This Thanksgiving is giving me pangs about the nature of man; especially coming off of a McCarthy novel which always leans me in the direction of a basic evil that mankind has sought to overcome in order to survive in a society with his own kind.
A fellow weblogger and phenomenal lady, Anne, is of American Indian descent. It made me wonder how Thanksgiving is considered by a people who have to be sorry we ever found our way to their shores. But Thanksgiving celebrates an early time in the meeting of the Indians and the white man. There was no conflict yet, there was a helping hand extended; there was something to celebrate. Then greed comes into the picture, and that, it seems to me, is inevitable and a trait inherent in all mankind. I’ve seen family turn on family over greed. Money is the power as territory once was.
On the other hand, I feel that we’ve come a long way towards civilizing ourselves where we wait with a bit more patience to get what we want. And we’re not as cruel in our methods (or at least it’s not tolerated as readily when we’re found out) of oppression.
But we’ve still got a long way to go.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology
Being unforgotten is such a pleasure, my dear. Would that it could go on forever.