The infected mosquito is the vector that induces and spreads malaria to its victims and so the Pacific Coast Native Americans who died from this disease in the 1830’s (if your source is reliable, Dr. Lewis, as I know of no Native source of documentation) were not contaminated by the new White arrivals, as you likely know. The Gold Rush and settlements that occurred afterwards yield harsh evidence of the recklessness that foreigners, whose goals are to take whatever they can for themselves regardless of the consequences to previous inhabitants of the land they covet, can and do repeatedly demonstrate behaviorally. Sadly, this lesson is one that the indigenous peoples of the New World (now North and South AMERICA) learned by paying with their health, lives, and lands. Imperialism has not worked for the Indigenous Peoples of America as acculturation meant disowning their language and traditions and adapting a foreign manner of life that did not necessarily meet their need to survive and thrive as a people. Furthermore, the new federal and state governments were remiss in honoring their commitments to defend and protect the people and their property from the encroachment of new arrivals hell bent on repopulating and enforcing their own culture and way of life. Unhappily, these practices can be seen worldwide and the indigenous peoples of foreign lands are the collateral damaged goods of these acts. Thank you for your informed account of Native American history of the Pacific Coast of the USA.
Category: General Social Commentary
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The National Agenda for Our 45th President
Friends: It has been some time since my last post due to matters that have consumed my free time. We have now past the sixty plus days of our 45th President Donald Trump’s administration. He has many pressing issues before him along with promises he made during his campaign to his constituents not least of which is his interest in making (the United States of) America great again. I do not support a southern border wall separating The Nation from our neighbors to the south or north, for that matter. Yet, control of our political borders is a matter of national interest as illegal entry can lead to other more serious breaches of law too horrid and numerous to enumerate. Further, our domestic health care situation is again in need of review. This issue has been problematic for decades and its control (costs versus access versus stimulating innovation and girded by good business practices and systematically reviewed empirically based best medical procedures/practices) or loss of it were foreseen by pundits of the industry. Let us remember that Medicare was also revised and has continued to be so during its short lifespan beginning in 1965 under President Lyndon B. Johnson. President Trump’s promise to his constituents to spend on building-up our military and infrastructure are also critical and commendable but how revenues are apportioned under his administration will be contestable/questionable. Lastly, are his foreign policies represented by his Secretary of State (a former oil industry executive) Rex Tillerson. Although Tillerson is a highly qualified executive and an ostensibly intelligent individual, his forerunners have not been very successful as demonstrated by USA involvement in one (undeclared) war after another (in the Near East and North Korea) , from my viewpoint. Let’s hope that we do begin a national turn-around to American greatness again. We can do it together!
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US Policy in the Middle East
As a proud citizen of the USA, who by the way, is not the least bit ashamed of its history or that of my own (with authentic native roots), I am disheartened that a productive and progressive solution cannot be agreed to by the primary stakeholders of the Middle East. I also feel there is no one to blame – overlooking any ad hominem attacks on “parties” as terrorists, insurrectionists/rebels, or plain trouble makers bent on preventing any plausible and implementable policy – since one side’s rebel is another side’s “patriot”, American diplomacy there is abjectly full of shortcomings. Nevertheless, we are committed to the defense of our allies, as both President Obama and his Secretary of State John Kerry have reiterated; yet humanity and justice decry retaliatory attacks that kill innocent civilians, including women and children. The Middle East is a cauldron of unresolved issues and I believe we should not commit military involvement until such time as we have a workable policy we can unquestioningly defend. This means that we may again be committing our children to years of military confrontations on foreign soils (and loss of their limbs/lives). What price, freedom?
PS: Robin Williams – May he rest in peace
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Call me stupid…
From a historical perspective, it appears that “might makes right”. With regard to the decent peoples of the Ukraine and Russia whose ancestral struggles have cut-out contentious national boundaries, frontier inhabitants may view themselves as nationals of the neighboring country rather than nominal citizens of the “home” country. In contrast and by comparison, it did not serve Native Americans well to be autonomous “nations” living within the United States of America; rather, it required a federal bureau to protect and defend the rights of Native Americans and later an administrative agency to minister to the needs of their health and welfare. The dissociation and recent demise of the Soviet Union has brought many deaths, sorrow, and increased hardship to former constituent and autonomous republics. The challenge of newly gained freedom and formulation of alliances will take concerted effort to effect before conditions return to normalcy. Hopefully, law and order restoring domestic tranquility will return soon. Good luck to everyone involved.
Bill's Planet 