THANKSGIVING--- THE GOLDEN RULE AND THE INDIANS

Victor Bloom MD

It's that time again--- Thanksgiving. The story goes it started when the Indians shared their harvest with the settlers from England, the Puritans. This was a golden time when there was no animosity between the settlers and the natives, and the people were guided, consciously or unconsciously, by the Golden Rule.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

It makes perfect sense. And yet this message has been distorted in the complexity and corruption of our times into,

"Do unto others before they do it unto you!" (pre-emptive strike), or "Do unto others as they have done unto you" (get even).

We look back on the history of this country and realize that our forbears committed genocide on the Native Americans. The Indians were no match for European technology and brutality. Even though they regularly raided each others camps and waged war, there was no attempt to entirely eliminate the enemy tribe. War was a ritual in which men sought to achieve power and manhood. They were protecting their families against those who would harm them.

The Indians hunted and gathered and therefore needed much land, maybe a square mile for each person. The Europeans had lived in cities and on farms and were used to being relatively crowded, and so did not take up or need as much space as as the indigenous natives. And yet since there was a steady inflow of immigrants from Europe, the whites impinged more and more on the redskins and invaded and camped in what had been Indian territory. In the small wars, treaties were made and broken, but when our leaders issued, "Manifest Destiny" (whatever that means, ad hominem or a tautology), they massacred the Indians, tribe after tribe until 'we' had the continent from sea to shining sea.

'They', the Indians, were forced into 'reservations' and the few survivors suffered there, terribly. They were prone to alcohol and tuberculosis. Their children were extracted from their natural surroundings and taught English and the strict religious ways of the Puritans. They were saving souls and destroying a culture. The history of our relationship with the Indians, the indigenous natives of what we now call "our land", is a sad one indeed.

And yet, had we not fulfilled our Manifest Destiny, where would we be now? What power would we have had with a patchwork of native American and Caucasian states? Would it have become a United States of America? Would there have been a Civil War? Would the United States have figured at all in the world wars? It seems obvious that if we had shared the continent with the native Americans, we would not have obtained the power and affluence which we now enjoy and even take for granted.

So on Thanksgiving Day, when the time for prayer comes, we have more to say than to thank the Lord for this bounty. We need to thank the native Americans for giving over this fair land, even though they did not intend to do so, and to thank our soldiers for fighting the good fight with guns and cannons against bows and arrows.

We enjoy the legacy of the past, bloody and evil as it was. As the true facts of our genocide of the native Americans comes to light, we must apologize for our forbears who were aggressive and greedy, proud and powerful. Our history books should not gloss over the facts of the destruction of the Indians.

Grosse Pointe used to be Indian land. And yet none of us would give up our homes to a latter-day Indian who said his great, great, great grandfather's tepee was originally on this land, and he has come to claim it.

Our devious and corrupt government has finally found a way to reward the Indian survivors, by building gambling casinos on their land and giving them ownership. So a few Indians are now wealthy and finally obtaining some political power.

We might take the example of our northern neighbor, Canada, which has given up national land for a real Indian nation.

Our prayers on Thanksgiving day should give thanks for our plenty and prosperity, but the joy and fulfillment we experience should be moderated by the knowledge of how this plenty was obtained. Can we step back from our happiness one moment and regret man's inhumanity to man? How long we have come from the first Thanksgiving!

Perhaps we can add to our thanks, this Thanksgiving, by being thankful that the Native Americans did not become terrorists or freedom fighters, now seeking revenge. Perhaps this is due to their ancient wisdom, similar to "the meek shall inherit the earth." We would do well to observe with respect their rituals and learn their poetry and philosophy. They were a proud and mighty people.

Dr. Bloom is Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State University School of Medicine. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He is a member of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and corresponding editor of their quarterly journal, Academy Forum and on the editorial board of the Detroit Medical News. He welcomes comments and questions at his e-mail address: vbloom@comcast.net