Editor,

Perhaps I missed another liberal redefinition in Mr. Horton’s letter (March 16), but in claiming to be writing in a politically incorrect manner he then goes on a diatribe against the westward movement, European dominance of the first settlers of the American continents and the underhanded dealing of (presumably) white men in general.

That sounds pretty politically correct to me but let me interject a little reality into the argument. First, the peaceful first settlers to the North and South American continent were presumably either chased from or fled from Asia looking for food and safety from other Asians who in turn were fleeing from Middle Eastern peoples seeking food and safety, who likewise were fleeing the people from Africa who pushed eastward, etc. etc. etc., all the way back to some dusty plain in Southern Africa.

Once establishing themselves on this continent, expanding all the way to the tip of South America, they did what every other human society has done. They fought for the territory they occupied against their neighbors. This is the way of expansion. Ask the Assyrians how they felt about the Babylonians, or the Greeks the Persians. Do I need to explain the Roman Empire, or do we need to return to world history 101?

Civilizations clash, most of the time with less than civilized results. Do we even know what cultures were totally annihilated worldwide, or care?

George McDonald Frazier, author of the “Flashman” novels wrote that if man did not expand into new territories, then “The Ur of Chaldea would be a very crowded place.” What we must consider is not what our ancestors did or didn’t do, but what we do today with the system that is in place.

So, I suggest that Mr. Horton, if he feels so guilty, give his property to the next first settler he meets. It is essentially a free country and no one’s stopping you from making amends for your sins. Just don’t include me in it. My ancestors didn’t arrive until the late 1800s.

Fred Wilferth

Coupeville