The irony in An Indians Looking-Glass for the White Man Essay

The irony in An Indians Looking-Glass for the White Man - Essay Example   The paper tells that William Apess was a Native American who accepted the Christian faith. He continued to labor among the Native American Indians as a Christian minister and advocated human rights in his sermons and writings. The period in which he wrote marked an age of cruel slavery and anti-miscegenation laws which prohibited the intermarriage between Whites and Colored people. Apess uses the notable technique of irony in which he would expose the hypocrisy of the Whites employing their own religious doctrines and ideologies.  The superficiality of the White man's doctrine is a point of argument in Apess' work. Apess observes that one "may learn how deep (the White man's) principles are...I should say they were skin deep." The foundation of the White man's objection to the non-Whites enjoyment of their inalienable human rights is based on the skin tone. Skin pigmentation or exterior is not of value in any substantial and profound argument for what lies on the inside forms t he core and matters most. In his day, Apess would have been familiar with the Great Chain of Being philosophy which privileges the Whites at the head of the human races and relegates the Other to occupy lower tiers. Whites used this concept to justify their subhuman treatment of other races. The irony of using skin color as a means to exalt oneself and debase another reveals the truth of the proverb, 'All that glitters is not gold.' In time, the surface of any object is defaced and gradually stripped away. External appearances deceive however, only nature is real and enduring. Apess reiterates: "I am not talking about the skin, but about principles." Apess makes a stirring appeal to the tenets of Christianity, the so-called White man's religion. White men would use their religion to validate conquest, segregation, and the institution of slavery, however, Apess wields the Holy Bible, the book which instructs Christians in defence of human rights, equality, justice and brotherhood. The Christian Bible quotes that "God is no respecter of persons"-"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength-Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." "By this shall all men know that they are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." "Let us not love in word but in deed." Repeatedly Apess preaches to the people who should be acquainted with their own doctrines of love. Apess concept of God differs from the White man's God. Judging from the professing Christians' cruelty, greed, and antagonism, the Apess shows that according to the white man's principles, the Christian God wou ld have to be an unfair and hateful deity who would favor a cross section of people and belittle others. True religion in Apess' eyes is an inclusive religion. One which inspires love and compassion. Apess laments that in 'Christian America' there remains active practice of cruelty, systematic oppression, inhumanity and hostility. Apess argues that a Christian should never be a slave-owner for doing so puts at detriment his own soul and contravenes the founding principles of his faith. He urges the equality and brotherhood of Negroes and Whites according to the Christian doctrines and wonders at White Christian hypocrisy. To add force to his arguments, he quotes numerous scriptural texts from the Bible from Matthew, John and Romans. To hate and propagate division is not only unchristian but also unethical. God's unconditional and impartial love is a perfect example of the love that man must have for his fellow. Greed, selfishness and prejudice are the true motivators of discriminati on that have poisoned the heart, turning it from human compassion. Vices such as sloth, greed and materialism are other adverse effects of the White