A disturbing doctrine

 * Determinism is the irrefutable doctrine that: Every event and condition, including every thought and action, is an inevitable consequence of antecedent events and conditions. A corollary is that every evil act in the past, present and future was caused by conditions at the beginning of the universe. Regret, melioration and evolution are links in the cause-effect chain, which should gradually diminish avoidable harm. * Determinism slips from our minds when we are riled by another's misbehavior, but it should enter contemplations of history and justice, when analyzing the dynamics of harm, when seeking to identify significant causes of regrettable events. * Resentment of Andrew Jackson by Native Americans (Albert Bender, Tennessean Mar 15), should dampen Jackson’s apotheosis. Bender’s condemnation might be less vitriolic had he recognized that we all are tribal, ie we evolved with a drive to acquire and expand for our ourselves and our kin, or had he recognized that Jackson’s acts of ethnic cleansing (and genocide) were destined at the beginning of time. * In moments of reflection, we Euro-Americans (beneficiaries of tribal success) should be more modest even humble, considering that the land we occupy and resources we exploit were stolen pristine from Native Americans. To that we could add our treatment of Africans and Mexicans. We might give due credit to our resource advantage over economic competitors throughout American history. Can my tribe be satisfied enough with less pride?
* * Addendum: It's interesting to consider the validity and implications of determinism; but I suspect that the best, noblest, most accomplished, most generous, most admirable people ignore or reject determinism. It interferes with ones sense of purpose, value and meaning.