Has everything REALLy changed?

In class we talked about Columbus and hos view of the indigenous people. he saw them as something other than human. He saw them as a group that needed to be given civilization and religion, savages. As 21st century people, we like to think that we would not respond like Columbus. If a person from the United States found an unknown Island with people who were totally different than any known society, what would we do? Some people say that they would just do research on these people and the Island. I disagree. Just look at how we treat people in other countries now, when they have different beliefs. We think that they need saving, they need to be brought democracy, freedom of religion, liberation. Would we not think the same of people, who have not existed in the world in any of the ways we are familiar with? I don't have much to say but would ask us to really look into ourselves and ask, is everything so completely different than 1462? We speculate, we justify, we assume. When we all die, I'm pretty sure college students will sit around and talk about these aspects of our society just like we can easily find the error in the previous era. hindsight is 20 20 and we all know that people like to think their ish don't stank, but if you lean a little bit closer, they will find out otherwise.