They... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks’ bells. They willingly traded everything they owned... They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features... They do not bear arms, and do not known them, for I showed them a sword and they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane... They would make fine servants... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make then do whatever we want.
Taken from page 1 of "A People's History of the United States
" by Howard Zinn. Buy it, read it and understand we've been lying to ourselves for decades and decades. Really, centuries. And don't adopt the redemptionist attitudes of some that would claim we can't judge people of previous cultures. We can and should. Otherwise, we will deify these people and fail to notice how their behaviors hurt us.
For instance, if we trust that our Found Fathers knew what they were doing when they created out government, we shouldn't have to pay attention, right? They were brilliant visionaries who saw a better world and brought it to us, right? Well, if we had done that, we'd never have abolished slavery or given women the right to vote or amended our government in so many other ways--in both good ways and bad. So, let's judge the past and it's "heroes" because if we don't, we absolve ourselves of responsibility for our present. We can't just point at some document written hundreds (or even thousands of years ago) and say "SEE? THEY SAID IT WAS FINE, SO..."
