The Role of the Americas: The East and the Dark
No civilization can claim to have given more to humanity than others without taking much in return, and often causing great calamities. The most giving civilizations to humanity are: 1. Mesopotamian civilization, for its early contributions to writing and administration. 2. Ancient Greece, for its philosophy, logic, and political thought. 3. Rome, for its law, engineering, and art of governance. 4. China, for its significant advancements in governance, technology, and invention. 5. The Islamic Golden Age, for preserving ancient Greek sciences, medicine, mathematics, and astronomy by translating, disseminating, and sometimes adding to them.
If we look at the modern era, we see that countries like Britain, European nations, and the United States have contributed greatly to humanity, yet simultaneously caused immeasurable devastation, massacre, killing, and displacement.
In a text attributed to an Australian doctor, it is stated: "There is a report published in a Pakistani newspaper offering a reward for killing any American, whoever they may be! What these people do not realize is that the American is, in reality, English, French, Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Russian, Greek, Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Arab, Afghan... or Pakistani. They may even be indigenous inhabitants of the continent. They may be Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, or Muslim. Their numbers may exceed those in their countries of origin, and all are free to practice their rituals and embrace any religion. The American lives in the most prosperous lands in world history. The roots of this prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which affirms every individual’s right to pursue happiness.
Before Trump, America was generous with many countries, often without expecting anything in return. The Statue of Liberty, or rather welcomed, the weary and poor, the cast-offs and displaced, those battered by fate—among them were those who built America, and those who built the World Trade Center, the site of the terrorist attack that claimed the lives of citizens from 30 different countries, cultures, and languages.
It is not difficult to kill an American; Hitler, Japanese generals, Stalin, Mao Zedong, and various tyrants have done so. But this only means the killer kills themselves, because Americans are not a specific people from a specific place; they are the embodiment of the spirit of freedom and humanity... as they once were.
The world did not know of the American continents before 1492, and thus did not taste corn, potatoes, tomatoes, cocoa, vanilla, chili peppers, peanuts, cassava, sweet potatoes, various types of beans, squash, pineapples, papayas, avocados, and berries. There were no turkeys outside the Americas, nor cochineal, which revolutionized the textile industry. There was no rubber, and much else besides.
On another note, Reverend Lauren Livingston of the Central Church in Charlotte asks: "Was America a Christian nation? Or is that just a myth? As Americans, we are not a Christian nation, nor do we live in one. Religious people came to us to practice their faith. We had the greatest preachers of the Bible, and some who built this country were religious people. But it was never a Christian nation, and never will be. How can we be a Christian nation when we killed and displaced 20 million indigenous people who still live in abject poverty? How can we be Christians and believe that owning slaves pleases God, or is consistent with the Bible? We not only practiced human enslavement but were obsessed with it to the extent that we fought a civil war over it, in which 500,000 Americans lost their lives—more than our sons have lost in any other war. How could some of us accept the idea of killing 500,000 of our own so that the victors could own others?
Note: Kuwait has lost Hamza Abbas, a rare national and cultural figure, the first director of the Currency Board who issued the Dinar currency in 1961, and the first governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait. He was chaste in tongue and spirit, and trustworthy in every endeavor he undertook. Ahmed Al-Sarraf
