Why do Americans have a problem with change?

The Indian Question – Blog #4

            When reading the chapter “The Indian Question,” the one thing that really stuck out to me was Commissioner Walker was talking about how “the ultimate goal was the eventual assimilation of Indians” (Takaki 233).  Walker later went on to talk about how the government would subject the Indians to a “‘rigid reformatory discipline.’ Not allowed to ‘escape work,’ they would be ‘required’ to acquire industrial skills until at least one generation had been placed on a course of ‘self-improvement’” (Takaki 233).  This absolutely blows my mind.  The fact that most people, government included, expected the Indians – those native to the land – to give up their ways and give up everything they had known for generations.  The whites wanted the Indians to bow down to their ways. 

            All of this really makes me wonder, why do Americans have such an issue with change?  And by Americans, I don’t just mean Caucasians – I mean all people who live in American.  In this case, I am specifically speaking about the Caucasians who reacted to settling into America.  The Americans had an issue with the Indians because they didn’t know what their culture was.  Their unknowing of how the Indians acted or behaved made the Americans scared.

            One thing that helps answer my question about change is an essay I read online called Color Adjustment by Holly Thompson.  She talks about how different television shows that show colored people in everyday life have influenced the population throughout the years.  The essay talks about many aspects of how people have taken to the “uprising” (not sure if that is the right word) of African Americans and other races. 

            Americans just have a problem with change because they are unsure of the unknown.  What is so hard about being open to other peoples’ cultures? Why must people be so closed minded?