Since I still don't have my computer (I should get it back in time for my next post), and not much computer time, I'll spend this post in a bit of levity, which is always good.I was very disappointed in the Sopranos finale. It's funny that a lot of people, I hear, were disappointed with the Seinfeld finale some years ago--but I loved it. It had the selfish characters in jail, getting their just deserts. It was perfect.
I hated the Sopranos finale though. I thought it was, forgive the expression, a "copout". I hear that most people are disappointed like me, but you can always get some in the the intellectual crowd who say things like "it ended ambiguously", which is, they say, appropriate. They explain that Tony always lived in Purgatory, and so it is good that he ended the show in Purgatory--not in heaven, and not in hell.
I can understand why they didn't want Tony to get whacked. This way, they can do a sequel or a movie, and so on. But something big should have happened to the principles. Yes, Tony is likely to be indicted, as we learned. He could be killed any day. He could even have been killed at that last dinner out.
The old Hollywood formula, though, is that crime doesn't pay. This principle holds true in great literature, too. I think something major should have happened to Tony, or his family. Or, they should have had a narrow escape that made them regret the life they have invited on themselves.
I'm not just talking about a "moral," "just" ending tied up in ribbons and bows. I'm also speaking about drama. The drama in the piece was unbearable, which was good--but it ended with a whimper. Nothing happened. It sucked.
What do you think?
Rock
The liberal ideal now would be for the Europeans to have resisted building a country in America. The Europeans just should have left America in its pristine condition, without railroads and industry, and without the principles of land ownership and capitalism.
No matter how wonderful Indian culture was, and is, this could never have happened. There are forces bigger than any culture. The human race was meant to explore, expand, grow, and develop. This can't be stopped.
Manifest Destiny
If it isn't Manifest Destiny, it is what led natives from Tahiti to paddle to Hawaii 1000 years ago and impose their rule on the natives.Liberal Mindset
Because they weren't white Europeans, though, these Tahitians are not called evil.Property Rights
I realize that there are legal questions that do involve broken promises and the theft of lands, and so on. Yet, according to Indian history, they themselves did not have the concept of property rights. How do you reconcile a culture with no property rights and one that has property rights, when speaking about a specific plot of land?
Our courts have spoken, granting Indians the return of some lands, and compensation for other lands "taken." Plus, there is the casino thing.
The First Welfare State
One of the tragedies, though, for America and for its Native Americans, was the creation of the first welfare state. Well-meaning liberals of the time designed the reservation system, in order to be "good" to the Indians and give them their food, clothing, and lodging. It was the first paternalistic government program, and it included all the liberal philosophies. The government knew best what was good for the Indians. They should have Christian names, worship the Christian God, study Christian history and so on.
Gambling on the Future
The only turnaround for Indians in their post 19th century history has been the granting of unregulated casinos on their lands. This was not welfare. It is capitalism, and it is working for several tribes.
The Natural Forces
Whatever happens now, we must realize that solutions must be founded on the natural tides of history. We cannot turn back the clock. Even if we could, would the world be better off today if America was left in its former pristine state? No railroads, no industry, no property rights? What if the Europeans had been saints, and, while still creating a European system in America, had resisted the urge to "steal" lands? Well, and this must be emphasized again, then America could not have developed as it has.
It's not the "evil" Europeans that moved the human race forward. It's the nature of man himself/herself. The industrialization of America was going to happen.
Our Legacy
Though perhaps unjust and unfair, the Indian ideal remains with us in the thousands of acres of land in America granted to no one, owned by no one, earmarked as natural preserves. These lands are open to all. So, industrialization has occurred, and the preservation of pristine land has occurred.
The specific plots of land, though, that the Indians claimed as their natural homelands—were taken earlier from other Indians, by Indians. In the end, the game of musical chairs ended, and the Europeans landed on these lands, and crystallized the endgame into law.
Now, militaristic expansionism is no longer tolerated. Indians will no longer be invading new territories and claiming them for themselves. And Europeans have given up their imperialistic empire.
The Next Natural Tide
What is the next "tide of nature"? I suspect it's immigration, the burgeoning birth rate of Hispanics, and the browning of America. Now that the rule of law is in place, genocides won't work anymore. What is Nature telling us now? Expansionism is happening under the aegis of democracy. One force of Nature is the large Hispanic family, buttressed by Catholicism, supported by Hispanic culture. One political force is American liberalism, which wants all the Hispanics alive to immigrate to the United States, and for them to be fruitful and multiply. An opposing force is some on the conservative side, who want to preserve America as a diverse country, but with one language and culture.
Disappearing Diversity
Oddly, since America will one day be predominantly Hispanic, our diversity is disappearing.