Contradictions

This quote brings to mind a lot of the things I've been learning recently in my US History class. During the early conquest and exploration of the Americas, most Europeans considered themselves to be superior to the Native Americans. They saw them as heathens because of their religions, and they saw them as unintelligent because of their lack of much technology. But were they really that way? Were they heathens because their religions taught to work with the land instead of destroying it? Were they unintelligent because they hybridized corn, beans, squash, and potato's instead of creating firearms? The great irony is the Europeans, while destroying the Native Americans, adopted many of their farming, hygiene, and even religious practices. The Europeans became healthier and more productive because of a culture they regarded as below them.

It's interesting to thing about.