CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
August 8, 2010
25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, TX. 77373
www.blakehart.com/cypresswoodbulletin.htm
PRAYER REQUESTS:
God’s will for our congregation Various friends, relatives and co-workers
Our nation, leaders and military Joy
Happy Birthday to Kerrie Bekker. (19th).
CONFRONTING EVIL - 4
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).
The second criticism of America that comes up when discussing how evil we are is that of the American Indian. We know some of the story. The Pilgrims came, survived, and other Europeans followed, spreading out into the interior of the country. Time and again they confronted various Indian tribes (1). Sometimes there was peaceful coexistence but far too often there was violence. The French and Indian War between the French and Indians verses the English is just one example early on in our history.
There were other thoughts about approaching the Indian people and that was as Christian missionaries. There were some successful efforts and there were martyrs as well. Dartmouth University was founded to teach the Native Americans the Bible as well as English culture. In the southwest, Catholic priests established mission points.
There are some ideas that are not found in our history books. First, the Indian culture wasn’t always peaceful; one tribe attacking and conquering others. Nor were they interested in the pristine environment; they often abused it. Second, it is now being admitted that Europeans had come earlier than Columbus to the Americas. Some Welsh had landed in several parts of the South and faded into the interior. Eventually they were lost to history, either being killed by the Indians or being absorbed into various tribes. One suggestion is that some Mongols worked their way across Siberia into Alaska and south into the Americas, conquering as they went, absorbing and destroying native peoples, eventually settling in the southwest, becoming known as Apaches.
As white people moved west, more tribes were conquered (3). President Andrew Jackson order tribes in the southeast to be moved to the Oklahoma Territory in what we now call the Trail of Tears. Eventually through war and treaties, many of which were broken by our government, the Indians were settled on reservations. Reservation life has not been all that good in a number of areas because of various prejudices. Yet the gospel has been preached in some areas and a number of Native Americans have become Christians. In the east, most of the tribes have been absorbed into the culture and are a part of the community like an Irish or Italian would be.
Today, many of the reservations are now called nations, such as the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. They govern themselves and have their own police forces. In recent years, some have suggested that the Indian revenge on the white man is the casinos that they now operate. How much of this is improving tribal life is unknown at this time. Our government with welfare support of some have caused unintended consequences such as alcohol abuse.
We can debate just how evil this was, and there was some evil in it. Let’s not make the Indian some type of utopian figure. The spread of the white man eventually brought peace. There has been some silliness involving the Indians such as removing tribal names from colleges and universities because it offends some. Not all though are offended and want to let universities keep their mascots. One false rumor that was spread concerns blankets and malaria. It was not based on an eyewitness account and it was not intentional as many think (4). It is true that European diseases spread among the Indians but that was not intentional; that happens when we as Americans go to other parts of the world unless we are prepared. When I went to Japan in the service, I received a number of shots to protect me from diseases in that area.
Native Americans have served the U.S. honorably over the years. The Navajo Code Talkers served with the Marines in the Pacific during World War II, confusing the Japanese because of the Navajo language. One of the Marines who raised the flag on Iwo Jima was an Indian. Another aspect of the Indian culture is its religious aspect. Philip Jenkins has written on this. They were at one time a spiritual people and he goes into detail of what was involved in that (5).
Some of our treatment of the Indians was evil. Wound Knee would be one example when U.S. Calvary attacked and killed men, women and children. How we should correct this is up for debate. Some was positive and some typical of a migrating people. You can research and decide where you are on this.
Here I would like to take a brief side trip. After the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941, it was decided by the Roosevelt administration to intern Japanese Americans in what was called concentration camps, not to be confused with those in Germany. While they were prisons, some freedoms were allowed. Keep in mind that when this is discussed, Germans and Italians were also interned. One has to keep in context several ideas, one being that of spying. Spies and secrets have always fascinated people but it was at its height during World War II where anyone might be a spy (6). There was also a distrust of the Japanese because of what their people had done. While I can understand the governments response, most all of the Japanese-Americans lost homes and business and were not reimbursed until recently. If our government had thought this through, they could have made some legal arranges for the return of positions and property.
On a more positive note, a number of Japanese-Americans volunteered to serve in the Army. The Army formed the 442nd Regimental Combat Team that serve with honor in Italy and France. For my Texas friends, they came to the rescue of the pinned down and surrounded “lost battalion” of the 36th Infantry Division (the Texas Division). The 442nd suffered heavy causalities during the War and were highly decorated (7).
While some evil can be found in the above, all the groups have continued to be a part of our history and culture. We as a people have not conquered in the sense that we read of others in the past. That is something to keep in mind.
George B. Mearns
(1) I have a map that shows just how many tribes were found throughout the country, well over one hundred.
(2) See Patrick Mead’s Hidden History and Hidden People series at http://partrickmead.net
(3) See Thomas Sowell, Migration and Culture and Conquest and Culture which explain that while being conquered by a group such as the Romans over the Gauls in France wasn’t positive at first, the Romans brought their culture that ended up developing a better educated society.
(4) See Michael Medved, 10 Lies About America and S.E. Gwynne, Empire of the Summer Moon.
(5) Philip Jenkins, Dream Catchers.
(6) I have in my library a Readers Digest book called Secrets And Spies about a dozen stories of spying in and by America.
(7) See the movie Go For Broke for the story of 442nd. See also George F. Will, In praise of mistreated, cheerful, heroic men, Houston Chronicle, 4/25/2010.