I think Buffy is probably my favourite female singer. She is an extraordinary songwriter. Today I’m going to be playing some of her songs regarding the genocide of the Native American Indians. It’s not a topic that gets served up in US schools but it really should be the number one issue.
When the Europeans arrived in the USA they were taken in and helped through that first harsh winter by the coastal Indians. Within a short while those same coastal Indians were wiped out through disease and murder.
The Indian Wars were deliberate government policy to kill off the Plains Indians and steal their land. Through lies, treaties and murder the Indians, considered vermin, were hunted down and systematically murdered. When not simply shot they were given smallpox-infested blankets. The buffalo, their staple food, was very nearly made extinct with the great massacres inflicted upon them in a deliberate policy, an attempt to starve the Indians.
The villainy, cruelty and morally corrupt methods were appalling.
That same attitude pervades the USA today. The sanctimonious arrogance of Trumpists. The evangelical arrogance of religious fanatics. The violence and belligerence. The perverse patriotism. The greedy nationalism. The selfish capitalism. The nasty fascism.
Fortunately, there is another side to America – one of caring, compassion, equality and selflessness. That balances out the greed and selfishness a lot.
Here’s Buffy singing one of the strongest songs ever written. Puts Dylan to shame.
My Country Tis of thy people you’re dying
Then the Indian Wars:
Then war in general:
Who comes close??
Where are the new voices standing up against this philosophy?