When the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock they were enabled to survive with the help of the people indigenous there. Then a generation later, the descendents of those friendly Indians were massacred by the descendents of those pilgrims helped and subsequent European arrivals who had joined them. When was the original great feast called Thanksgiving, that is still celebrated today in November? Was it during the early period of the pilgrim colony in Massachusetts while the newcomers were apparently on friendly terms with the Indians? Or was it later, after massacring the natives and appropriating their ancestral homeland? When we celebrate Thanksgiving, are we celebrating cooperation, or are we celebrating subjugation, murder and theft?

The natives lived simply. Their houses were no larger then necessary for shelter. They respected the plants, trees and animals in the environment. They lived in harmony with the web of life. We could have learned a great deal from them, if only their understanding of harmonic existence with the land, and their complex, specific knowledge of plants, animals, seasons and survival techniques had not been so completely stamped out, along with their forests and their ecosystem.

The same scenario of ancient wisdom destroyed by opportunistic newcomers was repeated over and over throughout the breadth of the continent, until at last, we got to California in the mid to late 19th century. Here natives were slaughtered and lands were stolen just as had already been done along the swath of destruction from the east coast. The race to get the most land and extract the most value from it has taken its toll on our collective soul.

For a moment can we imagine a different scenario? Instead of chopping down more and more trees to build more and larger houses, fences, barns, ships, railroads, warehouses and towers, suppose we learned to live with those ancient trees still in the ground?

The Indians had complex herbal lore and knew how to keep families small so the land would not be overwhelmed by too many humans. The newcomers had effective weapons which facilitated the elimination of anything in their way. Being  spiritual, being one with the Great Spirit and one with creation was not enough to ward off the great evil that came upon our indigenous grandparents.

This evil was not the people that came in need of homes. The evil was the -isms that came with them: feudalism, capitalism, Zionism, the doctrine of discovery, and manifest destiny. It was the arrogance that threw out the spiritual values of reverence for life and cooperation; and instead took on racial supremacy: white supremacy.

The Doctrine of Discovery was based on statements by the pope in the late 15th century to early 16th century regarding 15th and 16th century Spanish and Portuguese explorations. These statements, called  Papal Bulls, had been enshrined into law, and were regarded as infallible by superstitious Europeans of that era and beyond. The doctrine stated that any land discovered through Spanish or Portuguese exploration could be claimed for the sponsoring country, and any wealth seized in the explored land would be legitimately acquired property IF the citizens of the explored land were not Christians!  Any murders committed during the enforcement of this doctrine, would, of course, be overlooked. The Catholic Church has, in recent years, tried to distance itself from this doctrine, but has yet to abrogate it. The ruthless treachery and slaughter against the Aztecs, in what would become Mexico City, by the Spanish conquistadors, and many other atrocities committed during the history of the European colonization of the Americas, reveal that the European conquerors took the doctrine of discovery very seriously.

The term, manifest destiny, was first used in the mid nineteenth century, by editorial writers, to inspire a takeover by the United States of all the land between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Inherent in the meaning of the term is the goal of white supremacy. The rights of others are trampled in a brazen white takeover, although the blatant racism is obscured by what might pass as lofty ideals.

Zionism seems to be a biblical, holy term. But hidden in the word is the goal of genocide. The “others” must be cleansed out so the “chosen ones” can have their monocultural paradise. It’s another code word for white supremacy. The old Testament has stories of acts of war that took place several thousand years ago. It is time to put such thinking behind us. Zion belongs to everyone, not just a “chosen” few. Unless we become universal in our thinking, we are throwbacks to another, less enlightened time.

Let us embrace the diverse colors, shades and variations of the human family. We are one. Murder is wrong. The historical thefts of lands and resources was wrong. Living in ostentatious wealth while others live in squalor is wrong. We have taken without giving, in our game, which we have defined as getting the most regardless of the amount of destruction and slaughter in our wake. It is time to find another way.