Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Pacifica commentary for January 11, 2006
Latin America Breaking Away
It is unfortunate that the only way Latin America can have relative peace is when the United States is busy with other wars. Way back in 1938 Mexico succeeded in nationalizing its oil because our country was preparing for WW II and we wanted Mexico as an ally. Fascism was very popular in Mexico and the US was afraid that Mexico would go with the Axis powers so we did not intervene when Lazaro Cardenas nationalized Mexican oil. We did intervene, however, in Iran when they insisted on nationalizing their oil.
That gave us the dictatorship of the Shah of Iran. And we did intervene when Iraq would not agree to privatize their oil. That is how the current fifteen year old war began in Iraq.
In spite of our brutal and unnecessary war in the Middle East, we are currently intervening in Colombia with both mercenary corporate troops as well as with our military. We have also kidnapped the popular president of Haiti and exiled him to South Africa leaving Haiti in shambles. But we simply can't intervene everywhere that our pathetic leadership would desire.
Currently our failed administration would like to intervene in Syria, Iran, Venezuela and North Korea. Actually, I think were it not for other pending wars we would certainly attempt to invade the rest of Latin America as well. Why? The Aymara and Quechua people of Bolivia have run the water and gas privatizers out of their country and have chosen an indigenous president, Evo Morales. Isn't that an affront to the Conquistadores from the north?
And what about Uruguay? There are socialists in high places. Isn't that a cause for intervention? And what about Argentina, where workers are actually taking over the management of industry? There is a good reason to intervene. And Brazil has a president from the Workers Party. Goodness, we don't even have a workers party. That must be a reason to intervene. Why don't these people love us? Could it be that for every dollar we have invested in Latin America during the past century, we have taken out three dollars of profit? And when our president recently went to Argentina for the Mar del Plata Summit, he was unable to dictate the rules of the game. The opposition to the methods of the World Trade Organization was powerful and effective.
And in Chile a fellow physician and disciple of Salvador Allende is making her way into power. Can't we dust off Henry Kissinger to locate a dictator like Augusto Pinochet to supplant her?
Friends, representative democracy was designed so that the literate few might rule the illiterate many. But times have changed. The Latin American people are demanding participatory democracy, economic democracy and substantive democracy.
Perhaps we can learn something from them.
Pacifica Commentary for December 21, 2005
Christmas
So now both businesses and individuals must be chided for saying, Happy Holidays. They are to be forced into religious correctness by zealots demanding that they say, "A Blessed Christmas." Now that is a lovely phrase and I have no opposition to it. But to impose the greeting as a proselytizing moment is really sick.
The only religion Jesus ever had was Judaism. He never converted to any other faith. Many Jews revere Jesus, but not as Messiah. In his Judaism, Jesus was a sharp and critical thinker and he directed his ire toward religious leaders like the Fallwells and Robertsons of his day. Yes, it was the gentle Jesus who called these people hypocrites, frauds, serpents, and a brood of vipers and saying, "You travel over land and over sea to make a single convert, and once that person is converted, you create a proselyte twice as wicked as yourself."
Jesus spoke with great reverence of those outside of his fold, the Samaritans, the Sidonians, the Syrians and those wise men from the east, my God, were they Arabs? It should be clear to all, the message of Jesus was not sectarian, was not parochial, was not exclusive. It was universal, and inclusive.
So if thoughtful people out of respect for those who are not sectarian Christians choose to say "Happy Holidays", we should accept that as civility and reverence for many religious and cultural traditions.
As we study Jesus' narrations about those outside his personal religion, it is clear that he was praising the compassion of the Samaritan, and the reception of God's grace by Naaman the Syrian. He was not promoting a sect, on the contrary, he was promoting humane behavior which is the electricity of authentic spirituality: justice, compassion, peace, joy, courage, endurance and love.
Can anyone picture Jesus running around buying everything in sight, sitting on Santa's lap and boycotting stores that say, Happy Holidays?
And there is another celebration in the wings, that of the New Year. While I don't want to impose it on you, I would suggest one resolution for 2006:
"I will resolve to make this the year that I will double my efforts to work for justice and peace. Authentic religion will never bless war. May peace be with us all.
HAVE A BLESSED AND JOYFUL HOLIDAY SEASON.
It is unfortunate that the only way Latin America can have relative peace is when the United States is busy with other wars. Way back in 1938 Mexico succeeded in nationalizing its oil because our country was preparing for WW II and we wanted Mexico as an ally. Fascism was very popular in Mexico and the US was afraid that Mexico would go with the Axis powers so we did not intervene when Lazaro Cardenas nationalized Mexican oil. We did intervene, however, in Iran when they insisted on nationalizing their oil.
That gave us the dictatorship of the Shah of Iran. And we did intervene when Iraq would not agree to privatize their oil. That is how the current fifteen year old war began in Iraq.
In spite of our brutal and unnecessary war in the Middle East, we are currently intervening in Colombia with both mercenary corporate troops as well as with our military. We have also kidnapped the popular president of Haiti and exiled him to South Africa leaving Haiti in shambles. But we simply can't intervene everywhere that our pathetic leadership would desire.
Currently our failed administration would like to intervene in Syria, Iran, Venezuela and North Korea. Actually, I think were it not for other pending wars we would certainly attempt to invade the rest of Latin America as well. Why? The Aymara and Quechua people of Bolivia have run the water and gas privatizers out of their country and have chosen an indigenous president, Evo Morales. Isn't that an affront to the Conquistadores from the north?
And what about Uruguay? There are socialists in high places. Isn't that a cause for intervention? And what about Argentina, where workers are actually taking over the management of industry? There is a good reason to intervene. And Brazil has a president from the Workers Party. Goodness, we don't even have a workers party. That must be a reason to intervene. Why don't these people love us? Could it be that for every dollar we have invested in Latin America during the past century, we have taken out three dollars of profit? And when our president recently went to Argentina for the Mar del Plata Summit, he was unable to dictate the rules of the game. The opposition to the methods of the World Trade Organization was powerful and effective.
And in Chile a fellow physician and disciple of Salvador Allende is making her way into power. Can't we dust off Henry Kissinger to locate a dictator like Augusto Pinochet to supplant her?
Friends, representative democracy was designed so that the literate few might rule the illiterate many. But times have changed. The Latin American people are demanding participatory democracy, economic democracy and substantive democracy.
Perhaps we can learn something from them.
Pacifica Commentary for December 21, 2005
Christmas
So now both businesses and individuals must be chided for saying, Happy Holidays. They are to be forced into religious correctness by zealots demanding that they say, "A Blessed Christmas." Now that is a lovely phrase and I have no opposition to it. But to impose the greeting as a proselytizing moment is really sick.
The only religion Jesus ever had was Judaism. He never converted to any other faith. Many Jews revere Jesus, but not as Messiah. In his Judaism, Jesus was a sharp and critical thinker and he directed his ire toward religious leaders like the Fallwells and Robertsons of his day. Yes, it was the gentle Jesus who called these people hypocrites, frauds, serpents, and a brood of vipers and saying, "You travel over land and over sea to make a single convert, and once that person is converted, you create a proselyte twice as wicked as yourself."
Jesus spoke with great reverence of those outside of his fold, the Samaritans, the Sidonians, the Syrians and those wise men from the east, my God, were they Arabs? It should be clear to all, the message of Jesus was not sectarian, was not parochial, was not exclusive. It was universal, and inclusive.
So if thoughtful people out of respect for those who are not sectarian Christians choose to say "Happy Holidays", we should accept that as civility and reverence for many religious and cultural traditions.
As we study Jesus' narrations about those outside his personal religion, it is clear that he was praising the compassion of the Samaritan, and the reception of God's grace by Naaman the Syrian. He was not promoting a sect, on the contrary, he was promoting humane behavior which is the electricity of authentic spirituality: justice, compassion, peace, joy, courage, endurance and love.
Can anyone picture Jesus running around buying everything in sight, sitting on Santa's lap and boycotting stores that say, Happy Holidays?
And there is another celebration in the wings, that of the New Year. While I don't want to impose it on you, I would suggest one resolution for 2006:
"I will resolve to make this the year that I will double my efforts to work for justice and peace. Authentic religion will never bless war. May peace be with us all.
HAVE A BLESSED AND JOYFUL HOLIDAY SEASON.
