LITTLE ROCK — It wasn’t but a week or so ago when a brother-in-law of mine shared the good news that his family was related to Jesse James. I’ve heard from others, too, of family ties to Billy the Kid and other famous Western outlaws and I’m wondering what’s so great about hav ing an outlaw in the family. Is it really something to be proud about and boast of to others?
If I were wanting to claim a connection to a legendary Old West figure, I think I’d rather have it be one who was on the right side of the law - at least most of the time - someone like Wyatt Earp or Wild Bill Hickock, though I would have to admit I wouldn’t be too honored by their gambling habits.
When folks boast of their far-removed connections to historical figures like Jesse James or even Wild Bill, I usually tell them that I’m descended from thecaptain - perhaps, better stated, first mate - of the first cruise liner to ever sail the high seas. In fact, he did so with a crew made up of his wife and his three sons and their wives and with a whole bunch of animals on board. I’m not sure how far his wooden ship actually traveled around above the face of the earth, but he was on board for more than a year and fared much better than those who chose not to go with him.
As a result of his voyage, now more than 4,000 years ago, I am related to Jesse James, Wild Bill, the Earps and everyone else on the face of the earth, though the family ties are often somewhat distant. And, like it or not, you are my cousin too, even if you don’t wish to claim me because I haven’t robbed any banks or won any gunfights.
I’ve heard some argue that they certainly are not related to others of a different race or skin color, but that’s not true either. There really is no such thing as race except for the human race itself. We’re all one big family with close kinfolk and distant kin, in-laws and even a few outlaws.
If you don’t believe me, check your Bibles - the only truly authoritative history of the world and mankind. Every one of us - if we are human and not evolved from an ape - is a descendant of Adam and Eve and of Noah and his wife. After the Genesis Flood and the Tower of Babel and confusion of languages, the families descended from Noah spread out across the earth. And, yes, if you looked into it, you would be surprised at how many of the ancient names of lands and regions are those of Noah’s sons and grandsons and great-grandsons.
That, of course, means that Adam and Eve and, later, Noah’s sons and their wives had all the genetic makeup for the wide variety of people on the earth today. The fact that certain traits are more prominent in one area than another is only the result of selective marrying and breeding of those of like traits. Thus, most of my near ancestors tend to have fair skin rather than medium or dark. This, however, does not make me a separate race from my more distant relatives in Central America, Asia or Africa.
The concept of race, as we think of it, is not a Biblical one. If you check the King James Version, the word “race” is only used to speak of a contest which is run (though some of the more modern translations use the word “race” to refer to varieties of peoples or the whole human race).
People are identified in the Bible by their families and tribes and not by race or skin color, and many of those families and tribes can still be traced back to Noah’s sons and grandsons.
Skin color was not an issue in the Bible. Moses, who led the people of Israel out of Egypt and to the land of Canaan (named after another of Noah’s grandsons) married an Ethiopian (Cushite - a descendant of Noah’s grandson - in the Hebrew but translated as Ethiopian in the ancient Greek - cf. Num. 12:1).
And Ethiopians, according to Jeremiah, apparently had skin of color (13:23).
And so, the Bible does not teach race but that all people are descended from Adam and Noah. The Bible says that God “giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:25,26).
Even the word “nation” comes from the Latin word “natio” which means of common origin or birth.
Most nations of the earth were simply the descendants of common ancestors which occupied a certain land or territory and spoke the same language and shared the same culture.
While people have always struggled with accepting those of other languages, cultures and nations, the whole concept of race is really of an evolutionary world view, with some even viewing certain people as lower on the evolutionary ladder than others. Since I know better than to thinkI am descended from an ape, or that anyone else is, I must conclude that I am a cousin - even if numerous steps removed - of every other human being on this planet.
So, yes, I am related to Jesse James, Wild Bill Hickock, George Custer and every other in-law or outlaw on this planet.
Unfortunately, I’m even related to those so foolish as to believe in races and to think they are the top rung on the evolutionary ladder made up of those descended from chimpanzees. Should I be proud of my sundry heritage which, no doubt, includes quite a number of us who are of questionable character?
No, I’ve got nothing to boast about.
And, yes, even though I haven’t quite mastered the art of speaking Southern, I’m your distant cousin, even if the last time your relatives and mine were all together in one place might have been on Noah’s Ark.
Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Westside Eagle Observer. He may be reached by e-mail at rmoll @ nwaonline .com.
Opinion, Pages 6 on 09/22/2010