other|matters

Conquering by Embracing 20 October 2008

If you go in and conquer a people, your rule will be shortlived. You will be regarded from start to finish as an outsider occupying and imposing the brutal ways of an outsider. If you seek legacy, meaning, if you seek to last in that land, you have a few choices.

1- Thorough extermination of the indigenous peoples, removing all vestiges of their presence and history. This method was used by the colonial forefathers of the United States. It is sad to say, but if your goal is to seize land, then this method works. But, you are seizing land. The people become nothing more than obstacles, like trees in the path of a bulldozer. Only a people who could exterminate countless peoples of one group (the Native Americans in this case) would be able to enslave countless peoples of another group (the African slaves). It is the same mindset that allows for both savage behaviors.

2- Occupation. As mentioned, occupation never lasts. It is in human nature that at some point a survival instinct will activate, and the target of that response will be the occupiers. The occupiers will, at some point, be removed or will be made to evacuate. This legacy is the legacy of the British colonizers. They did leave a legacy of occupation, corrupting many of the traditions and institutions of the lands they occupied. But, their occupation is closed.

3- Forced conversion of the indigenous peoples. Whereas the American method was to obliterate the indigenous peoples, the Constantinian method was to force conversion. In the American method, the land was seized, and the bodies were replaced. In this method, however, the land is seized, as are the bodies. The religion was exterminated.

4- Enslave them, from near or far. In today’s economy, this method is one of the two methods of the Superpowers. Here, the imperial nation takes control of the energy resources that a people need for basic survival, whether we speak of oil, coal, or gas. Further, they corrupt the sources of sustenance, primarily water. The peoples are not able to do anything but surrender.

5- Enchant them. The greatest, most subversive occupation of the United States is its cultural hegemony, imposing its own values by way of the screen: television, film, internet, ipod. This method of control is also a form of a slavery, except that the enslaved do not realize they are enslaved.

But, the best way to conquer a people is:

5- To embrace and develop them. Maintain as much of the personality of the people as is possible. Change only the power structure. Then, grow the traditions of the indigenous peoples and make them flower. If you can do that, then your legacy will last.