"But Christianity in substance they have accepted; and I know of no people who have developed a tenderer Christian conscience, or who have shown themselves more ready to obey its behests. Nor has any people known to history shown a greater reverence and love for their Christian teachers, or filled the measure of a grateful return more overflowingly. And where else in the world's history is it written that a savage people, pagan for ages, with fixed hereditary customs and beliefs, have made equal progress in civilization and Christianity in the same space of time? And what people has ever been subjected during such an evolution to such a flood of external demoralizing influences?"
- Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen Chapter LVII Human Autonomy
The paragraphs leading up to the one above were explaining how Americans were mentioning how natives of Hawaii' did not wholeheartedly accept New England Puritanism and therefore were considered "savages." I connected this chapter with Rudyard Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burden." Just because the natives of Hawaii' were different than the white men, they believed they were superior and needed spiritual guidance. Queen Liliuokalani's words were expressive but had a feeling of tranquility to them. She was expressing that even though her country might not chose Christianity as their religion, they still had a set of values and were righteous people.
No comments:
Post a Comment