I was thinking about…
Mountain Meadows, American Primeval, and the Perils of Division
by Andy Lee
Lessons of the Mountain Meadows Massacre in Today’s Divided America
The Netflix series American Primeval revisits one of the most haunting tragedies of 19th-century American history: the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857. This event, where a community’s paranoia and suspicion devolved into unspeakable violence, serves as a stark warning for us today. Reflecting on Mountain Meadows, I can’t help but see eerie parallels between that era’s divisions and our current political and social climate.
In my September 2023 piece, I wrote, “The investigations revealed how groundless paranoia and religious prejudice combined with Indian hostilities to spawn an act of mindless carnage.” This encapsulates how suspicion and dehumanization—of outsiders, of those deemed “other”—can corrupt the moral compass of even the devoutly religious. It also illustrates how distrust, when left unchecked, can escalate into collective acts of cruelty.
Fast-forward to today. While our conflicts don’t unfold on isolated mountain plains, the seeds of division—driven by fear, misinformation, and the scapegoating of those we perceive as threats—remain deeply embedded in our society. Whether it’s political polarization, religious intolerance, or xenophobic rhetoric, the echoes of Mountain Meadows remind us of humanity’s capability for both compassion and senseless evil.
The Relevance of Conscience and Moral Courage
I wrote that events like Mountain Meadows “underscore the need for conscience and moral courage.” This need is especially urgent in a time when digital platforms amplify division, stoking anger and validating biases within echo chambers. Without the courage to challenge our own assumptions and extend empathy to those who differ from us, we risk allowing history to repeat itself.
The families caught in the horrors of Mountain Meadows were “seeking only new lives,” yet they were consumed by violence they could scarcely comprehend. Today, as debates rage over immigration, race, and cultural shifts, it’s critical to remember that those we see as “others” often share the same basic hopes: safety, opportunity, and belonging. Their humanity is no less deserving of dignity and understanding than our own.
Reflections on America’s Journey
It’s tempting to dismiss atrocities like Mountain Meadows as relics of the “Wild West,” assuming that modern civilization has rendered such violence obsolete. Yet our national history is a tapestry of resilience and struggle, from westward expansion and the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement and beyond. Forgetting this journey blinds us to the lessons it imparts: the need to safeguard democracy, to value diversity, and to address grievances with reason, not violence.
Looking back, the massacre’s perpetrators were not monsters but people whose fear overrode their humanity. This reminds us that divisions—political, racial, or ideological—can lead even ordinary people to justify extraordinary harm. To prevent such a future, we must cultivate not just memory but accountability, recognizing both the beauty and fragility of the democratic experiment.
Bridging the Divide Today
If we ignore these lessons, dismissing the massacre as a product of its time, we risk making the same mistakes. America has endured immense trials, from Reconstruction to Watergate, from 9/11 to the war in Ukraine. Yet what has allowed us to persevere is our ability to reflect, adapt, and strive for unity amidst difference.
In this era of political and cultural division, we face a choice: to let fear and suspicion define us or to rise with moral courage. We must remember that empathy and understanding are not signs of weakness but the very strengths that sustain a democracy. If we forget these truths, the stain of history may once again become a tragic reality.
I was thinking about... 