Not only this, but there is evidence that some of the very ideas of the Enlightenment - Europe's great contribution to the planet- came from Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
It seems that the enlightenment thinkers themselves apparently often cited indigenous thinkers (such as Kondiaronk, probably most famously) in terms of influencing their works, but this assertion was mostly ignored, since everyone knew all great thought began with Aristotle. I'll write about him soon; maybe a collab piece arises from that if we're both still really interested in these ideas.
Ahhh, the dream of "what if", of regret and sorrow. As with any trauma, we cannot go back and change what is. And it does us no good to point the finger unforgivingly to the perpetrator. The perpetrator will not, typically, accept responsibility, nor change.
What we must do, as the victim of these traumatic experiences and the suffering that resulted, is to see ourselves as strong and capable of creating something better. We are resilient as a human species. We see the trauma and the suffering. It is up to us to choose a better way. To create a better world for the future. It won't be easy. Healing never is. And all healing is done from the inside out.
Let us follow the philosophy of the indigenous people who listened to Mother Earth and assisted in her balance. It is an individual effort, that can become a community effort. And in bringing balance to our environment, we begin to bring balance, and healing, to ourselves.
Thank you for writing this. It helps us to understand where we came from. We are strong and resilient and amazing! And, learning from the past, we have powerful, creative minds that can be directed every moment toward a better future. ♥️🏞️🪶🌎
Misses the fact that Aztecs killed 84,000 slaves for their temple concecrations 5 years prior to Columbus. (And this wasn't an outlier) (and is one example of the culture of the time)
Also misses that the Americas wasn't a vast unadulterated wilderness but highly terraformed as we are seeing in LIDAR from the Amazon.
PreColumbian America looked a lot like the violence in Europe. Europe just had gunpowder, horses, and the wheel ... and smallpox.
Not only this, but there is evidence that some of the very ideas of the Enlightenment - Europe's great contribution to the planet- came from Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
I'm curious as to your sources for this?
It seems that the enlightenment thinkers themselves apparently often cited indigenous thinkers (such as Kondiaronk, probably most famously) in terms of influencing their works, but this assertion was mostly ignored, since everyone knew all great thought began with Aristotle. I'll write about him soon; maybe a collab piece arises from that if we're both still really interested in these ideas.
Ahhh, the dream of "what if", of regret and sorrow. As with any trauma, we cannot go back and change what is. And it does us no good to point the finger unforgivingly to the perpetrator. The perpetrator will not, typically, accept responsibility, nor change.
What we must do, as the victim of these traumatic experiences and the suffering that resulted, is to see ourselves as strong and capable of creating something better. We are resilient as a human species. We see the trauma and the suffering. It is up to us to choose a better way. To create a better world for the future. It won't be easy. Healing never is. And all healing is done from the inside out.
Let us follow the philosophy of the indigenous people who listened to Mother Earth and assisted in her balance. It is an individual effort, that can become a community effort. And in bringing balance to our environment, we begin to bring balance, and healing, to ourselves.
Thank you for writing this. It helps us to understand where we came from. We are strong and resilient and amazing! And, learning from the past, we have powerful, creative minds that can be directed every moment toward a better future. ♥️🏞️🪶🌎
Misses the fact that Aztecs killed 84,000 slaves for their temple concecrations 5 years prior to Columbus. (And this wasn't an outlier) (and is one example of the culture of the time)
Also misses that the Americas wasn't a vast unadulterated wilderness but highly terraformed as we are seeing in LIDAR from the Amazon.
PreColumbian America looked a lot like the violence in Europe. Europe just had gunpowder, horses, and the wheel ... and smallpox.
https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-history/how-many-people-did-the-aztecs-sacrifice/
Beautifully written and deeply disturbing, of course. Thank you.