Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America (Benjamin Franklin) - Essay Example

Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America (Benjamin Franklin) Societies fundamentally have ways which guide the interactionsof the members. However, the assumption in most cases is that what is viewed as civil should be uniform across all societies. Prejudice and biases characterize human interactions. It is such perceptions that Benjamin Franklin tries to dispel in his remarks on the savages of the North America. His remarks try to assert the position that, contrary to belief, the Indian communities of North America have ways through which they interacted which could have passed for civility.

In fact, he goes on to insinuate that the ways of the Indian communities could have been even more civilized than those of the White American communities (Höfer, 2003). He gives incidences which give backing to his arguments. For instance, when Christianity was introduced to them as an attempt of transforming them, they paid attention to the whites missionaries. However, they rejected the religion and instead offered to teach the missionaries their religion (Narloch, 2007). What is ironical is that the missionaries, unlike the Indians, did not even spare time to listen to what the Indian’s religion was about.

This just shows that the Indians had a virtue in being tolerant towards other people from other culture. It is after accommodating views from other cultures that they made a resolution. This is unlike the whites who claimed to be more civilized yet they showed little tolerance. In addition, Franklin cites the instance where in the Indian culture, a speaker is not interrupted till one finishes the speech (Franklin, 1999). The listeners, during the speech, would wait patiently while listening to the speech.

However, in most civilized societies, liberty and democracy compels people to interrupt speakers during debate. This just shows the extent in which the Indian communities of the North America might have been better of in terms of social structures and relations. ReferencesChronicles. (n.d.). Remarks concerning the Savages of North America. Retrieved March 7, 2012, from Benjamin Franklin: http://www.wampumchronicles.com/benfranklin.htmlFranklin, B. (1999). Autobiography and other writings. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Höfer, F. (2003).

Indian Perceptions - From 15th Century to Benjamin Franklin ́s "Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America". Berlin: GRIN Verlag.Narloch, J. (2007). White Men Or Native Americans: Who are the Real Savages?:A Research Based on the Texts of Benjamin Franklin and John Smith. Berlin: GRIN Verlag.