Faith Hope and Charity
(Don't Judge A Blog By It's Title!)
The Test Of Any Great Civilization Is How It Treats Those Who Can Least Help Themselves
Life
I would like to end this year on both a happy and a sad note.
The first involves the birth of a child weighting approximately 8 ounces.
This shows what humanity is capable of - the saving of human life - when it focuses its efforts and talents on such priorities.
When so much focus on is death and destruction - both the metaphorical 'death' of jobs and industry on the homefront and on the international front, in many cases the destructive nature of 'progress' has more negative than positive benefits to the societies which they purport to be assisting to develop economically, socially and politically.)
You have probably heard about the West African children who work on Cocoa Plantations
(for products in our Supermarkets as their final destination - chocolate) and who have never tasted a chocolate sweet, bar, biscuit nor cake because they work 12- 14 hours a day cutting the cocoa plants and are still too poor to even afford the most basic of amenities supplied to their rural communities - sanitation - let alone go to school.
So it is the case - but there is no rule which says that it must always be like this.
You can play your part in the change by making others aware of such injustices - and also awareness of the possibilities for change - for doing some good deed - if you put some effort into it yourself.
When so much focus on is death and destruction - both the metaphorical 'death' of jobs and industry on the homefront and on the international front, in many cases the destructive nature of 'progress' has more negative than positive benefits to the societies which they purport to be assisting to develop economically, socially and politically.)
You have probably heard about the West African children who work on Cocoa Plantations
(for products in our Supermarkets as their final destination - chocolate) and who have never tasted a chocolate sweet, bar, biscuit nor cake because they work 12- 14 hours a day cutting the cocoa plants and are still too poor to even afford the most basic of amenities supplied to their rural communities - sanitation - let alone go to school.
So it is the case - but there is no rule which says that it must always be like this.
You can play your part in the change by making others aware of such injustices - and also awareness of the possibilities for change - for doing some good deed - if you put some effort into it yourself.
'Fat Cats' Of The Aid Business
Many years ago I wrote about the 'fat cats' of the international aid business (and that is what it is - a business) who have done nothing to reduce world poverty - but this was never their real motive where Aid and Trade 'businesses' are inseparable aspects of a country's foreign policy.
Today's emphasis is on 'billionaire' and 'corporate' charitable sponsors (their 'charity' departments) to carry out these aspects of a ['first' or 'developed' world] government's foreign policy objectives.
Socialists, in particular, do like this terminology 'first world' 'second' (developing) and 'third' (underdeveloped) worlds since all highlight their blatant failures to reduce poverty and inequality worldwide despite centuries of 'benevolent' charitable works, aid, program assistance and other activities whose provisions and services your donations are regularly appealed for.
But this is exactly how the world is today.
Today's emphasis is on 'billionaire' and 'corporate' charitable sponsors (their 'charity' departments) to carry out these aspects of a ['first' or 'developed' world] government's foreign policy objectives.
Socialists, in particular, do like this terminology 'first world' 'second' (developing) and 'third' (underdeveloped) worlds since all highlight their blatant failures to reduce poverty and inequality worldwide despite centuries of 'benevolent' charitable works, aid, program assistance and other activities whose provisions and services your donations are regularly appealed for.
But this is exactly how the world is today.
Only One Planet Discovered To Date Has An Abundance of Life - But Does It Have Any Meaning?
You know, life itself is very precious- yet we spend more time destroying life (or engaged in destructive or negative aspects of existence) than we do creating it - and making the world better for all its inhabitants; and this has been a feature of humanity from time immemorial.
Again a story such as the birth of this child demonstrates that such need not be the case - if we recalibrate our priorities.
Now I do not know whether this was a private or state hospital but the point is that such a facility to save a life, however remote, should be available not for a privileged few but as a matter of fact in every country.
The West African 8 or 10 year old child whose product (cocoa) provide us with the luxury of chocolate would not have survived if he had not been born this way in his West African village.
But this need not be the case -nor indeed should it be the case.
I have always said to the kids, do not look to the politicians nor religious clerics for salvation nor guidance,look for it from within and, as the saying goes, 'let the light shine outwards' because, as sure as hell, there's a lot of darkness - and negativity - out there.
Again a story such as the birth of this child demonstrates that such need not be the case - if we recalibrate our priorities.
Now I do not know whether this was a private or state hospital but the point is that such a facility to save a life, however remote, should be available not for a privileged few but as a matter of fact in every country.
The West African 8 or 10 year old child whose product (cocoa) provide us with the luxury of chocolate would not have survived if he had not been born this way in his West African village.
But this need not be the case -nor indeed should it be the case.
I have always said to the kids, do not look to the politicians nor religious clerics for salvation nor guidance,look for it from within and, as the saying goes, 'let the light shine outwards' because, as sure as hell, there's a lot of darkness - and negativity - out there.
Acceptance and Humility
The second story is equally profound. It involves a severely disabled child living in one of Africa's richest countries -but whose folk (more than half of them to be precise) live in absolute squalor and destitution because of their government's endemic failures in the fields of health, education, welfare and social justice over decades since independence from Britian.
(Indeed Nigeria is still a recipient of Foreign Aid from the British Government despite it's phenomenal oil wealth which has never been used to benefit all but a handful of the countries estimated 174 million citizens.)
Despite all of this you can feel the love and warmth and acceptance of this [cruel] situation by Rama Haruna's family. This short video also shows another side - the true side - of Islam - that of care, compassion and acceptance of God's (Allah's) will - which is all too often absent (deliberately ignored or forgotten) when we look at (or have to confront) the challenges a more incipient evil and vocal minority (some 1%) pose for us today throughout Christendom. Indeed I have found, from personal experience, no difference in how devout Christians would likewise respond to a similar situation.
(Indeed Nigeria is still a recipient of Foreign Aid from the British Government despite it's phenomenal oil wealth which has never been used to benefit all but a handful of the countries estimated 174 million citizens.)
Despite all of this you can feel the love and warmth and acceptance of this [cruel] situation by Rama Haruna's family. This short video also shows another side - the true side - of Islam - that of care, compassion and acceptance of God's (Allah's) will - which is all too often absent (deliberately ignored or forgotten) when we look at (or have to confront) the challenges a more incipient evil and vocal minority (some 1%) pose for us today throughout Christendom. Indeed I have found, from personal experience, no difference in how devout Christians would likewise respond to a similar situation.
[Sadly all the great religions have been long-ago 'hijacked' by clerics and governments with their own unique understanding of political, religious and social controls.]
So as you tuck in to your Christmas festivities and 'get into' the Christmas 'spirit' spare a brief thought - just for one second - for the other spirit - that one which is all too often lacking in our daily activities and in our world today.
Seasons Greetings!
©Patrick Emek, December 2016
References
The Stats on Nigeria:http://www.poverties.org/blog/poverty-in-nigeria
Radicalizations Worldwide - Then - Now - and Tomorrow
I have included the reference below because it is a holistic and brief read about how Nigerians see THEIR situation - rather than me as an outsider/foreigner pontificating about their dilemma (Please also read the answers section below the article - again all written by local folk about how their perceive their own country.)
When you see how and why politicians have failed their own people,you can then also appreciate, as in Europe, why the populace (en masse in some areas) turn to radical Islam (Boko Haram) to provide answers.
This is no different than why citizens in Europe and the United states are turning to radical politics to likewise provide solutions to issues as diverse as jobs, employment, wealth disparities, immigration and the feeling that their local representatives cater more for special interest groups than they care about the local communities which elected them into office.
Human needs and desires remain the same throughout the world and the basic needs for health, education, jobs, family and community security, social cohesion, identity, and, above all, hope for the future for themselves and their children, transliterate themselves worldwide.
When you see how and why politicians have failed their own people,you can then also appreciate, as in Europe, why the populace (en masse in some areas) turn to radical Islam (Boko Haram) to provide answers.
This is no different than why citizens in Europe and the United states are turning to radical politics to likewise provide solutions to issues as diverse as jobs, employment, wealth disparities, immigration and the feeling that their local representatives cater more for special interest groups than they care about the local communities which elected them into office.
Human needs and desires remain the same throughout the world and the basic needs for health, education, jobs, family and community security, social cohesion, identity, and, above all, hope for the future for themselves and their children, transliterate themselves worldwide.
Finally I thought that I had completed this blog when something rather unexpected happened.
I had an interesting conversation with an individual who essentially told me that 'trade blocs' are a thing of the past and 'the new world order' will be based on 'the digital age' and advanced technologies for which some (developed) countries are already equipped to prosper and thrive from - regardless of whether trade blocs exist or not. Such statements jogged something in my memory and it was this: The WTO never worked for the poor worldwide and what my learned colleague was giving me was a new nightmare vision of a world where 'superior' or 'enfranchised' economic global elites 'digitally rule' the masses (my own words) by means of patent control - restricting the ability of poor countries to 'develop' new ideas as such - and any variations - have already been patented - even before they have been thought of by local folk in these developing countries (!)); by copyright (of genetically modified products for example) and the new 'outsourcing' of secondary and tertiary services to the third world, retaining the 'higher' skills and technologies in the first world. There is nothing wrong with this model except one thing: it simply doesn't work. It is (and will represent) a significant part of the reason we have the rise of future radical ideologies, worldwide, to challenge such iniquitous arrangements - and hence the causes of future global conflicts. However, that is not the real objective. In the process a very small minority will get fabulously rich - at the expense of world security and peace.
Do not delude yourselves by thinking those with socialist communist or religious extremist agendas are any different in thinking from the elites currently moving the planet in the wrong direction. If anything they are more dangerous - since they all mislead by purporting to be representing the ordinary folk whereas the existing bunch (some of them) are at least honest enough to say they are only representing themselves or a small clique.
I had an interesting conversation with an individual who essentially told me that 'trade blocs' are a thing of the past and 'the new world order' will be based on 'the digital age' and advanced technologies for which some (developed) countries are already equipped to prosper and thrive from - regardless of whether trade blocs exist or not. Such statements jogged something in my memory and it was this: The WTO never worked for the poor worldwide and what my learned colleague was giving me was a new nightmare vision of a world where 'superior' or 'enfranchised' economic global elites 'digitally rule' the masses (my own words) by means of patent control - restricting the ability of poor countries to 'develop' new ideas as such - and any variations - have already been patented - even before they have been thought of by local folk in these developing countries (!)); by copyright (of genetically modified products for example) and the new 'outsourcing' of secondary and tertiary services to the third world, retaining the 'higher' skills and technologies in the first world. There is nothing wrong with this model except one thing: it simply doesn't work. It is (and will represent) a significant part of the reason we have the rise of future radical ideologies, worldwide, to challenge such iniquitous arrangements - and hence the causes of future global conflicts. However, that is not the real objective. In the process a very small minority will get fabulously rich - at the expense of world security and peace.
Do not delude yourselves by thinking those with socialist communist or religious extremist agendas are any different in thinking from the elites currently moving the planet in the wrong direction. If anything they are more dangerous - since they all mislead by purporting to be representing the ordinary folk whereas the existing bunch (some of them) are at least honest enough to say they are only representing themselves or a small clique.
(The above You Tube videos are lighter-hearted looks at something deadly serious since to present the profound effects in stark reality would be too much for most people - especially younger people - to watch. These presentations are particularly 'kids friendly' - to help them appreciate very complex and serious matters in an easy-to-understand format.)
If you really are interested in the future, why not see what went wrong in the past?; as the past is now repeating.....