Over the past few years (ever since the plandemic, really) I’ve seen a startling trend of programmatic divisivness in human behavior, which has gotten more extreme as time has gone by; one used to have a smaller bucket of ‘topics’ to judge others on – politics and religion were the big two.
Now? Everything is divisive – at least, it seems that way. We used to have Couch Quarterbacks and Dining Room Presidents; now, we have News Feed Nobel Prize winners, each blasting their own point of view which has been programmed by an algorithm.
There’s a term you’ve probably heard recently, often relating to Native Americans, or other indigenous people groups across the world. “Stolen land” refers to land that was taken by the tip of the sword.
I’ve done my best to examine historical ‘restructuring’ of many lands – what I mean by this, is land that was take by conquest – and I’ve landed on one important question:
What lands weren’t stolen? I have yet to find any land area, where the original inhabitants were perfectly content to stay in that one place, without any conquest of neighboring people groups. Ever.
If there’s an outlier here, I would be delighted to find it. Because of this, most perspectives on stolen land is largely subjective, and open to missing information.
For example, I recenty heard a debate between two people, concerning the land which is now San Antonio…
One party claimed this land was stolen from the Mexican people.
The other party asked where the Mexican people got the land from.
The response? “They were indigenous. They originally came from the Incans and Mayans.”
The other person responded…
“…who stole it from the Cherokees.”
It was a difficult point to refute. However, I think it highlighted something that’s important in any discussion/debate; history.
I’m not referring to the history of how lands were taken, as much as I look at the overarching behavior of humans; ever since cavemen learned that hitting another guy over the head with a club, permanently removed him, people have been following suit.
When I look at it, every chapter of human history has been tainted by bloodshed, violence and tragedy. It’s certainly not a report card I’d want to present as a representative of our species…
How do we stop the wrongs? I’m not sure that I have a clear answer for that. However, I think that it starts by taking a proactive stand in making true change.
What is true change? Something that a real human experiences – and has a better quality of life because of something another human did. It doesn’t have to be earth-shattering, as much as it needs to be authentic.
For me? I believe that my home is the starting point for world change; it’s unrealistic for me to demand the world improve its’ condition, when I haven’t bothered to mow the grass in three weeks, take out the trash or touch dishes.
Beyond the dishes, I believe that the behavior I display – and accept – serve as a starting point for the change I hope to see in the world; if I want world Peace, I must first nurture it between these walls.
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