Something a bit different

[jimcee]

As this Arts Forum seems to be getting bogged down with poetry, I append this piece in the interests of having a bit of prose for a change.
The reason for the composition of this piece, is that on our trips to USA we tend to meet up with a cousin -in-law who comes from Carolina and keeps bending our ear about how the country (USA) is going to the dogs because of all these Blacks and Mexicans.
So I composed the following to, hopefully, show a broader picture, but have not yet had the temerity to let her peruse it.

THE POPULATION OF THE USA

At the outset of these observations, I would like to make it clear that the perceptions are my own, and that others may see things differently—especially those who inhabit this vast area of land.
For untold generations the land was occupied by Indians—Red Indians to give them the title bestowed on them by those who came after. The expansionist activities of the Europeans—notably the Dutch, French, British, and Spanish, started to make incursions into this territory—not at the invitation of the indigenous population—in fact there was considerable violent resistance to the takeover of their territory, by these foreign incomers. However might prevailed, and the incomers occupied the vast majority of the land, leaving “reservations” where the Indians were allowed to pursue their own tradition and lifestyle.
The furtherance of these territorial conquests gave rise to the genre of the “Cowboys and Indians” movie epics which typically portrayed the immigrant settlers having pitched battles with the native Indians, and having the US cavalry riding to the rescue in the nick of time. It must also be said that the “Western” portrayed the conflict between the incomer bad guys and the incomer Sheriff.
It would be a mistake to think that the nationalistic European invaders saw “eye to eye” with each other. In fact, there were serious differences of opinion among them about who owned what, giving rise to pitched battles on occasion. The Dutch threw in the towel fairly quickly, but both the French and the Spanish put up a spirited defence of their conquests—the French in the North East and the Spanish in the South West.
However the British eventually prevailed and the whole territory became their fiefdom. As these new occupiers were still being administered from the other side of the Atlantic, it is probably understandable that they became increasingly dis-satisfied with edicts from afar, about what they could, and could not do. This came to a head with the “Boston Tea Party”, which led to the War of Independence, which was not a serious war, but did lead to self government in the USA.
These occupiers—primarily of British descent—now went about the business of making a living, and exploiting the territory for what it could produce. In the southern part of the country the climate was ideal for the production of cotton among other things, and as there was an insatiable demand for this product—this was seen as a good cash crop. Unfortunately, it was also a very labour intensive product, and to satisfy the demand for cheap labour, so that profits could be maximised, it was found that the import of workers from Africa, satisfied this need. These African workers did not arrive un the USA of their own volition—they were press-ganged from their native country and shipped across the Atlantic by unscrupulous ship owners, and sold to the highest bidder on their arrival. They had no rights, and were rightly labelled as slaves. They did improve the fortunes of the landowners who owned them.
So, at this point in time we have an occupying power who have banished the natives to enclaves, and are employing slave labour imported from Africa.
This situation became a cause for dissention between the slave free North and the slave owning South, which was delineated by a Mr Mason and a Mr Dixon and known as the Mason/Dixon line. Matters came to a head when the Southern states who wanted to continue using slavery, decided to break away from the Northern states.and become an independent federation. This idea did not go down very well with those in the North, and resulted in Civil War. This caused a lot of destruction, and a huge loss of life to both sides, and was eventually won by the North whose resources tipped the balance. Thus, as a result slavery was abolished. Although the African Americans were now nominally free, they were treated very much as second class citizens, and it is only very recently that they have achieved equality.
Meanwhile, the doors were opened to settlers from Europe and to a smaller extent from China, to augment the workforce. These immigrants tended to be the oppressed, and the less well of, who were seeking a better life, and on the whole they were hard working and resourceful. However there were a few bad apples in the barrel and the Italian Mafia were among the less desirable elements who appeared on the scene.
Some attempts were made to screen the millions of would-be immigrants who were pouring into the country, almost entirely by sea at a specially constructed facility on Ellis Island near New York. But the vast majority -98% were admitted and assimilated into the country.
Thus, we have the descendants of the original illegal immigrants, now deciding who can and cannot find a foothold on the territory, and they are consciously making concerted efforts to keep out illegal immigrants crossing their Southern border from Mexico. These particular immigrants have no territorial ambitions on taking over the country from the indigenous population, and in many cases are providing a workforce willing to undertake services which the resident populace consider demeaning.

[Peter Connelly]

Good piece, jimcee. Well said.

[khartoumteddy]

almost a parrallel of the british isles.
shame neither government has learned tolerance.

teddy

[khartoumteddy]

Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict [slavery] might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge not that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.


perhaps your cousin would listen to these words from abe lincoln

teddy