California Missions – Monuments or Tombstones?
Most Californians are introduced to the California Mission system in one of two ways: in their early education, or when they first visit a mission. Unfortunately, both methods are prone to simplification or bias in conveying the history of the missions. What this has led to is Californians who are ignorant of the history of the land they walk on. Consequently, visitors to the missions treat them as mere tourist attractions, instead of trying to embrace and understand the complex issues the missions represent.
The issue was brought sharply into focus for me recently, when I was in the cemetery of Mission Santa Barbara. It was a sunny afternoon and the tiny graveyard was crowded with people. I stood there and took in the scene around me. I saw children eating candy bars and dropping the wrappers on the ground. A group of people were shouting across the cemetery to their companions, something about a tour bus. I could hear the humming of the soda machines on the other side of the wall. A woman was having a loud conversation on a cell-phone about her lunch. A man knocked me aside in his rush to get a photo of himself standing next to a statue of St. Francis.
And there I stood, in the middle of it all, with the bodies of nearly four thousand Chumash beneath my feet. I didn't know whether to scream or cry. Don't you people know what you are walking on? Don't you know there are no grave markers because people were dying too fast for individual graves? I could almost feel the souls of the Chumash and the padres crying out. Don't these people know what this place is? The sad truth is, they don't know. And how could they?
Californian kids usually study the missions in the third or...
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...the soldiers and rancheros who lived there as well. The missions aren't just sugar cube churches. They are the place where one people had a sincere, yet terribly misguided goal of helping and integrating another people. Instead of helping and including them, they dominated and destroyed them.
It is crucial for us to treat the missions as more than buildings to visit. We must envision the inhabitants' thoughts, feelings and lives. We do this not just because it is history, but because it is our history. This is what happened on the land we walk on when we visit the Missions. We shouldn't keep walking in ignorance.
Elementary schools and the missions themselves need to present more of the actual history to people. It is only with that knowledge that visitors will truly appreciate and respect the missions for the valuable lessons and grave costs they represent.
History has a strange way of coming back around when it comes to human civilization. It has been said repeatedly that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. However, just because there is a potential for danger in the future, this does not mean that humanity must ignore what once was. History is normally remembered through what is known as a memorial. When a memorial is put into a physical representation, it is then known as a monument.The need to memorialize events or people is complex; in some cases, monuments honor moments of great achievement, while in other cases, monuments pay homage to deep sacrifice. A monument's size, location, and materials are all considerations in planning and creating a memorial to the past. Examples of such feats are the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and even Mount Rushmore. For the latter of the
Before the Gold Rush of 1849, the initial people who lived in California were the Native Indians. California was the home to approximately 275,000 Native Californians, which included the Pomo, Chumash, Mojave, Karok, Yuma, Paitute, and Shoshone. Spain had decided to Colonize California, also known as the “Sacred Expedition,” which began in early 1769. This expedition was composed of two miniature ships carrying soldiers, missionaries, livestock, and supplies, known as the San Carlos and the San Antonio, while the other two groups traveled by land. Missionaries play a critical role in Californian history, for they had built the 21 missions along the coast of California and had converted the majority of Native Californians to Catholicism. As New Spain won its independence from Spain on September 1821, California, now part of the...
Historians hope that by teaching younger generations about historical mistakes of the past, the knowledge will...
...f arriving to California, have withered and lost their sense of focus. This is a convincing indication that individuals must come together as one to achieve a common mission.
Taking into account of the recent shooting sprees, the gun control debate has started again. However, people have contemplated: “Why does America need gun laws” and “Why are so many states disagreeing about the restrictions that need to be put in place for civilians looking to purchase firearms.” The reasoning for such contemplation is that the fluxuating strictness of gun laws have led to several incidences within states that have strict gun laws due to the fact that the perpetrators of these incidences have purchased their firearms either from black markets, or states where the severity of gun control is at minimal levels.
Gun control activists claim that banning handgun purchases will reduce murder and other gun related crimes. However, cases where handguns were declared illegal were shown to be ineffective. During the years in which the Washington, D.C. handgun ban and trigger lock law were in effect, the Washington, D.C. murder rate averaged 73% higher than it was at the outset of the law, while the U.S. murder rate averaged 11% lower (Agresti and Smith). Not only in Washington, D.C. was this banning of guns unsuccessful, but also in Chicago. Since the outset of the Chicago handgun ban, the percentage of Chicago murders committed with handguns has averaged about 40% higher than it was before the law took effect (Agresti and Smith). Chicago has recently been named the nation’s murder capital by the FBI and had about as many murders in 2012 as the entire country of Japan, further demonstrating how these ordinances are ineffective. More than 8.5 million Americans legally carry concealed handguns, yet only at a rate of less of 1% do they commit fire...
Some may say that drug testing students is unconstitutional because it is an “invasion of privacy”. This, however, is not true. . . “In 1995, the United States Supreme Court ruled that drug testing for high school athletes was constitutional, and some districts expanded their policies to include middle schools.” I believe allowing schools to drug test athletes was a very positive thing. For many reason, but mainly because athletes who are on drugs have a higher risk of being injured. For example a kid who is on drugs and plays a sporting event has a greater risk of their heart stopping on the field or court. “Drug tests analyze bodily samples such as urine, blood, or hair to detect the presence of legal and illegal drugs.” The most common one is urine testing. I believe urine testing is the best way for high school students, because it does not take as long as some other tests and it is not as costly as other tests. This is especially important because obviously a school does not want to spend money on anything they do not have to. Our school does randomly drug test students every once in a while but only a few of the athletes are chosen to take the test so that really is not helping ...
Additionally, this essay would be a good read for those interested in the topic of sexuality, gender and culture or anyone studying anthropology. This essay contributes to understanding aspects of California history that is not primarily discussed. The reader gets and insight on two different cultures, and the effects of them merging together -- in this case, the cultures of the Spaniards and Indians. I believe that this article supports Competing Visions as the text also discusses how “the object of the missions was to convert the natives to Christianity as well as to Hispanicize them…” and both touch upon the topic of the rapes of
Today we have the Smithsonian Institution that represents the trauma that many of the people today do not have imprinted in their memory. This is a way for all people, who were both present and not present, to pay their respects to the participants and the victims in World War II.5 In creating the Smithsonian, the Americans initially wanted to reflect deeply upon the occurrences by design...
It is 11 June, 1963, and the Alabama National Guardsmen are called to the University of Alabama to ensure the safe admission of two black students. That same afternoon, John F. Kennedy addresses the nation in an attempt to sooth flared tempers on both sides of the debate. Despite the limited time for preparation, “… it was one of his best speeches–a heartfelt appeal in behalf of a moral cause that included several memorable lines calling upon the country to honor its finest traditions” (Dallek). Indeed, part of this heartfelt spirit is likely derived from the relative spontaneity of the speech. Nevertheless, Kennedy is well-recognized as skilled in his use of language (Renehan), and purposefully employs several methods to create his appeals.
Most people argue that human cloning is not morally and ethically acceptable due to both religious concerns and long-term health problems. The notion of cloning organisms has always been troublesome because of unpredictable consequences. “Cloning represents a very clear, powerful, and immediate example in which we are in danger of turning procreation into manufacture” (C...
A basic argument for the anti drug testing is the simple fact that random drug testing in schools would be an invasion of privacy. The fourth amendment to our constitution which states “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” was put in place to protect citizens of this country against policies like the random drug tests. Without probable cause there is no need to do random drug tests, what happens to those children who have tried a drug such as “pot” and not liked it. If a random drug test happens to take place within a month of the time that child experimented with the drug, then they will suffer great consequences depending on the rules of that school. I...
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One of the biggest gun control arguments out there is that firearms make it easy for criminals to do as they desire. One thing must be understood above all of these things, it ...
Drug testing can be a scary process, although it can be a very easy test for those people who don’t take drugs and don’t throw fits about it