Finder's "Keepers". Loser's "Weeper
Finder's "Keepers". Loser's "Weeper".America. The land of the free. The land of opportunity. Throughout the last hundred years, residing and being associated with America has been the ultimate accolade. For this reason, we believe every country desires our assistance in being a more prosperous land. First it was Vietnam, now Iraq. We have dispatched troops into this country, bombarded our religion, customs and beliefs onto them, and question why they are attempting to protect their "home". Although I carry the beliefs of America and am devoted to my country, we, in some regards, are a modern-day Christopher Columbus. We have gone into another country, been fought back against, and are now "looking around" questioning what happened, saying to ourselves that we are suppose to be superior. Christopher Columbus and Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca both embarked on voyages to the Americas, and similar to current America, both initially carried the arrogant " We are going to make a difference and tame these people," attitude; however, in a later expeditions both were captured and enslaved. On the contrary, their situations and attitudes were utterly dissimilar. Far removed from De Vaca's approach, which expressed appreciation for
Contrast from the cowardly and conceit manner of Columbus, DeVaca took a more appreciative approach to his situation. Columbus saw it "his duty" to transform the islands and evolve it into something he visioned it should be. He goes on later to say "I hope in some measure to convey to Your Majesty not merely a report of positions and distances, flora and fauna, but of the customs of the numerous, barbarous people I talked with and dwelt among. When I read this, I felt disrespected on behalf of the Natives. To state that something is "nothing but" is disgraceful. He makes reference to the structure of the men's bodies, how they are "well built". I viewed that expression as a cry for sympathy. All through our secondary education, the idea that Christopher Columbus discovered America was embedded in our heads; however, we were not provided with the accurate accounts of Columbus' journeys. He states when he came in contact with the Christian " they were dumfounded at the sight of [him], strangely undressed and in company with Indians" (35). After Columbus' crude and inexcusable behavior, it is ironic that proceeding his capture, he seeks sympathy and pity. He cries out to Ferdinand and Isabella in "Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella Regarding the Fourth Voyage," "It was always the customs to give thanks and promotion to him who imperiled his person" (27). Along with acknowledging customs and rituals, DeVaca also refutes a stereotype about the Natives he states "No matter what the disaffection, they do not resort to bows and arrows" (34). Instead of "giving him a hand" and "patting him on the back" for stumbling across what we call home, we should instead acknowledge the disrespect he displayed within his letters documenting encounters during his travels. Unlike Columbus, who "sat in his tears", De Vaca took the time to probe the environment around him.
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Acceptance Essays
