Remembering past massacres

An engagement between the non-treaty Indians, the Lakota-Cheyenne, and the 7th U.S. Calvary occurred there June 25th, 1876. General [a breveted rank from the Civil War] Custer, who had lived among the Cheyenne and considered them the finest light calvary in the world, died fighting along with 210 other men under his command. It was the high watermark of Indian resistance to American expansion. During the fighting Custer’s body was guarded by Cheyenne warriors from scalping and looting as he had been considered a friend to the indians.

I find some comfort in the idea that 9/11 will be a high watermark of Muslim fanaticism. Like Custer’s Last Stand, 9/11 has galvanized popular support against a group of people. Unfortunately I wonder what role the Sykes-Picot agreement, Open Door policy, the CIA backed Shah of Iran, American support for Saddam Hussein, American support for Israel, and so forth had in fomenting fundamentalist anger at the American government. I hope someday that we, the citizens of the world, find some other way to settle our differences.