Op-Ed: ​The Colonialism enigma

America was discovered and initially populated by colonialists. It's constitution was written by colonialists. In almost all the cases I can recall around the world colonialists were white, Christian, Western Europeans.

America's rise to the heights it has risen to are a direct result of white, Christian, Western European Colonialism. That is not to say that the melding which occurred over the years of different cultures incorporated in American society has not had a beneficial effect because it has. We would not be what and who we are today without immigrants and the diversity in culture they brought with them. We could not have risen to the heights we have without the contributions and labor of those who came here hoping to live the American Dream or without the labor and culture brought by slaves and indentured servants. However, thinking about it objectively, "the American Dream" is one developed primarily as a result of English-speaking, Christian, Western Europeans. They made it possible for all those immigrants to emigrate. They made it possible for all those immigrants to function freely, to vote and to achieve. Colonialism changed the world in a positive way. Yes, there are many instances where the indigenous population and culture were trampled along the way. But even with that, colonized countries grew, their economies prospered, their people gained a better standard of living than what they had when the colonists arrived, their children were educated, their lives grew longer, more of their babies lived, they were mostly able to speak and travel freely. And then colonialists became "bad people". The children starving in Zimbabwe today are the children of those who voted for "change" expecting the government to take care of all their needs. The unemployed in Zimbabwe today are the children of those who voted for change. Those rioting in the streets today are the children of those who were dancing in the streets in anticipation of change. The owners of dusty unproductive farms piled high with broken, rusty once-high-tech farm equipment today are the children of those who once worked on productive farms which gave Zimbabwe the title of "breadbasket of Africa". What wealth still exists there has been "re-distributed" to thieving politicians and their families - not the people who voted for change. We are moving from a nation of self-reliant, self-starting, ambitious achievers to a nation of mooching "changer-wanters" who don't learn from history that big government never enriches anyone but the politicians and their henchmen. Be careful what you wish for....