Ray:
Yours is only one perspective of mexican history, quite similar to the
official history. Noy everybody among the most respected historians
(scholars) agree with the bucolic, romantic, version of the aztec society.
In the time the spaniards came to Mexico ("Cortes -with S- the brute", you
wrote) they were cruel, bloodthirsty people who terrorized their neighbours,
a decadent society with few to offer, except war and domination. Very
violent people, no doubt. Nowadays their descendants still are.
Hernan Cortes is the most important person in Mexico's history, and of the
few gratest men of all times. Because of my national and cultural roots, and
because of the respect I feel por this brave man, I rather to construct my
mexican identity based on Cortes figure and not in the idealized and irreal
figure of "the aztecs". SalvadorFrom: "Ray Evans Harrell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2003 9:38 PM > Perhaps you know little about the Aztecs. They loved their children. Had > no crime rate and had the first public schools in the world. They were > fierce to their enemies and proud of their nation. Their cities were the > most beautiful in the world according to Cortez and his men and they were > the world's greatest farmers. They were great singers and poets. They > chose the direct method to human sacrifice rather than creating situations > where people were worked to death or allowed to die to satisfy an invisible > hand. You didn't screw around with them and they had public works projects > for the poor and free food along the road planted every year for the poor > and in case of drought. They also had the most efficient sewage system on > the planet when Europe was killing itself in filth and plague and the > world's largest city at the time. With every man woman and child sick > from the Smallpox they still fought the Spanirds to a standstill and did not > give up the city until there was no more city. I don't find them > particularly more violent than senators who would vote to raise the speed > limit in a highway system that would kill 10,000 more people a year just to > satisfy the Green God. In fact their sacrifices were organized. One a day. > That is 365. And no accident lottery to blame it on God. They took > responsibility. Of course it was brutal and had nothing to do with > justice but frighteningly little in this society has to do with justice > either, when it comes to who lives and who dies. Nothing is just about > environmentally caused cancer or heart disease caused by pollution or brain > tumors caused by lead. The Gods of industry won't produce without their > kill off of human souls. Today they even threaten the planet with their > environmental chaos. Europeans spoke in terms of the deaths of thousands > when the Aztecs fought wars of roses for captives to sacrifice the one or > two a day. Death is death and numbers are numbers. Everything else is > just excuses. So if you don't like the Aztecs. Sorry, I though I was > making a compliment. Perhaps you don't like that they were religious > fundamentalists? > > REH _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
