There is plenty of argument about the legitimacy of Disney's Pocahontas. Though historically quite inaccurate the story just beneath the inaccuracy tells a tale of savage behaviour and self righteousness. With each side thinking that the other is the savage, it brings up a topic for the ages. Each side is completely correct. No matter what your ethnic background you are the product of superstition, hatred and savagery, we humans have relied on this behaviour in order to evolve.
In Pocahontas' time the natives of the Americas were the “savages” and before that it was the Gauls of France and the Turks and the Huns. We humans have a long history with this sort of assumption, we always assume the place of Us against Them. Years after Pocahontas it was the African slaves then the Chinese, the Jews, the Nazi's, Communists and most recently the Muslim community. As long as we continue to hold an Us and Them mentality we will always assume that They are savages and We are righteous.
No matter what our differences are, I have come to realize that we are all savage, I don't mean individually, but humanity as a race is capable of great destruction, all races. We see our differences as liabilities and not the treasure that they are. We become blinded by the “but they started it” mentality and lose sight of the humanity behind the strangers eyes.
Peace begins with one act, Pocahontas throws her self in front of the blade to protect John Smith, Martin Luther King Jr holds rally's and the “enemy” joins in, links arms and peacefully say this human is worth respect. It is always the actions of love, not hate that moves mountains and brings about change.
This is my calling to the next “Savage” to come about, and I am not just talking about the global savages, I mean the ones a little closer to home, the ones in traffic, the ones at the office, the ones who grace the pages of news papers. I will not fight you with hatred; I will not fight you at all because deep in my heart I am sure of one thing; peace begins with me. And by ME I mean all of us.
There is no more savage an act than the act of feeling superior.
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