On Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:04:19 -0600, somebody wrote:

> And had native Americans were willing and able to protect their land and
> prevent conquest and immigration, maybe the world would be a better
> place now. It's pointless to argue what ifs, but it should help convince
> you that whatever happened in the past (immigration included) need not
> have been the "right" thing.

Are you saying the native Americans weren't willing to fight to protect 
their land, or didn't try?  Because if you are, perhaps you should read 
some early American history.

>> What you seem to be saying is that since we can't do anything about the
>> past, we should just forget that it happened and not learn from it.
> 
> No. I'm saying we should base today's decisions on present
> circumstances, not past circumstances. Just because people immigrated in
> the past in large numbers to their present locations, we cannot assume
> immigration is always desirable. There's no hypocricy in realising what
> worked in the past may not work now (or vice versa).

I don't disagree with that, but at the same time, people need to realise 
that they're not *native* Americans, everyone came from somewhere. Unless 
you're descended from actual Native American tribes, you really have no 
more claim on this land than anyone else.

>> I don't have that luxury - and remember that those who fail to learn
>> from history are doomed to repeat it.
> 
> Learning is one thing. Making present decisions based on historical data
> or pretext is something entirely different.

No, making decisions based on historical *and* current data is the wise 
thing to do.  You can't make a good decision based solely on historical 
data, and I would argue that you also can't make a good decision based on 
a total lack of historical understanding.

Jim

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