This is my first post. You probably already know that. I know that nobody is going to read this in the near future, perhaps maybe ever, but I'll write it anyways.
For all intents and purposes, I consider myself an American. I joke often with my sister about how she's the only "American" in our house, but after living here since I was 6 years old (completing Elementary, Middle, High-School and College here) I am in almost every way an American. Yet, despite considering myself an American, it pains me to know that, unless the laws governing the sanctity of the seat of the Presidency change, I can never hope to attain the highest seat in the land. That would be alright if I felt comfortable enough running for the Presidency someday in Kenya, but having absolutely no command of the Swahilli language (a pre-requisite for candidacy) and having not lived there since I was 6, I can never run there as well.
This places me in a very difficult situation. I have the desire to change some aspect of people's lives. I feel that I have been blessed (by both God and the manner in which my mother raised me) in becoming altruistic and idealistic in nature and disposition. I care not about the frivolities in life (though I did a couple of years ago), nor do I care about power. I only wish to fulfill my civic duty as a citizen of our planet. That having been said, I hope from time to time, as you visit my page, you'll comment on whatever I had said.
We have been given the blessings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We pride ourselves, as a species, on our intellect and our superiority over the animals that roam beside us on this vast and wondrous planet. It's our duty to give back to this planet as much (or more) than it has given to us. Instead of fulfilling that duty, we have spent the past few centuries satisfying our greed, lust, hunger, and thirst for power. As a result, we've been handed the catastrophes we've witnessed. Yet, though we've lived in jubilant hubris for the past few centuries, we now blame God for our own self-inflicted misfortunes. It wasn't God who chose to industrialize by robbing the earth of its resources and by spewing poisons (chloro-fluorides) into the air. And from what we know of the Laws of Nature, and the laws of cause and effect, the outcome of said sins and crimes against our planet and humanity, only result in severe repercussions. Thus, instead of blaming God, let us blame ourselves, and strive in whatever way befits each and every one of us (whether it be in the name of whatever God or gods you believe in, or no God at all) to better our collective living conditions.
The suffering of the malnourished orphan in India, whose parents died of AIDS, necessitates our empathy, sympathy, and righteous action. The suffering of the single-mother raising two children on her own because her husband was brutally killed in a massacre in Burma, necessitates our empathy, sympathy, and righteous action. The suffering of the prisoner in Zimbabwe, who's only crime was speaking out against tyranny and oppression, necessitates our empathy, sympathy and righteous action. The suffering of the black boy in the southern United States who was lynched because bigotry and hatred for his skin had won over people's better nature, deserves our sympathy, empathy, and righteous action. We owe it to ourselves to help others wherever they are. Nations rise and fall, empires are built and destroyed, but humanity survives and rebuilds. If we don't act to save and serve our brethren across the globe, what hope do we have of eliminating evil and oppression. If we don't act in providing education to the youth around the world, what hope do we have of eliminating ignorance and desperation. We complain day in and day out about the Middle East, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, China, etc. but where were we when all of these nations needed our help years ago. We elected leaders who were corrupt, sought power, and a world built on the political ideology of "realism." You can never change the world if you think it is meant to be the way it is right now. We cite Hobbes and other cynics as credible sources on the nature of man, yet they only studied one part of the globe stemming from a dark period in European history, and never sought to gather information from the entire breadth of human history to make such claims. What kind of credible source is that?
In the end, it all comes down to whether we believe dreams can be fulfilled. The age-old "adage", "the world is not fair", has limited mankind. Ignorance has limited mankind. It pained me to see men and women calling Barack Obama the "anti-christ" only because their Bible told them that the Anti-christ would be charismatic and preach about tearing down the current world order, and implementing a world of peace. Are we there? Are we at the point in which fear of a doomsday, or an apocalypse, would allow us to stagnate as a civilization. Are we at the point where any person who comes around preaching peace in a charismatic manner is deemed the anti-christ. Would not a loving, caring, and Just God allow for those true believers in the world to see the truth behind such an anti-christ. Would not men and women who knew themselves to be pious worshippers of God have called Obama the anti-christ as well (if he truly were the anti-christ)? When did we get to the point where we're so afraid of anything new and innovative, that we slam the door on those men and women who seek to dream; and make that dream a reality? I stand ashamed of myself if I was there and capable to do something at the point in which we turned away from optimism, at the point when idealism was seen as naïve, for I could never look at myself again if I stood there and watched.
I hope that one day, we will no longer be ruled by a fear of the inevitable, but by a unifying hope and desire for a better world.
May You Go In Peace.
2 comments:
Mohamed - I find your post insightful, well-written and very thoughtful. However, I think you fall victim so some of the attitudes (including long-windedness) and assumptions that those who feel they are chosen, superior or powerful succumb to.
For example, you say that you do not care for the "frivolities of life." What are those? What in life can be deemed frivolous? What is unimportant to you, can you dismiss that as frivolous when it is important to someone else? What gives you the right to do so?
In another example, you talk about what we as a species take pride in. I do not think that anyone can know what our species takes pride in - as a former anthro student, you should well know that our world contains such diversity within our species that nothing can be said to be true of all humans. I know many, many people who do not feel themselves as superior to animals, but rather an animal that has (to say it bluntly) callously and stupidly fucked over every single other animal on this planet - and ourselves as well!
Another is to say that we blame God. As a devoutly secular individual, I have never blamed anyone but myself and other humans for the mess we've made of our planet.
And lastly, you name heart-renching but unspecific and vague examples of things we should be stopping and caring about. We can talk about specific things - like what's happening in Gaza, in Illinois, at Obama's inauguration, in the Congo and what just happened in Mumbai.
With all that being said, though, I think you should consider making a difference through writing columns - your style, passion and clear, purposeful-writing lends it self perfectly to such a field, where you could inspire and instruct many people regardless of your nationality.
...whew! that was alot from someone you haven't talked to in some years, but...clearly, you provoked some thought! good job, mohamed!
Well thank you. I went through feeling offended, insulted, and complimented all in one comment. But I guess its the experience that makes time worthwhile.
Do you know people who claim to be chosen, superior, or powerful. I personally don't. I've also never taken a course on it so as to be able to distinguish them. Personally, I don't claim to be chosen, superior, or powerful. I never took Cultural Anthro in High School as well, though I did take physical anthropology later on. And I personally think it's a weak statement to make about humanity to state that there is no one thing that unifies us or makes us proud to be human. Do your friends who do not feel themselves superior to other animals look down at the ground every step they take in order that they may not kill an ant or worm. Do they spend their time leaving doors open so that flies can leave the apartment or house, rather than swatting at them (which in essence is a statement that the fly's life doesn't matter). I could give you many other examples, but its impossible for one to state that they don't feel superior to other animals, for if they truly didn't they'd care for the life of all creatures that feed on organic matter (ants included).
Furthermore, in general all societies pride themselves on intellect; whether it is the intellect of being able to outsmart your prey, or the intellect of invention. I'll give you this one if you can name one society that does not pride themselves on some form of intellect.
Perhaps you don't blame God, but a lot of humans do. Even some of those who don't believe in God state that the reason why they don't believe in God is because "what kind of supreme being would allow suffering to happen?"
I was making a statement about crises in the world. Yes, you and I know about the recent 200+ dead in Gaza, about the 80+ in Mumbai, and about the ongoing civil conflict in the DRC. It's all on our minds right now. However, in a year, our minds will have wondered on to new conflicts. The old ones never die, they just lose the limelight (sorry for the negative connotation). Who talks about what happened in Myanmar/Burma anymore? It wasn't resolved. Who talks about the growing AIDS epidemic in India, which threatens the rest of the world with India's growing economy and population (meaning people who could not travel before, will now be able to). Who talks about the record-high (of all-time, everywhere) in Zimbabwe that has left prison guards stealing food from prisoners.
I intentionally used those so as to make that point. I wasn't being lazy in not coming up with actual events. It's not the individual events that matter in my argument, so much as that these conflicts occur.
I have self-defined the frivolities of life based on my own opinion: drinking, partying, smoking, and wasting my days away watching T.V. or playing video games. There are other things I've added to the list, but that's the general meaning. For that, I didn't apply it to the whole of humanity, just to myself. It's my own personal belief that I don't know how long I'm going to be alive, and so should do whatever I can to make my life worthwhile. So that when I die, I won't die in shame for having wasted a life.
Anyways, thank you for taking the time to read, and I sincerely appreciate you having read it, as well as your insightful and thought-out critique. It has been a while since we talked, I hope you're having a wonderful time wherever you are.
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