Our Devolving World
If you review the history of the last few millennia, you will notice a vicious perpetual cycle, full of carnage and atrocities. It sends revulsion towards those who rest on these foundations. It is inhuman to see how these atrocities perpetrated on the local culture, civilization, and ethnicities wiped out a living history of time. Let me cite a few examples.
In Latin American, evolved civilizations such as the Mayas, Incas, or the Aztec were decimated by the Spanish Conquistador, primarily by using two modus operandi, guns, and infection. Guns were then new to these civilizations. It is clear how annihilating this new weapon might have been on the civilization that was always guarded by distance and oceans. Diseases such as smallpox, cholera, and syphilis, that never existed in the Latin American civilization, soon spread out and wiped out the entire generation.
Africa, as the continent stands today, was composed of diverse ethnicities and cultures. Clustered and nestled in a different locale, amongst the diverse flora and fauna, cultures, and civilizations thrived in those jungles, and man lived peacefully coexisting with the native flora and fauna.
Their richness knew no bounds, it was not just tangible, but these intangible and abstract sense of connectedness and culture emanating from this milieu. The discovery of Guns, truly “Langoor Ke Haat Mili”. Another onslaught came from the newly settled Europeans in the Americas, not being able to tame or manage the vast stretches of the land. Literally, Africans were plundered, enslaved, and sold or brought for farm work or other chores.
All these created a disruption and destroyed a sublime and serene culture, and lost civilizations evolved over several millennia to eternity. Such is the painful story of Africa. Somewhere, deep in my heart, I feel and I am waiting for Africa to rise and establish its identity.
The Cute Face of Ugly Imperialism
A New Face of Atrocities emerged in Asia, specifically India, where the Britishers the Dutch, and the Portuguese, especially landed under the garb of trade and soon exploited the differences to establish their sovereignty over the might and indestructible empires and kingdoms. A student of history or those with origin from the Indian subcontinent still has fresh memories of the devastation of cultures, the plunder of civilizations, and exploitation of the faultlines, religious, ideological, or ethnic, that existed in harmony until their arrival.
On the other side, the story is not any different. After Christopher Columbus’s futile expedition to discover India landed him on a vast swath of continent that was absolutely unknown, Europeans swarmed (immigrated) to the Americans. Of course, the native cultures were dominated by the likes of Incas (South America, Peru), the Mayans in Central America, and the Aztecs, in Mesoamerica. The existence of Zero, or a hieroglyphics to write, is immaterial. To me, it is unimportant who has a script to write, or deep knowledge of mathematics to see the unfathomable distant universe. What matters most is that they had their distinct evolution to identify themselves. They were isolated from the Western World and, the arrival of the Europeans simply exposed them to pandemics that wiped out these civilizations. The population dwindled to almost 20 percent. Of course, what we see Brazil today, was once inhabited by the Incas and the Olmecs.
Mayans have a bitter and very painful story. They were one of the most evolved civilizations amongst the Olmec, Incas, and the Aztecs. After the death of their males from society, females were taken as concubines. It was not just the loss of civilization but the destruction of the genome. If you visit Mexico, you will mostly see those as a cross between the Mayan Indians and the Europeans, a mixed genome. The concern is not about the mixing of the genome, the pathos is their inability to protect their legacy and race. Had they willingly entered into a mixing of races, it would have been welcome. The butchering of the males and exploitation of the females destroyed them from rising ever again as a race. You still see remnants of those impacts in the form of the maternalistic family upbringing amongst the Mexicans.
From the African continent, or the extinction of the native American (In India, they call them Red Indians) by the Americans (Canada and the US alike), and the opium war, are all examples of atrocities that have been pushed under the rug by the winners of current times (winner writes the history).
These are examples from the last few centuries. If we trace the history of the world, we see an entire civilization or even religion vanishing under aggression. Zoroastrians are an example. History is rife with similar examples. What I fail to understand, is the so-called evolution that we human beings boast about.
Perpetuating and inflicting further atrocities is like “Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law” vicious syndrome interaction, that gets perpetuated down generations. Today, China is inflicting a similar pain. Can we justify the perpetuation of atrocities?
Sometimes, I wonder, we have devolved, not evolved when I revisit the history of the millennia.
https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-africa/anansi-0010612
mymilieu.org 