|
In order to develop a healthy relationship with another person first you must have a healthy relationship with yourself. This begins with knowing where you came from in relation to others—in other words, your “roots”. So here is a brief history of America. See if you can find yourself and your ancestors in this history.
All human life started in Africa and migrated to various parts of the planet. Various physical differences, like skin color and shade, resulted from adaptations to the different environments, and led to the labeling of groups as different “races”. In reality, however, according to both modern Science & Religion, there is only one race—the human race.
The one human race is comprised of different ethnic groups and cultures, derived from the different environments which they inhabited. These variations lend to the great beauty and diversity of our world & American society, which should be cherished and enjoyed just as the varied & colorful flowers in a garden or the varied & tasty foods in a buffet are a source of pleasure and enjoyment. The U.S.A. has been a “melting pot” bringing together all of the various cultures and ethnic groups of the world as a grand experiment in and example of “unity in diversity” or “E Pluribus Unum” (“Out of many come One" as printed on the U.S. dollars and currency).
Some of theThe earliest known inhabitants of North America, including the area now known as the U.S.A., are believed to have migrated from various lands, including from what is now known as Central & South America, and possibly even from Asia—the first immigrants to America. They were later called such names as Indians, Amerindians and Native Americans, by later immigrants, however they called themselves “the First People” or “the True People”, and, like every other immigrant group, they made great contributions to this nation and to humanity as a whole, which we are all benefiting from today.
Later explorers to North America, including the Vikings, Christopher Columbus, and Amerigo Vespucci (from whom the name “America” is thought to be derived), “discovered” parts of what later became the territory of the U.S.A., paving the way for the influx of the first waves of European immigrants, in the 17th & 18th centuries.
English Protestants were among the first European immigrants to arrive in this land and they were fleeing religious persecution, poverty and other injustices in England.
Many of their early encounters with the Native Americans were cautious though mutually respectful, and the Native Americans actually provided agricultural and other forms of assistance to help them survive, adapt to, and advance in their new environment.
As the numbers of English and other European immigrants swelled, their need and greed for more land and other resources caused them to fight with the Native Americans in order to seize the lands they used for agriculture and hunting. Due to this need, which is characterized by some historians as greed and treachery, of the European immigrants, and due to the disunity of the Native American tribal nations (as well as the greed of a few of their members who were bribed to sell out their own people), and the introduction of alcohol to the Native American society by the Europeans, the Native Americans were eventually weakened, defeated and dispossessed of most of their lands. Many were slaughtered through the new colonies’ strategies of genocide, and those who remained were forced to live on Reservations in some of the most inhospitable areas of the country. Many treaties which guaranteed the Native peoples’ continued access to even the limited resources allowed to them by the Reservation system were broken by the U.S. government and people. This policy of disenfranchisement and persecution of the Native Americans practiced throughout the formation and growth of the U.S. after the Revolutionary War, continues today, and has still largely not been addressed by any U.S. President or U.S. government. In relation to “the first immigrants”, “the first people”—the real Native Americans-- the U.S. government, which is in reality, the American people, has broken every constitutional, moral, and ethical law known to man. This remains a major blemish against the U.S. record for providing “equal justice under the rule of law”, as mandated in the U.S. Constitution for all of its citizens and residents, and the reconciliation with the Native Americans and the rectification of the wrongs inflicted upon them is part of the unfinished business of developing and perfecting this country. (An interesting note: Many of the recent Latin American immigrants to the U.S. are descendants of and close relatives to some of these Native American tribes & nations, so perhaps, some of the proponents of “the rule of law” would seek to compensate these Native peoples, with land and/or monetary reparations, for all of the laws which were broken by the American people and government in order to dispossess them of their lands and resources.)
Eventually the original thirteen colonies of English and other European immigrants decided that they no longer wished to live under the rule, laws, and taxation of their Kings across the Atlantic, so they initiated the Revolutionary War and gained independence from English & European rule. (In other words, they broke the old “rule of law” by monarchy in order to establish a new and more progressive “rule of law” by the people in their New World.)
During this and subsequent periods other immigrant groups arrived in the New World which would become the U.S.A.:
- As each European immigrant group came—the French, Spanish, Germans, and later Italians---all escaping poverty and other injustices in their native lands---, they were each greeted with violent opposition to their arrival by the dominant English group, and sometimes by each other, with some of these conflicts even evolving into wars. (For in interesting expose of how the Irish immigrants were treated by the English immigrants, watch the popular movie, “The Gangs of New York”.)
- Chinese laborers were brought here, largely against their wills and as a form of slave or indentured labor, to work building the railroads; some of them were drugged with opium and dragged into ships in the port city of Shanghai (hence the origin of the term “Shanghaied” which means to be kidnapped or tricked into doing something).
- The African slaves were also brought against their wills, sold to the slave traders by their own people, and were trafficked under some of the harshest and most inhumane conditions in modern history, resulting in one of the most notorious genocides and holocausts in human history. Many died on the voyages to America, known as the Middle Passage, due to the inhuman conditions on the ships. Once in America, in order to justify their continued enslavement and inhuman treatment, and to get around the rule of law established in the U.S. Constitution which guaranteed rights and protection to all human beings, many Americans, from every immigrant background, including leaders of thought, elected officials, and Founding Fathers like Thomas Jefferson, classified Africans as sub-humans, or not human at all. In the mid-1800’s , when slavery was finally declared Unconstitutional and illegalIllegal by the majority of Americans and the U.S. Government, the slave holders in the southern States of the U.S.A. decided to defy the law of the land and secede or withdraw from the Union of States (the U.S.A.), and the Civil War was initiated. After the Confederacy of southern States was being defeated in the War, they the Southern States had to release their slaves, however, soon thereafter, again in defiance of the laws of the U.S., they instituted a system of repressive laws, known as “Jim Crow”, designed to keep the Whites and Blacks separate and the Whites in control of local government and both educational and material resources. This resulted in the law of “mob rule”, rather than the rule of law, and Black Americans were subjected to discrimination of various forms including lower wages, educational and law enforcement disparities, and separate, inferior public facilities. Any Black or White Americans, including women and children, who tried to change or reform this unjust system were terrorized, tortured and lynched by mobs and vigilante groups, the most famous of which being the Klu Klux Klan (KKK), often instigated and encouraged by the White controlled law enforcement establishment and other public officials. This system of racism continued from the late 1800’s until recently, in the 1960’s, when Dr. Martin Luther King and other brave leaders others led the U.S. Civil Rights movement, which included brave souls from all immigrant groups—Black, White & Brown. Though this movement was violently attacked by both vigilante groups and the Southern law enforcement establishment, through non-violent means and resistance they --- who forced the Federal Government to overturn the “Jim Crow” laws of the South, and other similarly discriminatory laws and practices around the country, and to restore the rule of law and civil rights guaranteed to all Americans in the U.S. Constitution. Though there has been some progress in ridding the Nation, and especially the South, of the vestiges of these discriminatory, prejudicial and racist practices, this is just recent history and most Black Americans and other non-White immigrant groups report in polls that they are still treated by the White or European American dominant culture and institutions, especially the law enforcement and justice system, with prejudice, discrimination and as second class citizens—so the “racial” healing of our nation is still a work in progress. (See Chapter 2 for more details on this subject.)
- Other immigrant groups, including Latin American, Asian, Middle Eastern, East Indian, African, Eastern European, & Italians, migrated to the U.S., often facing extreme prejudice and persecution mainly by the dominant majority European American groups. Some examples include: the placement of Japanese American citizens in concentration camps during World War 11; the profiling and illegal detainment of many Middle Eastern citizens after 9/11; the present profiling and discrimination directed towards both Latin American immigrants, including citizens. and undocumented immigrants.
- Early in the formation and development of this country, some of Mexico’s northern border lands, which included what are now Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California, were appropriated by the U.S. through various means, mainly unlawful, resulting in conflicts and war between Mexico and the U.S. In the mid 1800’s U.S. settlers invaded parts of Mexico (“illegal immigrants”?), especially the area now known as Texas. Then the U.S. government decided, based on its policy of “Manifest Destiny” (defined as the inherent right of the U.S. to expand its lands anywhere on the continent and in the world due to the innate superiority of its’ White, Anglo-Saxon, British descendents) and its’ perceived need to extend the slave holding territory of the South, to “acquire” the northern Mexican territories which now comprise the southwestern U.S. When the Mexican government declined their offers and negotiations failed, the U.S. declared war on Mexico (though the war did not get approval of the U.S. Congress and some historians claim that the then President Polk apparently unlawfully usurped his powers). After the U.S. defeated Mexico in the war it purchased the lands from Mexico for half the price it had originally offered.
- Since the founding of the U.S.A., Mexicans and other Latin Americans have migrated to this country, many fleeing poverty or political unrest, to become agricultural, construction, food industry, manufacturing and service industry workers; others going on to become business owners and professionals, including politicians and elected officials at the highest levels of government. This tradition continues today and all Americans have, for the past few decades, welcomed large numbers of poorer Latin American immigrants and benefited from their relatively inexpensive and highly productive labor, oftentimes deliberately disregarding and effectively discarding the immigration laws put in place in the mid-1900’s to regulate the flow of immigrants here. (A prime example of this was during the preparation of Atlanta for the Olympics in the mid-1990’s, when construction was behind schedule and Federal and State authorities told Mexican authorities that they would disregard immigration regulations so that Mexican workers could cross the border and work in Atlanta to help us meet the deadlines.) Like other immigrant groups before them, Latin American immigrants have been treated with prejudice, discrimination and profiling by mainly European American immigrant groups, however also by African American immigrants who fear loss of jobs and other economic advantages they had recently gained. (See Chapter Two, History of U.S. Prejudice, for more details.) However every American has benefited from our most recent Latin American immigrants’ highly productive labor and sacrifices, which is the reason that the American society, including business and government leaders, have largely disregarded and functionally discarded the outdated and broken immigration system designed to regulate and control the number of immigrants entering the United States. They are presently engaged in the process of developing new Comprehensive Immigration Reform laws which will give the current undocumented immigrants legitimate status and will more fairly regulate the influx of immigrants in the future. (It is not a matter of “if” this will happen but “when”.)
- This brings us to the present state of the Nation, when the majority of Americans, including elected officials, recognize the need to welcome, integrate, value, and maintain our Latin American immigrants, as well as other new immigrant neighbors, and their contributions to the development of the U.S.A. However they are confronted by a very vocal minority of mostly White, European immigrants, who have an unconscious superiority complex, and, in the words of a popular TV talk show host, are in a pitched battle to retain their cultural and racial dominance. Some report and admit that they are very worried about the “browning” of America—that is, the uniting of the Native American, Black, Latino, Asian and other minorities (which, in effect, has already happened through the intermarriage of all cultures in the U.S.).. For a while their fears will be expressed by lashing out at one or another minority group— now it is the Latino immigrants, in the past it was others.. History, spirituality and economicsEconomics dictate, however, it is only a matter of time (, and this writer predicts a very short while this time), before the recent Latino immigrants are afforded a path to full citizenship in the U.S.A., and integrate with the society, just as other immigrant groups before them didwere, helping to fulfill the great destiny of the U.S.A. as the “melting pot of humanity”.
For more tips on developing a Healthy Relationship read other articles on the website Life Skill Coaching.
|
|
