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Topic: Do you beleive that the world would be a better place if the Indian (Native American) way of thinking had been adopted by all or most civilizations?

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1

marlon07

 Do you beleive that the world would be a better place if the Indian (Native American) way of thinking had been adopted by all or most civilizations?

3

Before I can really answer the question, you have to realize that there were hundreds of different Native American tribes and nations, each with a different way of life.  While some tribes had many ideas and customs in common, especially when compared to the European explorers who first encountered them, the collective whole of North American tribal nations was as diverse as the different nations of Europe!  One would have a difficult time saying a member of the Seminole tribe living in the Everglades had the same experiences and philosophies as a member of the Apache or Cheyenne tribes of the American West. 

Each unique environment offered specific challenges which undoubtedly affected the cultural and social outlook of the tribes which called those same enviornments home.  Some tribes were primarily hunters and gatherer societies, while other tribes heralded braves who would conquer weaker nations in epic battles. 

So, while your question is most definitely valid, it'd be beneficial to narrow your scope.  I suggest you pose it as follows:  Would the world have benefited from the Cherokee philosophy of life?  I use Cherokee, simply because of the vast amount of cultural knowledge we have today from that nation. 

4

mwestwood

One attitude that would appear to have been shared by all Native Americans is the respect for and communion with Nature.  If other civilizations had had this attitude, there would be little or no pollution, no wasting of natural resources, no upsetting of the balance of nature in the animal world--certainly, many of the issues addressed today would be eliminated.

Of course, the question that, then, arises is "How advanced can a civilization become without some exploitation of Nature?"  Remaining as simplistic as indigenous people in their use of Nature rules out some of the modern conveniences, the advances in science and medicine....  

5

krishna-agrawala

World has developed the way it is toady by using thoughts and knowledge from many different sources from all over the world. I am sure American Indian thinking has made its contribution to making the world it is. But I do not think that adoption of any one thinking to the exclusion of all others is not all that good idea.

 

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