Moni

I would hope that you wouldn't think that just because I am an American, I hold myself above all other nations as being "better" in any way. The same for a lot of other Americans who feel the same way that I do, that all people are created equal.
Yes, our constitution states it and no, our leaders have not always viewed all people with equal respect, nor do they still, because money rules all over the world and people within this country's boundaries are just as subject to discrimination as foreigners simply by how much money they have. The color of your skin and the shape of your eyes or nose has nothing to do with any of it.
Our governing offices were designed to keep the rich in power. That is not my fault nor the fault of any citizen still alive in the United States, however since the richest families have the majority of a history in the operation of this country, that is unlikely to change for a while. Sorry for the rant, but I really get irked when I see statements made about Americans in general when all we citizens do is vote for those we think best for the job of running the place. History has proven more than once that our votes mean little when it comes right down to it because of the reputations that politicians have earned for being nothing more than greedy liars. Not all of them are, but the world around us seems to make judgements against the whole nation for the acts of a few and it isn't right.

FYI, The loss of the Vietnam war by the Americans was a political loss. It was not based on the number of people killed but rather on the outcome of Vietnamese policies once the war had ended.

I read Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee as a pre-teen. I saw my father read it many times.
We should be sorry for the treatment of the Indians and the rape and theft of their land on a world-wide level, not just a national one, after all, it was the Europeans who came over here and commited the atrocities.
The Indians (with the exception of the Apache and Commanche) lived in peace with the Spanish southerners until the Anglo-Saxon invasions that eventually claimed all this land as The United States.
The Apaches and Commanches were given reputations as being "war-like" because they refused to give up, be bought out, or allow themselves to be invaded for their gold and silver. It was theirs to begin with. It was part of the land on which they sustained themselves.
Yes, Native American Indians had tribal skirmishes within regions across the whole country but those were kept locally and none were founded on wealth.

This country was "discovered" in a search for gold and those looking for it had to claim it as theirs in order to secure their political victories with their European backers.
The lives of the native peoples obviously mattered little or there would have been a more peaceful solution than to completely wipe out so many tribes and limit those that survived to be captured to be forced to live their lives in "reservations"; nothing more than free concentration camps and land that the whites thought no one would want to live on anyway...land without (known) raw resources with which they could obtain wealth.
It has nothing to do with being the strongest. It has everything to do with the accumulation of wealth vs protecting the land on which you live and feed. When you are outnumbered by the rich and greedy who can "buy" their supper, you lose, especially if you are sitting on a source of wealth and you don't give it up or use it to buy your protection in a manner that benefits only the greedy.


P.S. Rikard, I know you are only sixteen but you need to know that the acts of this country's government is not always a reflection of it citizen's beliefs and ideals. Many Americans view Viet Nam as a mistake and a loss to our country on more than a political level. We feel for the suffering the Vietnamese went through at the hands of our military too. Vietnamese refugees are welcomed in this country and given more priveledges toward the pursuit of happiness than its own citizens. It does not make what happened right, nor does it do anything to keep Americans from resenting being held back to allow a refugee a "better chance" but no government is perfect enough to please everyone is it?

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You know childhood is over when a puddle seems like an obstacle instead of an opportunity.

Is Too! Is Not! Is Too! Is Not!



[This message has been edited by Moni (edited 08-31-2001).]