those they don't.
The "new wrinkle" in the 21st Century, will be to tug the strings on gender, and "concerns" over environmental damage, to keep the old order intact.
Stay Vigilant! Read More, Pray Less.
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