In the midst of the Arizona Apache wars with Mexico, the Mexican goverment, tired of the fighting, decided to ask the US to intervene to help with peace. Peace, as it generally does, came with a price; huge atrocities and heartaches were suffered by many.
As it normally is, there have been word of mouth stories spun over the years to promote sympathy for everyone involved, but these historical and documented words written by Captain Bourke about General George Cook (below) really grabbed my attention. They're so apropos with our current home and world events and should be seriously considered.
"Crook took Chalipun by the hand, and told him . . . it was no use to talk about who began this war; there were bad men among all peoples; there were bad Mexicans, as there were bad Americans and bad Apaches; our duty was to end wars and establish peace, and not to talk about what was past and gone. The Apaches must make this peace not for a day or a week, but for all time."
During the 1880s, the Apache nicknamed Crook Nantan Lupan, which means "Grey Wolf." More can be read about him on Wikipedia, or the Internet, but if anyone wants to read more about this time period, I've attached an interesting link.
However, the main reason for this blog was that I wanted to share General Crook's sentiment. If we only choose to live in the past, (not learn from it) with accusations and finger pointing, we make it more difficult to move forward. We may stay stuck in a hopeless quagmire, promoted by those who don't want peace, because they gain from our turmoil.
http://www.windspiritcommunity.org/ARIZONA%20APACHE%20WARS.htm
Interesting. There are actually people out there who get this, it's just that there seems to be a majority who just aren't ready to move on despite the fact that they say they do.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It's generally those who want the country to do everything but give nothing back. It's one reason why our country is in the mess it's in. There are those that live but don't learn.
Delete