JULY 2, 2022 – (Cont.) “The development of political structure across the 13 British colonies was accompanied by three forces that unfolded at an accelerated pace from establishment of the first successful English settlement—Jamestown in 1607 CE—and the Declaration of Independence by those 13 colonies 169 years later.”
I drew another cookie from the plate and nibbled the treat instead of scarfing it down thoughtlessly, as I usually do. The alien had absolutely no frame of reference for anything I was talking about. Democracy in America—Ha! It had to be utterly meaningless to this curious visitor that had mastered the laws of the universe but hardly begun to master an understanding of the human condition. We humans hardly understand our own condition. How on earth or anywhere else, I thought, could this alien fathom our species’ notion—or more accurately, notions—of this fragile, malleable, constantly evolving concept of citizen power?
Meanwhile, the alien sat patiently on the tabletop, filaments now pulsating in slow motion, green and yellow. By now I knew the alien’s color scheme—similar to ours, with green reflecting calm and yellow signaling caution. I waited for a probing question or some kind of observation, but none was forthcoming. Was the alien pondering or simply clueless or . . . utterly bored?
“Are you following me?” I asked.
“I’m starting with a blank slate, but I’m processing the data you’re giving me—apprehending it, then storing, synthesizing, analyzing to the point of drawing conclusions.”
“But so far I’ve given you precious few data. I don’t know how you’re going to connect many dots unless I provide you with a mountain of context and background.”
“Don’t worry,” said the alien. “I have supreme powers of synthesis. Even with limited data I’ll be able to extrapolate results at hyper-galactic speed and accuracy.”
I wasn’t convinced, but like an early American explorer, I proceeded into the dark, dense woods.
“Okay, good. What I was going to say is that to understand our political development, you need to understand the other forces at work in those 13 colonies. The primary influence was economic. Many of the people who came here from Europe were out to make their fortunes or at least improve their prospects. The early Spanish were hellbent on striking it rich by striking gold—and, okay, some silver. The English settlers were just as hellbent on striking it rich but by the hard work of harvesting natural resources, of which the continent seemed to offer a limitless supply.
“What took root in this soil, then, was an economy that supplied England with raw materials and the colonists with manufactured goods. This reciprocal arrangement included a molasses – rum – slave triangle, which had devastating consequences that haunt us to this day. This triangle became the second big force in our history.
“Okay. I didn’t think this would happen . . . or at least so soon, but now you’ve lost me.”
The alien’s continued fluency in idiomatic American English contrasted with its struggle outside any suitable frame of reference.
“Sorry,” I said, reflecting on the stark diagram of the Evil Triangle I’d suddenly recalled from my seventh grade American History class. It’d been years since I’d thought about that piece of our nation’s past. Despite all the racial turmoil in the country over the past half dozen years, I realized sheepishly, my recollection had been triggered by an extraneous, improbable conversation with an alien from across the cosmos. (Cont.)
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© 2022 by Eric Nilsson
