We live in challenging times, bombarded with information from all sides. Our reality can conflict with the “truth” disseminated by our leaders: government, scientific, business, religious, and familial. Fellow blogger Katharine Otto grapples with this dilemma, opening up pathways for our own meanderings in discerning the truth.
Information. Misinformation. Disinformation. News. Fake News. Opinion. Generalization. Prediction. Propaganda. Lies. Advertising. Gossip. Second guesses. Stereotypes. Assumptions. I feel overwhelmed by the glut of demands on attention and allegiance. What to believe? What not to believe? To believe everything and nothing at the same time? To trust my own judgment or to doubt? I long […]
The Pyramid of Capitalist System
Photo Credit: Evolutionary Economics
The pyramid
primordial mound
rising from the depths
ancient tomb of pharaohs
reflective sides mirroring the sun
gateway to the heavens beyond the earth
transforming the soul for its union with the gods.
The pyramid
tomb of the masses
forever trapped in its base
herded, cajoled & discarded
struggle, fight & kill each other
to sustain the few at the top of the pyre
bloated with their contempt, gorging on human flesh.
The pyramid
legacy of an ancient civilization
points to the heavens, the expanding universe
beyond the limits of our small finite world
to the full realization of our true being
a limitless spirit, capable of the impossible
together as one, sharing the gifts of the earth.
Quest for dominance
calcifies the soul of man
& perverts reason.
Haiku by Rosaliene Bacchus
Of late, I’m having difficulty in focusing my thoughts about life in these United States of America. In addition to following the news on our 2016 presidential campaign, I’m also in tune with the chaos and human misery resulting from our unending wars in the Middle East and North Africa.
The rants from the front-runners of our Republican presidential candidates are disturbing and dangerous. Where is reason in the face of bigotry?
The living conditions of unwanted Syrian and other refugees, fleeing from our bombs and those of our allies in their homelands, wound the heart and soul. Where is reason to resolve this humanitarian crisis of our times?
While our elected representatives pursue a foreign policy of world domination – they call it a War on Terror – Americans live in national insecurity. With our politics of fear, hatred, and violence, we strengthen our enemies and grow their followers. Where is reason to say NO to this endless war?
Fed with daily doses of fear, hatred, and disinformation, we are fast losing our capacity for logical, rational, and analytical thought. Doped on ignorance, we become blind to the real threats to our well-being and survival as a species on this planet.
In his Introduction of The Assault on Reason, published in 2007, former American Vice President Al Gore notes (p.2): “Faith in the power of reason—the belief that free citizens can govern themselves wisely and fairly by resorting to logical debate on the basis of the best evidence available, instead of raw power—was and remains the central premise of American democracy. This premise is now under assault.”
Sad to say, the power of reason remains under assault.
Poison preferred method of suicide in Guyana
Photo Credit: Guyana Chronicle
In his article, “Guyana’s breakdown is connected to our high suicide rate,” published in Kaieteur News on February 6, 2016, Freddie Kissoon posits that an underlying cause of Guyana’s alarming suicide rate is “the political pessimism that has dogged this country since Independence.” Bear in mind that the controversial columnist, a former social science university lecturer, has been highly critical of the former ruling East Indian left-wing political party (1992-2015).
A small developing Caribbean nation with a declining population of less than 750,000 people (Census 2012), Guyana topped the chart of the World Health Organization’s 2014 report on suicide worldwide, based on data for the year 2012. With a suicide rate of 44.2 per 100,000 persons, Guyana beat South Korea (28.9) and Sri Lanka (28.8). At the time, Guyana’s health authority claimed a much lower rate of 34.7. The nation’s record represented almost four times the global average of 11.4 and over seven times the average of 6.1 for Latin American and the Caribbean. By gender, Guyanese men are much more prone to taking their lives than women with rates of 70.8 and 22.1, respectively. Continue reading →
Gun owners at gun-rights rally
Capital, State of Washington – January 15, 2015
Photo Credit: The Washington Times/Associated Press
[See The White House Press Release, January 4, 2016, for
New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence]
Violence sells. Violence wins book and movie awards. When Jamaican author, Marlon James, won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2015 for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings, I was elated. I had to read it. Set in Jamaica and New York (1976-1991), it’s a literary masterpiece on the nature of human violence and the forces that fuel it. It’s not reading for the faint of heart.
In his article, “Gun Culture and the American Nightmare of Violence,” Henry A. Giroux notes: “Popular culture not only trades in violence as entertainment, but also it delivers violence to a society addicted to a pleasure principle steeped in graphic and extreme images of human suffering, mayhem and torture.” The inculcation of such make-believe violence as a normal part of real-life, especially among our youth, concerns him. Addressing the roots of America’s culture of violence becomes more difficult. Continue reading →
Child buried alive pulled out of rubble after air strike
Syria – January 2014
Photo Credit: The Sun
No, it’s not a typo error or a slip of the tongue. In this neocolonial world we live in, hate trumps love. The latest hate speech by a business-magnate-turned-politician, aiming for presidency of the world’s only superpower, is proof of this reality. What’s even more disturbing is that he has a large following bubbling over with the same brand of hate.
Exposed to different religious beliefs in my native land Guyana, I have learned to embrace all religions. But, owing to my Catholic upbringing, my first thoughts in the face of such hate speech were the teachings of Jesus. And, for Christians who celebrate Christmas, this is the perfect time to reflect on the significance of his birth.
Jesus came into this world to save humankind (Luke 2: 9-14). That was a tall order. What’s more, he had to lose his life to accomplish his mission. Considering the price he paid in taking on our humanity, Christians who accept Jesus as their savior shouldn’t take his teachings lightly. He summed up the way to harmonious human relationships in one word: love. First, love of God; second, love of neighbor as oneself (Matthew 22: 34-40). Hate nailed him to a cross. Continue reading →
Cover of A New Look at Jonestown: Dimensions from a Guyanese Perspective by Eusi Kwayana
November 18 marked the thirty-seventh anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre in Guyana. On that fatal Saturday in 1978, over nine hundred members of the Peoples Temple died from ingestion of cyanide-laced Flavor-Aid. Their leader, the Reverend Jim Jones, died from gunshot wounds. Seven miles away, American Congressman Leo Ryan and four members of his party lay dead on the Port Kaituma airstrip.
After all these years, several questions about the tragedy remain unanswered. The then Guyanese Prime Minister of the socialist cooperative ruling party, declared the Jonestown Massacre “an American problem.” No Guyanese investigation was ever conducted. To fill this void, A New Look at Jonestown: Dimensions from a Guyanese Perspective by Eusi Kwayana will soon be released (see below for details of ordering copies). Continue reading →
Unknown Pianist Performs John Lennon’s “Imagine”
Tribute to victims of terrorist attacks – Paris – France – November 13, 2015
This past week has been a difficult one for me. Today, November 15, I said goodbye to a couple and their six-year-old daughter: my dear friends and neighbors for the past six years. They are moving to another state to be close to the wife’s family. A victim of the toxic fumes and dust damaging his lungs, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, the husband and father now faces a battle to keep breathing.
Unlike those who sought vengeance and war against the “barbaric” enemy, this man did not fill his heart with hatred for those responsible for taking away the life he once had. Instead, he and his wife raised their daughter with a bounty of love. At eighteen months old, on recognizing me, she ran towards me with her arms open in flight. Since then, she has been my joy and gardening companion. She and her parents welcomed me into their hearts and lives.
Today, my heart is heavy with loss. Though far away, they will remain close to my heart.
On Friday, November 13th, came the news of the attacks on Paris in France, leaving 129 dead and 352 injured. I feel the pain of the people of Paris who have lost a loved one during these attacks. I mourn their loss.
I feel the pain and desperation of millions of refugees from across Africa and the Middle East who have also lost loved ones, as well as their homes and means of livelihood, and have turned to Europe for a safe refuge. The attacks on Paris – allegedly carried out by jihadists posing as refugees – now place their lives in even greater jeopardy.
Following the 9/11 attacks on New York City, our government initiated what has now become an endless War on Terror. How does one fight terror with more terror? It beats me. Over the past fourteen years of terrorizing our enemies with our military might and raining bombs, we have created what I consider our “Terrorist Beast.” Created with deception, lies, and greed, this Terrorist Beast feeds on our hatred and acts of violence in its hunting grounds.
France’s President Francois Hollande called the recent attacks on Paris an “act of barbarism.” How easy it is for us to demonize our enemies as barbaric! Warfare is barbaric, no matter which side wields the weapon. Will France and its allies continue to feed this Terrorist Beast with more bombs and boots-on-the-ground?
Lest we risk losing touch with our shared humanity, I highly recommend that you set aside time to watch the three-part series of the documentary film, HUMAN. It’s producers give us a remarkable opportunity to listen to and reflect upon what it is to be human as expressed by other humans across our diverse planet.
The fate of humanity rests in our hands. Let us not allow the powers that be to continue stoking our fears and sabotaging our lives.
Charred remains of room in trauma hospital run by Doctors Without Borders
Kunduz – Afghanistan – October 3, 2015
Photo Credit: Daily Mail/Associated Press
At home and abroad, Americans are on a killing spree. I struggle to understand what’s driving our propensity to violence. As a nation, we also seem to have become numb to this violence.
We do little to nothing to address the scourge of young, white, male loners who go on killing sprees in our schools, colleges, cinemas, and other public places. Our guns, it seems, are more sacred than the lives of our children.
Then there are cases of policemen who go rogue. What’s more, they show a preference for African American targets. Anything – even daring to look at them – is an excuse for killing. Peaceful demonstrators against such injustices must face a police force armed for war. Continue reading →
