Conquest and civilization

This entry is part of my journal from Semester in the West. For all SITW journal entries, click here. For all SITW posts, including blog posts I wrote while on the program, click here. To learn more about the program, click here.

camp: near Lone Pine, CA

context: We visited Manzanar, which was an internment camp during World War II for thousands of Japanese-Americans. It’s now a National Historical Site, sitting in the shadow of the Sierra-Nevada mountains.

When will we ever learn? I’ve been to Cape Coast, Ghana, seen the fortresses where thousands of Africans lived like cattle before setting off to cross the sea. One-third would never set foot on American shores. This land, before it was home to whites keeping Japanese-Americans prisoner, belonged to the Paiutes, just as the rest of the West belonged to people with no concept of owning the space between ground and sky.

The history of Western Civilization is written in conquest. I reap the benefits; I don’t want the guilt. My legacy is written with barbed wire, chains, whips and blankets full of smallpox. We declare grand conquests—conquer the plains and prairies, Manifest Destiny—and fence off, lock up, kill and bury anything and anyone that stands in the way. We put things in boxes—this is nature, this is where cattle graze. This is (white) America, this is your reservation.

How can I apologize for actions I never chose? How can I justify the benefits in my life that have come at the expense of another’s freedom, self-determination or life?