Our Nation Divided

 Coming to terms with America’s original sin of genocide and slavery

Why is our nation so divided, split in half, as it were? Some cannot understand why almost half the country cannot see the evils of racism and bigotry. Others cannot understand why some people don’t have the common sense to keep things the way they are. Why don’t those people want to live up to our ideals? Why are these people tearing at the fabric of our society? 

The problem may be intrinsic to our system. Our founding fathers were white men of European descent who said, “Let’s build a great country based upon the noble ideals of justice, liberty, freedom, and democracy. All we need to do is to displace the native population and use the labors of enslaved black people of African descent to build our shining city set upon a hill. And God be with us.” 

They didn’t hear the cries of “God help us,” from the brown people being driven from their native lands. They didn’t listen to the pleas of “Have mercy” on the lips of the black people under the whip of progress. Today, we are living in a time of increased political polarization. We are faced with our own cries of God help us and Lord, have mercy.

Did the nation’s conflicted beginnings bring us to our current dilemma? We need not forsake our truly noble ideals, but we must acknowledge the evil fires that forged our nation. While privileged school children have been taught about "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and about how "we the people" came together "to form a more perfect union," black, brown, and Native American children have been systematically excluded from that grand vision.     

Is it any wonder that we find ourselves facing such conflict? We have promoted democratic ideals and humanitarian values while standing upon a legacy of genocide and slavery. Given such a tangled history, pat answers and motivational speeches will probably not get us through. Facing the questions, along with some difficult work, may help us to move forward. 

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Image: "Washington as Statesman at the Constitutional Convention" at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Artist: Junius Brutus Sterns
Medium: Oil on canvas

Date: 1856

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The First Station of the Cross: Pontius Pilate condemns Jesus to death

[The following is from a series first posted during Lent in 2015.]

< Introduction: The Hard Lessons of Lent                                                                The Second Station of the Cross >

"Pontius Pilate condemns Jesus to death."

A scene from an American Indian Boarding School

“Aside from the U.S. Government's Attempt at Genocide, what Has Caused the Most Egregious Cultural Harm to the Psyche of the American Indian People?”

(Read more at Indian Country Today Archives)

The United States engaged in a systematic process of genocide in dealing with the Native American Population. Although today there is greater awareness and the boarding schools which sought to eradicate Native American culture are no more, Native Americans continue to suffer under the grips of a death-making Empire. On Native American reservations, people suffer the numbness of alcoholism and poverty which includes a poverty of income, a poverty of opportunity, a poverty of healthcare and a poverty of choices. Pilate, in his modern incarnation as representative of the Empire on American soil has condemned many to their deaths.

 The Second Station of the Cross >

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The First Station of the Cross: Pontius Pilate condemns Jesus to death

[The following is from a series first posted during Lent in 2015.]

< Introduction: The Hard Lessons of Lent                                                                The Second Station of the Cross >

"Pontius Pilate condemns Jesus to death."

A scene from an American Indian Boarding School

“Aside from the U.S. Government's Attempt at Genocide, what Has Caused the Most Egregious Cultural Harm to the Psyche of the American Indian People?”

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/10/29/aside-us-governments-attempt-genocide-what-has-caused-most-egregious-cultural-harm-psyche

The United States engaged in a systematic process of genocide in dealing with the Native American Population. Although today there is greater awareness and the boarding schools which sought to eradicate Native American culture are no more, Native Americans continue to suffer under the grips of a death-making Empire. On Native American reservations, people suffer the numbness of alcoholism and poverty which includes a poverty of income, a poverty of opportunity, a poverty of healthcare and a poverty of choices. Pilate, in his modern incarnation as representative of the Empire on American soil has condemned many to their deaths.

 The Second Station of the Cross >

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