Revised-"Walk of Death"

     Based on a comment I have received so far on specifically my old post titled, "Walk of Death", I am going to edit it based on the constructive criticism offered by user Pauly_jay920. I feel it is very helpful when a reader points out ideas or mistakes  that perhaps the writer did not notice themselves because that's how your own writing abilities improve. Moreover, I feel that commentary from others can drastically make your writing piece way better than the first time you wrote it, but cannot always make it perfect because there are readers that may want you to elaborate on different things or whose writing style is different from your own.

 

      The Trail of Tears has always been a reoccurring topic discussed in history classes I have taken. Just as we’re (students) are taught, they were forced off their land and were considered, “backward and ignorant”, therefore had to learn the Christian way of living. However, many of the individuals interviewed in the film we saw in class stated that we need to learn about the history of the Cherokee population because a lot of facts are left unsaid and I feel that’s what I really gained insight to. I always thought they were forced to do what they were told by the whites such as changing their lifestyle and learning the European culture. But, I learned they actually wanted to adapt to white customs in order to keep their homeland. And, most of all they were successful in doing everything the right way, regarding changing their ways and participating in the missionary schools. Nevertheless, chaos still broke out when two leaders, Elias Boudinot and John Ridges wanted to marry white women. Now, the issues among the Cherokee people focused on “color”. They proved they were capable of doing the same things whites can do, yet this served as a new excuse for them to suffer from oppression.

       It just doesn’t seem to make sense that a group of people were treated less than humans by the same people who welcomed them with open arms at one point. Looking at the big picture, the real reason of it was purely greed. Wealth was the motive, which is exactly what President Jackson wanted.  Assuredly, he had support to carry out the Cherokee genocide and obviously the power to do so. It was survival of the fittest, a concept in Social Darwinism. Regarding the Cherokee population, money was not something to fight for. To them, real value and worth stemmed from the comfort of living on their land and the beautiful mountains that surrounded it. But, European-Americans intent for the removal of Native Americans was profit. Everything had to be done to make sure wealth was in the hands of the whites and only them which is why the Cherokees couldn’t testify against whites, sell land, mine for gold or have freedom of speech. Even the sympathizers and intellectuals had to be eliminated. Among such people were some Americans and members of Congress like David "Davy" Crockett.

     As we discussed, global genocide is evident throughout history as a repeating event. A historic reference can be the Holocaust, in which millions of Jews were killed by the Nazi regime under control of Adolf Hitler. And unfortunately, we’re not safe today either. Greed drives people to do bizarre things, whether it’s on a big or small scale. A lot of times, wants are placed on top of needs. It  makes me think of a small example like the MTA and their greed when it comes to raising up the fares, with the poor economy and middle class struggling enough already. But, of course, there are always excuses as to why their actions are justified.