Catholic School, As Viscous as Roman Rule

When we were in class talking about Father Arnold in Reservation Blues, there was a passage that we went over on page 165: 

"We told the Indians the boxes contained smallpox, and if we opened them, the disease would kill them. 

Why would you do something like that? 

It's the only was to get them to listen. And you saw how well it works. They listened to you.

But its wrong. We should teach through love. 

Don't be such a child. Religion is about fear. Fear is just another word for faith, for God."

This passage reminded me of a song I have known for quite some time, I Will Follow you into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie. The song talks about a boys experience in Catholic School, and how the nuns would bruise their knuckles and tell them, "Son, fear is the heart of love." He ends up leaving the school because he disagrees with this tactic. The Indians were treated the same way when learning about Catholicism and transitioning into being part of the dominant white culture. In Reservation Blues, the Indians were told that they would get smallpox that was enclosed in a box if they did not succumb to the teachings of the priest. They were forced to "believe" that this religion was the correct one out of fear. Like everything else, whether it be the clothing they had to wear, the education they were forced into, and the general mistreatment, it was to change the Native Americans into what was "acceptable" for current society. To do this, their traditional rituals and customs were outlawed and essentially their entire way of life was taken away from them. Scaring people into believing something doesnt make them fully understand what they are forced to believe, and alot of times it turns them away from it, like it does in this song. Though the song is about a man loving a woman after her death,  these lyrics really relate to what we were talking about in Reservation Blues and how society can try to conform you. Luckily, the man in this song had the choice to leave the school and not believe this, while the Native Americans weren't so fortunate. For them, there was really only one option, and that was to learn the religion and believe it in fear.

Youtube video of the song:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNISOcuDOMw