Here are my thoughts on Divinity:
In Indian Country, a human being is as divine and sacred as any other living thing on our planet.
It’s apparent the sacred divinity of humans didn’t apply to all people and didn’t exist in ancient history like Rome, or in many religious settings. Divinity didn’t apply to both sexes or to the racial constructs of Conqueror, Slaveholder and Pilgrim either.
In Ancient Rome, one tenth of one percent held all political and social power, with senators, governors and knights its ruling class, much like today in America. America, the land of opportunity, will pollute the land, sky and water and even rob others, to make rich people richer.
Arrogant aristocratic Romans enjoyed savagery, feeding people to lions and other animals, as punishment for breaking the laws. Poor people, poor slaves did nearly all the work - like then, like now.
As Gandhi said, poverty is the worse form of violence.
“Owning or killing people was as natural to Romans as water running down hill… Who can comprehend a father tossing an infant into the village dung heap for being female, sick or a surplus mouth to feed. The Romans were not offended, especially if the father followed the law and invited five neighbors to examine the baby before he left it to die,” according to Lewis Lord, author of “Bread and Circuses in the Year One: Life Under Augustus was dirty, brutal and short” (page 76 – 79, The Ancient World, Mysteries of History, US News and World Report Special Edition, 2004.)
Children were not considered human until they walked and talked in Roman times. It doesn’t seem that much has changed.
For those in the Middle East, Christ’s arrival brought change and peace. Christianity, the world’s largest religion with some two billon followers, gave hope to a hopeless world. The teachings of Christ confront and challenge the disparities between the rich and the wretched, teaching his followers “blessed are the poor in spirit… blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.”
In my humble view, the Roman Catholic Church actually did more to divide and conquer the sexes than it did to convert a sinner to sainthood. The Roman Catholic Church is the richest in the world, quite a contrast to Christ’s teachings during His tumultuous journey on earth.
American does little to ease suffering of the poor or weak. It’s more a haven of greed, fear and corruption like Rome.
If you watch the Discovery Channel, you’ve learned by now there is no such thing as “race,” per se, but this truth is not widely acknowledged, since most people don’t grasp that skin color and pigment is a product of ultraviolet exposure, rather than being about one’s superiority or supremacy, or who is more eligible for heaven.
I also have to remind myself that Indigenous knowledge is ancient and America is just a couple hundred years old. So why is the truth about “race” so scandalous?
“New World Order, Old World Lie,” Santee Sioux musician John Trudell said this about exploiting human beings, with one group dominating another.
Even now, men rule and manage their institutions, except in Indian Country where women are sacred and honored. Even the Earth is a woman and called Mother in Indian Country.
In Indian Country, a human being is as divine and sacred as any other living thing on our planet.
It’s apparent the sacred divinity of humans didn’t apply to all people and didn’t exist in ancient history like Rome, or in many religious settings. Divinity didn’t apply to both sexes or to the racial constructs of Conqueror, Slaveholder and Pilgrim either.
In Ancient Rome, one tenth of one percent held all political and social power, with senators, governors and knights its ruling class, much like today in America. America, the land of opportunity, will pollute the land, sky and water and even rob others, to make rich people richer.
Arrogant aristocratic Romans enjoyed savagery, feeding people to lions and other animals, as punishment for breaking the laws. Poor people, poor slaves did nearly all the work - like then, like now.
As Gandhi said, poverty is the worse form of violence.
“Owning or killing people was as natural to Romans as water running down hill… Who can comprehend a father tossing an infant into the village dung heap for being female, sick or a surplus mouth to feed. The Romans were not offended, especially if the father followed the law and invited five neighbors to examine the baby before he left it to die,” according to Lewis Lord, author of “Bread and Circuses in the Year One: Life Under Augustus was dirty, brutal and short” (page 76 – 79, The Ancient World, Mysteries of History, US News and World Report Special Edition, 2004.)
Children were not considered human until they walked and talked in Roman times. It doesn’t seem that much has changed.
For those in the Middle East, Christ’s arrival brought change and peace. Christianity, the world’s largest religion with some two billon followers, gave hope to a hopeless world. The teachings of Christ confront and challenge the disparities between the rich and the wretched, teaching his followers “blessed are the poor in spirit… blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.”
In my humble view, the Roman Catholic Church actually did more to divide and conquer the sexes than it did to convert a sinner to sainthood. The Roman Catholic Church is the richest in the world, quite a contrast to Christ’s teachings during His tumultuous journey on earth.
American does little to ease suffering of the poor or weak. It’s more a haven of greed, fear and corruption like Rome.
If you watch the Discovery Channel, you’ve learned by now there is no such thing as “race,” per se, but this truth is not widely acknowledged, since most people don’t grasp that skin color and pigment is a product of ultraviolet exposure, rather than being about one’s superiority or supremacy, or who is more eligible for heaven.
I also have to remind myself that Indigenous knowledge is ancient and America is just a couple hundred years old. So why is the truth about “race” so scandalous?
“New World Order, Old World Lie,” Santee Sioux musician John Trudell said this about exploiting human beings, with one group dominating another.
Even now, men rule and manage their institutions, except in Indian Country where women are sacred and honored. Even the Earth is a woman and called Mother in Indian Country.
Great post Trace, thanks to you.
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