Tag Archives: War on Terror

“International Congress of Fear” by Brazilian Poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade

05 Sunday Aug 2018

Posted by in Brazil, Poetry

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Statue of Carlos Drummond de Andrade - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro

Bronze Statue of Carlos Drummond de Andrade – Copacabana – Rio de Janeiro – Brazil
Photo Credit: Viagens Vamos Nessa! (Alexandre Macieira/Riotur)

 

My Poetry Corner August 2018 features the poem “International Congress of Fear” (Congresso Internacional do Medo) by Brazilian poet, journalist, and literary critic Carlos Drummond de Andrade (1902-1987), born in Itabira in Minas Gerais, Southeast Brazil. Considered one of the most influential Brazilian poets of the twentieth century, Drummond remains well-loved by the people for his humility and concern with the plight of modern man and struggle for freedom and dignity. 

Home of Carlos Drummond de Andrade - Itabira - Minas Gerais - Brazil

Home of Carlos Drummond de Andrade – Itabira – Minas Gerais – Brazil
Photo Credit: Passeios.org

 

At nineteen, Drummond began his writing career as a columnist for the Diário de Minas newspaper. At his parents’ insistence, he qualified as a pharmacist in 1925 but never practiced the profession. Instead, he cofounded a literary journal and joined the Brazilian Modernist movement. After entering the public service in 1934, he was transferred to Rio de Janeiro where he worked in the Ministry of Education & Public Health, then the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Service. Continue reading →

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Father said…

18 Sunday Jun 2017

Posted by in Poetry, United States

≈ 52 Comments

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Father with Baby Daughter - A girl's first love is her Daddy

Father said not to worry about anything.
He was working to provide for my needs.
And I believed him.

Father said he would never let anyone hurt me.
He was there to protect me, Mother, and my brother Paul.
And I believed him.

Father said not to worry about climate change;
the science is still debatable.
And I believed him.

Father said the abortion of an unborn child is an abomination.
Life is sacred. Only God can take a life.
And I believed him. Continue reading →

“The Body Politic” – Poem by Caribbean Poet Nicholas Damion Alexander

02 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by in Poetry

≈ 16 Comments

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racism-is-systemic

Systemic Racism
Source: Common Dreams

 

My Poetry Corner October 2016 features the poem “The Body Politic” by Nicholas Damion Alexander, poet and teacher of English and Philosophy from the Caribbean island of Jamaica.

Alexander’s work first caught my attention with “My Mother’s Salt” published in the anthology of 100 Calabash Poets, So Much Things To Say (Akashic Books, 2014). In the first of four stanzas, we learn that the poet is of mixed ethnicity – union of a black mother and white father that brought diversity to their lives.

My mother cooked with salt,
flavoring our lives
with the spice of her choice…
A white grain from the sea
that added new worlds of taste
to children made of mixed spices.

But the union of the poet’s parents did not endure. In “The Love of a Father,” Alexander confesses that, with the passage of time, he has come to love his father more. (In the excerpt below, her refers to the poet’s mother.) Continue reading →

2016 US Presidential Elections: Candidates on Militarism & War

11 Sunday Sep 2016

Posted by in United States

≈ 29 Comments

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2016-US-Presidential-Elections

 

Today marks the fifteenth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, catapulting our nation into what has become an endless War on Terror. With our strategy of fighting terror with terror, we have ignited the Middle East into sectarian wars that have fractured the nations of Iraq and Libya, fueled the emergence and spread of ISIS, threatened the destabilization of Syria, and forced over 65 million people from their homelands.

While the military-industrial-financial complex salivates with endless wars, we-the-people must bear the burden of such wars. Where do our presidential candidates stand on this issue, if unchecked, that could transform us into a nation of empty bombshells and drive our world into a nuclear holocaust?

Continue reading →

Our Shared Humanity

15 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by in Human Behavior, People, Relationships

≈ 14 Comments

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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.

State of Chronic Crisis

18 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by in Human Behavior, Nature and the Environment, United States, Urban Violence

≈ 14 Comments

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Police Special Force - Manhunt for Charlie Hebdo assailants - France - January 2015Police Special Forces – Manhunt for Charlie Hebdo assailants
Northern France – January 8, 2015
Photo Credit: Francois Lo Presti / AFP

 

Terror struck Parisians on January 8, 2015, when jihadist gunmen targeted the cartoonists and writers of the French satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo for their profane depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.

We continue to kill each other in defense of our gods and our freedom.

How long will we persist in feeding on half-truths and fabrications dished out by the global minority power elite? How long will we persist in allowing them to manipulate tragic events to perpetuate fear of The Other? How long will we persist in responding to violence with more violence that makes our lives more insecure?

Our global “War on Terror” foments terror in distant regions under fire and propagates new generations of terrorists. In the name of our homeland security, we in the West now live in militarized police states under electronic surveillance of our movements and communications. Only those freedoms that serve the agenda of the global power elite are tolerated and promoted.

When are we going to wake up from our stupor? When are we going to realize that we are disposable pawns of the global power elite? When are we going to take action to end our state of chronic crisis?

While we are manipulated to fear, hate, and kill The Other, the profit-driven transnational corporations, run by the global power elite, are destroying our planet’s ecosystems that support human life. In pursuit of continual economic growth – which means more money in their coffers – they destroy natural habitats and contaminate our air, water, and soils. We are not without guilt. As voracious consumers, we are collaborators in their plunder and destruction.

We delude ourselves that we can continue on the path of our globalized capitalist economic system without self-destructing. We delude ourselves that we are not responsible for Earth’s climate disruption. We delude ourselves that we are separate and above the natural world.

We have come to a period in our civilization when we must end dumping greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. We urgently need to come together as members of the human species to work towards transitioning to life-sustaining societies. We cannot allow the power elite of the fossil fuel industry to frame laws intended to phase out our use of fossil fuels and transition to clean renewable energy resources.

In February, I will introduce a new weekly blog feature: Climate Disruption – Thought of the Week (up to 50 words). My goal is to spread awareness of the greatest challenge of our times, share success stories at home and abroad in addressing anthropogenic climate disruption (ACD), and offer resources for individual involvement in making the transition.

To fail to act now is to condemn our children, grandchildren, and future survivors (if any) to a world of widespread chaos.