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Ryan Widuch

American Literature

Creel

Dear Krofff,

It is with extreme excitement and absolute disbelief that I write you from planet Earth. As you know, it has now been over three hundred years since my arrival on this planet and my observations of the “intelligent” life known as humans have been both shocking and revealing. While my time here has been short, I now feel that I can accurately report to the Elders the conditions of this species and my expectations for their future. Surprisingly, some of the most revealing sources of my studies have come from published works from a variety of authors of the time. I have used my universal translator to analyze these books, poems, and journals that document and discuss first-hand accounts, feelings, religions, and the politics of modern humans. What I reveal to you will disgust you at times, but I feel that, in the end, you will be left with a feeling of hope for this races' potential. The reason for this hope is a place called America. This is where I have spent the majority of my time here. It is a magnificent continent and, while it was already inhabited by primitive humans, it has now begun to be civilized by migrating humans from the other hemisphere of this planet (Europeans). I am seeing an evolution of human behavior, thought, and social change right before my very eye. It has now become abundantly clear to me that the driving force behind modern humanity is religion and their desire to practice and evolve their religious beliefs without restriction or intolerance. And America has offered them the perfect opportunity to achieve this.

Let me begin with some background. Up until this point, these Americans lived in a land where religious freedom was something that did not exist. Europe was (and still is) a world ruled by monarchs and religious leaders who dictate every action their populous makes. Upon “discovery” of America, many of the first Europeans ventured to this “new” land in order to seek religious freedom. These humans were called Pilgrims and their leader, William Bradford, wrote of how difficult their voyage would be, but that it was worth it because “their ends were good & honourable; their calling lawfull, & urgente ; and therfore they might expecte ye blessing of God in their proceding” (Bradford 26). Once the Pilgrims arrived, they did, in fact, gain their religious freedom but the price was steep. Other groups (such as the Puritans) came to America to practice their religious beliefs in peace as well. However, soon enough we begin to see a “contradiction or incongruity between appearance and expectation” (Creel) (also known to humans as irony) when the leaders of these new religious communities begin to restrict their members in the same fashion that the leaders of Europe did to them. An early case of this was when a young Puritan woman named Anne Hutchinson who was “deeply fascinated by intricate theological issues...[and] began to hold weekly discussion groups in her home following Sunday services” (u-s-history.com) was scorned by religious leaders of her community and ultimately was exiled as a result. So, Kroff, the more things change, the more they stay the same. A wise American once said, “political and religious tolerance are beliefs that Americans have long claimed to believe in, but often have failed to really uphold” (Ann Brady.) And, while this may be true, in the last one hundred years, I have begun to see an extreme and encouraging shift through a new and exciting human religious belief system. I now believe that humans may actually be on their way to true tolerance.

Starting in the 18^th century (present day), there is a new religious group bubbling up called Deists. Without the religious flexibility America provides, these humans would never have had the luxury of developing their cutting-edge beliefs or the freedom to practice them. This religion was sparked by a new movement in the human state-of-mind called Enlightenment. One of the fundamental beliefs of Enlightenment is that “it is possible to improve situations of birth, economy, society, and religion” (Reuben). This is ground-breaking for mankind! And it is affecting some of the most prolific and intelligent Americans of the day. One of the greatest poets that I have ever read is inspired by the Enlightenment and gives a great example of this principal in one of her poems when she writes, “'TWAS mercy brought me from my Pagan land/ Taught my benighted soul to understand/ That there's a God, that there's a Saviour too:/Once I redemption neither fought now knew” (Wheatley ll. 1-4). As you can see, things are changing! Humans are becoming more thoughtful and showing signs of maturity. They are finding deeper meaning in life, reconnecting with the natural world, and are even beginning to rely on science in some capacity. It is these changes that give me hope for this race and for our plans. Another American colleague of mine touches on the magnitude of the Enlightenment when she writes, “this idea is lofty because once recognized, it draws the responsibility for morality and right action out of the hands of an omnipotent god, and places it instead, in the hands of men” (Caitlin Burns). And maybe this is why humans are on their way to progress after all. That reminds me, there is a man by the name of Paine who is a Deist and an active participant in the Enlightenment movement. In this same vein, he speaks of a refreshing view on the tolerance of others when he writes “to condemn those who believe otherwise; they have the same right to their belief as I have to mine” (Paine). It is words like these that prove we are beginning to see true tolerance among humans without contradiction. It took centuries, but it is finally starting to happen and I cannot tell you how excited I am to be witnessing such dramatic changes among a race that I initially thought was hopeless.

So, with this in mind, I am hereby requesting an extension of my stay here on Earth. I feel that I have finally figured out what makes these humans tick. At first, I thought that the human quest for religious freedom in America would just lead to more intolerance in the long-run and that they would never actually achieve that which they so desired. And my early observations did prove that to be correct. As a result, it seemed as if their feeble minds would not be able to support the work we have in store and that they may be rendered completely useless to us. But after these latest developments I can honestly say that I believe that the humans may be onto something. Maybe they are capable of change. Maybe this “New World” is working out for the progress of humanity after all. And maybe humans truly are capable of developing and evolving into a more enlightened frame of mind, if just given the freedom and the space to do so. So, please, bare with me. I believe that my research here will help us understand humanity better and will eventually make it that much easier to psychologically manipulate them once they are enslaved. In my expert opinion, I believe that if we can let them evolve their minds for a few hundred more years, they will be that much more valuable to us once we harvest.

Regards,

Ripp

Official Investigator