Pocahontas

Passage taken from: Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma

By: Camilla Townsend

“Most powerful people, like other humans, see their own point of view as being the most reasonable, and if they pressure others to bend to their will, it is often important to believe that those being forced to bend do so, if not willingly, at least for their own betterment” (Ch. 6, pg. 118).

It is human nature to create blind reasoning and intellectual manipulation to hide or shelter the individual mind from truth. Such reasoning in effect produces false motivation and a sense of righteous to the obvious wrongdoings of man. Many prospective English travelers were told and read of lies of riches to be made in the New WorldвЂ"the submissive, naked Indian women encountered and material riches to be made. In actuality, they were just pawns to the bigger plan of conquest.

Supposedly, it is “God’s will” to have those uncivilized and uneducated converted into the more widely accepted faith. It is “God’s will” according to the Holy Book to nourish those deprived of true faith and religious practice. These learned or forced upon mentalities only further enhances misconception in weak minds. Weak minds referring to those individuals who are unable or even incapable of fighting for what’s right. “The Algonkians had long believed in a universe revolving around struggle: unequal power, violence, domination, and tribute were a part of life” (Ch. 3, pg. 65). History, to some extent, remains sympathetic to the Native Americans, the original inhabitants of the Americas. However, it needs to be understood that the Native Americans were just as ruthless and violent as their predecessors: the English and Spanish.

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