HISTORY

Somebody in Sunday School today suggested, as has been common in my experience in classrooms at the church, that the descendents of Moroni included the Native Americans in North and South America. Of course that was the historical perspective of the past, but of late --- what with DNA analysis and whatnot --- that notion has given up ground and has become less palpable. As a people, the general population of the United States doesn't adopt for itself the history of its Native Americans or inculcate their mythology or legends into its history. As has been stated, we haven't adopted the mythology of origins that others have; rather, we make it up as we go along. For us, it is process rather than a cohesive story, partly because we as a nation hail from all corners of the world. While the Mormons tried to do that for quite a bit of history here in the United States, that notion has waned.

As a general principle, I am quite ignorant of history. The subject never attracted me with any great allure. I need to acquaint myself with the principles of the founders of this great nation and to see where those principles have taken us and where we now stand. As I understand it, it was some time back in the halcyon days of the eighteenth century that the notions upon which we as a nation supposedly stand, took root. Who were those forefathers that influenced us so much? It includes names like Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Franklin, Washington, and Adams.

So tomorrow a group of former employees of Blackwater, the private security force that peddles its wares throughout the world but in particular in the Middle East, will surrender here in Utah to the authorities pursuant to an allegation that in Iraq they fired upon innocents, killing many of them. One of the alleged perpetrators is from Utah. That may be why they are all surrendering here; I'm not certain of that. In any event, somewhere at the beginnings of the country a foundation must've been laid to hold people accountable for their crimes. Even if they committed them abroad, in the midst of a war.

We shall see.