Points of interest from The Conquest of New Spain

First, I would like to discuss the gruesome imagry within the context of the book, especially describing Aztec temples and sacrifice rituals. Here is an interesting article about the Aztec religion, which discusses the topic of human sacrifice: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_gx5214/is_2003/ai_n19132056
The vivid descriptions within Diaz del Castillo's writing reminded me of the film, Apocalypto, which is centered around Mayans, but the sacrafice scene is similar to the sacrifice rituals of the Aztecs. Here's a video clip from the sacrifice scene in Apocalypto: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYqEi2d9zEc
Within our reading we can visualize something just as disturbing, "the walls of the shrine also were so caked with blood and the floor so bathed in it that the stench was worse than that of any slaughter-house in Spain" (Castillo 236).
The visualitzation of bloody temples and shrines is so horific that I was shocked to be reading such gruesome images within an early American piece of literature, especially since everybody is complaining how graphic modern day movies, video games, and literature are. We discuss the modern obsession with violence as if our country has degenerated from "what it once was." At least that's how I always saw it, until I began really observing the earliest of our country's literature for this class. I think Justin compared it to a Tarentino film, and I completely agree with him. Our country has always had a fascination with violence since the pilgrims settled here. It couldn't have come from no where--it must be something within our nature.
Now, I've always considered myself to be against violence, but then I ask myself: why were the images of violence and sacrifice the most interesting thing I read within this text? Really!
I certaintly don't promote violence, yet something within me finds it entertaining.
Maybe, we should stop blaming video games for all the violence among teens, because some of the images within Diaz del Castillo's writing disturbed me far more than anything I saw when I played Silent Hill on xbox. By the way, Montezuma was the first Hannibal Lecter! ["I have heard that they used to cook him the flesh of young boys"(Castillo 225).] Anyway, I guess my point is that violence isn't really something we can pin on the country or the media. One thing that does come to mind is something Ishmael Beah said during the Common Book Convocation that has stuck with me ever since. He said that returning to Sierra Leone now would make him feel safer than walking around on the streets of New York. That statement really hit me. I mean is our country really to the point where a former child soldier feels safer in the land where violence consumed his life than he would strolling around one of our nation's most beloved cities?? I guess the reason is that here we don't feel the full weight of violence-we see the glory, but not the consequences. Just like the cartoon idea that was mentioned in the video we watched in class. I guess we can't escape whatever it is within our human nature that finds violence so appealing, but in order to balance it, it is necessary to be educated on the effects of violence. You can't just tell a kid, "Don't do this at home." They gotta see the reality of what could happen if they did. The problem isn't violence, the problem is ignorance.