I chose bald eagle to be my title in NAS 5 because it gives me a feeling of fierce and strong. It allows me to fly in the clear blue sky and enjoy the unlimited freedom. While flying freely, I could have the best view to explore things that other animals cannot do on the ground. And Bald eagle, the national bird and symbol of the United States, gives people a sense of power and authority.
I read "The First Conquest of This Kingdom" and want to comment that the Fray Vicente should not use military force to conquer a place just because the Indians there did not believe in Christianity. Everyone has a freedom to believe in any kind of religions or even not to believe in any of them. If the Indians did not accept Christianity was the religion they believed in, Fray should have respected their decisions and visited other places to spread Christianity. However, Fray was not doing the right way to let people to believe in God but with military force. So, Fray should have left the Indian's place and gave them back the freedom of religion and sovereignty.
Quick note, you might want to change your format to english, it might make it difficult for some people to comment :)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. There were a lot of "should of" issues in this reading. However, taking a "should of" approach often leads to A LOT of "should of"s if you look at history. It happened. There is no going back now, and it continues to happen today, and will continue based on history. If not there, somewhere else. Its a sad truth. The spread of religion is often used as an excuse for other campaigns. The inquisition? The spanish were trying to get rid of the moors. The crusades? An attempt for resources and power. And many more. Many americans believe that there is a freedom of religion. Go to another part of the world and many would disagree. Maybe even kill you. Wow... right? Its not one world. Again, in my view, I think "come on conquistadors! give them a break!" But from their opinion, they have an opportunity for riches beyond belief. Now I am not saying that makes it ok, but I bet if you put anyone in our class on a boat for several years with little food or comforts, then threw them into a new world and told them they could have EVERYTHING in the name of god, they would do the same thing, probably if they werent even religious as well. Is it human nature? Many of us may think no, but we all have a home, food, and a pretty easy life in comparison. In a ruthless world, morality has less of a role. This same story of religious enforcement and theft has appeared countless times in history.... proof for human nature? I think so, but i may be wrong.... heck, i hope im wrong.
My point is, yes, i agree. According to our standards what they did was horrific. But its not one world, everyone has different standards based on cultural context. It makes it hard to tell whats good and bad in that case. Not to mention the idea of time. Its easy to pose 21st century views on history, but its just not the case. We are always changing. It was only in the past 80 years or so that women suffrage happened. But the idea of telling women not to vote today seems ridiculous. Looking at time and culture and situation can help us understand reasons behind decisions and events.
I strongly agree with what you said about people being able to believe in whatever religion they want, or not having any religion. When I was reading "The First Conquest of This Kingdom," that was exactly what I was thinking as well. People shouldn't be punished for having their own beliefs. Even if the Indians did try to practice Christianity, Christianity probably will not mean a thing to them because it's not what they believe in.
ReplyDeleteBefore I begin to comment about your blog, I wanted to give you feedback about your writing skills. I thought your blog was written immensely well - that is all.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with both you and Smiles; Fray should not have use military force to brutally attack the Indians just because they did not believe in Christianity. I also believe that Fray is using religion as an excuse to attack the Indians. Therefore, it might be that Fray doesn't like the Indians at all, and he will do anything to wipe them out.
I agree with you. A group of individuals should not be taken over just because their religious views differ. Fray uses religion as the excuse for invasion and for the greed of the Indigenous gold and silver. It is surprising how one mans word can get a whole army to attack by using religion as an excuse.
ReplyDeleteThis whole scenario of colonization does seem very wrong when you look back on it. No one group of people are any more privileged or should feel like they have the right to take the land someone else calls their home. I understand this is a Native American Studies class so that should be the main topic of discussions, but if you take a second and look around the world, colonization has not stopped and still occurs in many countries today. It should be through what "Westerners" have learned and are still learning about the colonization of Native Americans that is applied to other areas of the world, in hopes that our lessons can show other colonizers what not to do.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your comment about how people have a freedom to religion. I also believe that people have a right to freedom of not choosing a religion. I've seen a lot of times, though, that there are religious people who pressure others with whatever tactic they have to convert but the sad thing is, it's a double edged sword. I've seem some atheists totally disrespect the bible and the people who worship it. Even though I'm Agnostic, I still believe that respect should still be honored for people who want to worship and believe quietly.
ReplyDelete