The United Nations has undertaken a formal study of the Doctrine of Discovery, that which “authorized” and made acceptable the taking of indigenous lives and lands throughout the western hemisphere and around the world. This was “because” the indigenous (original) people were not fully human, and certainly not Christian. There has been a white (European) supremacy presumption in the U.S. going all the way back to before the founding fathers.
A white man enters a place of worship, the Oak Creek Sikh Gurdwara (Temple) in Wisconsin, to shoot ten people, six to death. Could this have anything to do with power/powerlessness in the context of the ravages of the “free enterprise” system? Or with U.S. history, slavery or racial profiling? It may be one strand of our cultural DNA.
At PDF, looking at this brilliant blind spot, we understand that developing peace means understanding history, coming to terms with it, building new systems, re-programming ourselves, regardless of cultural identity, to build a peaceful presence in the world.
May the community of Oak Creek heal in peace!
30 Years of Peace Development 