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	<title>open-society &amp;laquo; WordPress.com Tag Feed</title>
	<link>http://wordpress.com/tag/open-society/</link>
	<description>Feed of posts on WordPress.com tagged "open-society"</description>
	<pubDate>Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:08:46 +0000</pubDate>

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<title><![CDATA[Multikulturalisme sebuah Perjuangan Panjang Bangsa Indonesia]]></title>
<link>http://beritaseni.wordpress.com/?p=616</link>
<pubDate>Sat, 03 May 2008 12:00:53 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>beritaseni</dc:creator>
<guid>http://beritaseni.wordpress.com/?p=616</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Oleh Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X
Secara umum, kompleksitas masyarakat mejemuk tidak hanya ditandai ]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Oleh Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X</strong><br />
Secara umum, kompleksitas masyarakat mejemuk tidak hanya ditandai oleh perbedaan-perbedaan horisontal, seperti yang lazim kita jumpai pada perbedaan suku, ras, bahasa, ada-istiadat, dan agama. Namun, juga terdapat perbedaan vertikal, berupa capain yang diperoleh melalui prestasi [achievement].<!--more--></p>
<p>Indikasi perbedaan-perbedaan tersebut tampak dalam strata sosial ekonomi, posisi politik, tingkat pendidikan, kualitas pekerjaan dan kondisi permukiman.</p>
<p>Sedangkan perbedaan horizontal diterima sebagai warisan, yang diketahui kemudian bukan faktor dalam insiden kerusuhan sosial yang melibatkan antarsuku. Suku tertentu bukan dilahirkan untuk memusuhi suku lainnya. Bahkan tidak pernah terungkap dalam doktrin ajaran mana pun di Indonesia yang secara absolut menanamkan permusuhan etnik.</p>
<p>Sementara itu, dari perbedaan-perbedaan vertikal, tedapat beberapa hal yang berpotensi sebagai sumber konflik, antara lain perebutan sumberdaya, alat-alat produksi dan akses ekonomi lainnya. Selain itu juga benturan-benturan kepentingan kekuasaan, politik dan ideologi, serta perluasan batas-batas identitas sosial-budaya dari sekelompok etnik.</p>
<p><strong>Sumber Konflik</strong><br />
Berbeda dengan perbedaan horizontal, perbedaan vertikal diasumsikan sebagai factor yang menentukan tercetusnya konflik sosial. Karena status sosial dan ekonomi serta kedudukan politik signifikan dalam setiap interaksi sosial antara kelompok-kelompok etnik. Apakah interaksi sosial tersebut akan bersifat positif atau negatif, sangat ditentukan oleh kadar perbedaan-perbedaan vertikal di antara kelompok-kelompok etnik. Dan bukan dari perbedaan-perbedaan horisontal, sebagaimana yang banyak diyakini selama ini.</p>
<p>Semakin tinggi posisi politik dan peran dominatif suatu kelompok etnik, akan semakin kuat menimbulkan prasangka [stereotype negative] yang menjadi sumber ketegangan dan konflik antarkelompok etnik. Apalagi kalau mengacu konsep dominatif yang lebih menekankan pada aspek kualitatif daripada aspek kuantitatifnya. Di mana suatu kelompok etnik minoritas juga berpeluang memiliki peran dominatif, jika kelompok tersebut secara substansial menguasai struktur politik atau ekonomi di daerah [negara] tertentu.</p>
<p>Sehingga dari pola interaksi sosial dalam masyarakat majemuk, jangan terpaku hanya pada perbedaan-perbedaan horisontal yang ada. Artinya dalam menghindari atau meminimalkan konflik hanya dengan mengatasi masalah perbedaan aspek-aspek sosial budayanya. Seperti penyatuan kelompok-kelompok sosial yang berbeda, dengan mengangkat pernik-pernik budaya daerah menjadi identitas nasional. Atau gerakan pergantian nama dalam masyarakat Cina, memasyarakatkan batik sebagai identitas nasional. Atau dengan penataran untuk menanamkan norma-norma bersama yang mengatur tingkah-laku, bagaimana menjadi warga negara Indonesia yang baik.</p>
<p>Tetapi hendaknya menaruh perhatian yang lebih pada pemecahan masalah-masalah persaingan dalam memperebutkan sumberdaya, alat-alat produksi dan akses ekonomi-politik. Kenyataan di lapangan seperti kasus insiden Maliana di Timor Timur menunjukkan, bahwa sebelum terjadinya perluasan daerah batas-batas wilayah sosial ekonomi suku pendatang [umumnya beragama Islam dan Protestan], hubungan antara individu yang beridentitas Katolik dengan nonKatolik semasa kolonial cukup harmonis dan menghormati keyakinan masing-masing.</p>
<p>Jadi secara hipotesis dapat disimpulkan, bahwa sumber konflik sosial antara berbagai etnik atau golongan bukan didominasi oleh perbedaan horisontal. Tetapi yang lebih menonjol disebabkan oleh faktor perbedaan-perbedaan vertikal. Karena interaksi dalam perbedaan vertikal antaretnik [suku] dan golongan lebih berdimensi kalah-menang, bermuara pada munculnya kekuatan yang mendominasi dan yang didominasi. Kemudian terjadi ketidakseimbangan, prasangka dan ketegangan. Dan apabila tidak segera diantisipasi, maka kondisi itu sangat rentan dimanfaatkan oleh mereka yang tak bertanggung jawab untuk memicu konflik sosial dan kerusuhan massal.</p>
<p><strong>Dari Masyarakat Majemuk ke Multikultural</strong><br />
Landasan sosial dan budaya masyarakat Indonesia yang bercorak masyarakat majemuk [plural society] sudah saatnya dikaji kembali. Ideologi masyarakat majemuk yang menekankan pada keanekaragaman suku bangsa tidak akan mungkin mewujudkan masyarakat sipil yang demokratis. Untuk mencapai tujuan demokratisasi, ideologi harus digeser menjadi ideologi keanekaragaman budaya atau multikulturalisme.</p>
<p>Indonesia adalah sebuah masyarakat majemuk, terdiri atas suku-suku bangsa, yang baik langsung maupun tidak langsung, dipaksa bersatu di bawah kekuasaan sebuah sistem nasional. Yang mencolok dari ciri kemajemukan masyarakat Indonesia adalah penekanan pada pentingnya kesukubangsaan yang terwujud dalam komunitas-komunitas suku bangsa, dan digunakannya kesukubangsaan sebagai acuan utama bagi jatidiri individu.</p>
<p>Ada sentimen-sentimen kesukubangsaan yang memiliki potensi pemecah-belah dan penghancuran di antara sesama bangsa Indonesia. Antara lain karena masyarakat majemuk menghasilkan batas-batas suku bangsa yang didasari oleh stereotip dan prasangka, yang menghasilkan penjenjangan sosial seara primordial yang subyektif. Konflik antaretnik dan antaragama yang terjadi, berintikan pada permasalahan hubungan antara etnik asli setempat dengan pendatang. Konflik-konflik itu terjadi, karena adanya pengaktifan jatidiri etnik untuk solidaritas memperebutkan sumberdaya yang ada.</p>
<p>Dari hasil penelitian Dr. Persudi Suparlan di Kalimantan dan Maluku ditemukan, karena ideologi keetnikan dan pengaktifan jatidiri etnik. Seperti yang terjadi di Sambas, preman Madura yang mengawali konflik dianggap mewakili suku Madura, sehingga konflik berkembang menjadi konflik antaretnik. Demikian pula yang terjadi di Ambon, dimana bentrokan antara penduduk Ambon dengan penduduk Buton Bugis Makassar, menjadi konflik antaragama. Akhirnya menunjukkan, bahwa masyarakat majemuk tidak pernah menghasilkan tatanan kehidupan yang egalitarian dan demokratis, melainkan berpotensi otoriter dan despotis, karena corak etniknya yang beraneka-ragam, dari feodalistis dan paternalistis sampat etnosentris.</p>
<p>Masyarakat majemuk yang menekankan keanekaragaman etnik perlu dikaji dan digeser pada pluralisme budaya [multikulturalisme], yang mencakup tidak hanya kebudayaan etnik, tetapi juga berbagai kebudayaan lokal y ang ada di Indonesia, dan harus dibarengi kebijakan politik nasional yang meletakkan berbagai budaya itu dalam kesetaraan derajat. Sehingga tidak ada lagi etnik yang merasa superior dan inferior, sebab tiada jenjang sosial karena asal etnik.</p>
<p><strong>Indonesia Baru Berbasis Multikulturalisme</strong><br />
Prinsip demokraksi hanya mungkin hidup dan berkembang secara mantap dalam sebuah masyarakat sipil yang terbuka [open society], yang warganya mempunyai toleransi terhadap perbedaan-perbedaan dalam bentuk apa pun, karena adanya kesetaraan derajat kemanusiaan yang saliang menghormati, dan diatur oleh hukum yang adil dan beradab yang mendorong kemajuan dan menjamin kesejahteraan hidup warganya.</p>
<p>Masyarakat terbuka adalah suatu masyarakat yang membuka diri bagi pembaharuan dan perbaikan. Zen [1998] menambahkan, harus ada suatu “built in mechanism” untuk self-renewal and self-rejuvenation. Masyarakat terbuka itu harus berorientasi ke depan, selalu mempertimbangkan globalisasi yang membawa serta kemajuan teknologi, dan berpijak pada kenyataan, bahwa kiat mendiami suatu Benua Maritim Indonesia serta aspirasi bangsa yang tertuang dalam nasionalisme baru yang menghargai pluralitas budaya [multikultural].</p>
<p>Dalam menyikapi pluralitas bangsa, pendekatan sentralistik dan totalitarian harus ditinggalkan. Sikap yang melihat perubahan [change], ketidakpastian [indeterminancy] dan ketidakberaturan [disorder] sebagai sesuatu yang menakutkan, sudah masanya ditinggalkan. Cara-cara pengendalian melalui pendekatan keamanan, keseragaman, keberaturan total sudah tidak dapat lagi dipertahankan.</p>
<p>Dikotonomi konsep keteraturan-kekacauan, kesatuan-separatisme, integrasi-disintegrasi, keseragaman-keanekaragaman, sentralisasi-desentralisasi, homogenitas-heterogenitas yang mewarnai kehidupan sosial, harus dicarikan sintesis baru, sehingga dapat mendorong daya kreativitas sosial. Selama ini kita membebani hidup kita dengan berbagai ketakutan; kekacauan yang tidak dapat dipahami, keanekaragaman yang tidak dapat disatukan, turbulensi yang tidak dapat dikendalikan, chaos yang tidak dapat diperkirakan.</p>
<p>Padahal keberaturan dan ketidakberaturan adalah dua hal yang saling mengisi. Melenyapkan ketidaberaturan berarti melenyapkan daya perubahan dan kreativitas. Dunia chaos adalah dunia yang selalu dipenuhi energi kegelisahan. Kebudayaan yang tidak gelisah adalah kebudayaan yang telah mati. Kegelisahan untuk bertumbuh inilah yang harus ditanamkan pada setiap komponen bangsa yang plural ini [daerah, suku, agama, ras].</p>
<p>Oleh sebab itu, setiap komponen bangsa harus merupakan sistem terbuka [open system]. Artinya, harus selalu mengantisipasi tantangan dan pengaruh dari luar dirinya, baik terhadap tantangan regional maupun global. Oleh sebab itu, diperlukan kemampuan untuk merasa, kemampuan berempati, dan kemampuan pemahaman, sebagai inti dari prinsip dialogis.</p>
<p><strong>Catatan Akhir</strong><br />
Di tengah arus reformasi dewasa ini, agar selamat mencapai Indonesia Baru, maka idiom yang harus lebih diingat-ingat dan dijadikan landasan kebijakan mestinya harus berbasis pada konsep Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. Artinya, sekali pun berada dalam satu kesatuan, tidak boleh dilupakan, bahwa sesungguhnya bangsa ini berbeda-beda dalam satu kemajemukan.</p>
<p>Maka, Indonesia Baru yang kita ciptakan itu, hendaknya ditegakkan dengan menggeser masyarakat majemuk menjadi masyarakat multikultural, dengan mengedepankan keBhinnekaan sebagai strategi integrasi nasional. Namun, jangan sampai kita salah langkah, yang bisa berakibat yang sebaliknya: sebuah konflik yang berkepanjangan. Harus disadari, bahwa merubah masyarakat majemuk ke multikultural itu merupakan perjuangan panjang yang berkelanjutan. <strong>[]</strong></p>
<p>Bandung, 26 April 2008<br />
Karaton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat</p>
<p>* Sumber makalah : Diskusi budaya "Menguak Tabir Multikulturalisme", Bandung, 26 April</p>
<p>2008, di Gedung RRI Bandung</p>
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<item>
<title><![CDATA[Beurscrisis]]></title>
<link>http://nsalternatief.wordpress.com/?p=303</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:40:17 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>voorhoede</dc:creator>
<guid>http://nsalternatief.wordpress.com/?p=303</guid>
<description><![CDATA[“Ik ben er zeker van dat speculatieve activiteiten negatieve effecten hebben. Maar daar denk ik ni]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;">“Ik ben er zeker van dat speculatieve activiteiten negatieve effecten hebben. Maar daar denk ik niet aan, en daar kan ik geen rekening mee houden. Als ik zou ophouden om een aantal zaken te doen omwille van morele scrupules, zou ik ophouden een speculant te zijn. Ik heb niet het minste berouw om geld verdiend te hebben bij de devaluatie van het Britse pond. Ik heb niet tegen het Pond gespeculeerd om Engeland te helpen of om het te schaden. Ik heb het gedaan om geld te verdienen”.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;">Dat zei <a href="http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Soros">George Soros</a> in <i>The Guardian </i>van 19 december 1992.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;">Hoeveel demoliberalen hebt u beursspeculatie al een misdaad horen noemen? Geen enkele allicht, want zij zijn de politieke waterdragers van heel deze financiële zwendel. Zij zijn “verdraagzaam” voor allerlei vormen van onrecht – is het uit domheid, lafheid, kwaadwilligheid of een combinatie van dat alles? Politici hebben in theorie nochtans de wettelijke macht om duidelijk te bepalen wat diefstal is en wat niet, wat sociaal profitariaat is en wat niet. Intellectuelen zouden dan weer de verstandelijke macht moeten hebben om hun volk voor te lichten. Zij doen echter geen van beiden iets, tenzij hun volk voorliegen. Ze gaan Soros en co toch geen strobreed in de weg leggen, zeker?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;">Ondertussen geven de excessen van het financiële casinokapitalisme de werkende en ondernemende volksgenoten, en vooral de jongeren steeds meer de (terechte) indruk dat eerlijke arbeid niet langer loont. De toenemende bestaansonzekerheid en onrechtvaardigheid samen met het wegvallen van morele en culturele referentiekaders – beide door het liberalisme! – kan niet anders dan onze meest kwetsbare volksgenoten op de duur aanzetten tot illegaal gedrag. De sociale tijdbom kan niet blijven tikken. Geen liberale politiestaat of totalitaire democratie zal de golf van ontevredenheid kunnen tegenhouden.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;">Dat alles zijn in een notendop dus de “zegeningen” van de liberale globalisering – met haar dominantie van de financiële markten op de reële economische sectoren en met haar publieke en private schulden, waarvan de winsten in de zakken van het internationale groot(leen)kapitaal verdwijnen. Bijzondere “dank” zijn we dus verschuldigd aan beurszwendelaar en demoliberaal (fervente pleitbezorger van de <a href="http://www.visionair-belgie.be/Artikels/Burgermanifest.htm">Open Society</a>) George Soros voor de illustratie van dit alles!</p>
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<item>
<title><![CDATA[Georgia a stelle e strisce]]></title>
<link>http://byebyeunclesam.wordpress.com/?p=111</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:30:09 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>byebyeunclesam</dc:creator>
<guid>http://byebyeunclesam.wordpress.com/?p=111</guid>
<description><![CDATA[
Se c’è un Paese dell’ex Unione Sovietica appiattito sulle posizioni dell’amministrazione sta]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://byebyeunclesam.wordpress.com/files/2008/03/georgia.jpg" title="georgia.jpg"><img src="http://byebyeunclesam.wordpress.com/files/2008/03/georgia.thumbnail.jpg" alt="georgia.jpg" /></a></p>
<p>Se c’è un Paese dell’ex Unione Sovietica appiattito sulle posizioni dell’amministrazione statunitense, in maniera così plateale da risultare quasi comica, è la Georgia del da poco rieletto Presidente Mikhail Saakashvili.<br />
Ne è stata data testimonianza di ineguagliabile efficacia nel documentario Revolution.com di Manon Loizeau, trasmesso lo scorso 3 giugno 2007 durante il programma Report. Loizeau, illustrando con dovizia di particolari ed interviste ai diretti interessati le attività delle Organizzazioni non governative (Ong) operanti nell’area post-sovietica, dall’Europa dell’est all’Asia centrale, ad un certo punto si occupa della cosiddetta “Rivoluzione delle Rose” del novembre 2003 in Georgia. Quella che – mediante l’abile orchestrazione dell’ambasciatore statunitense Richard Miles, trasferitosi a Tbilisi da Belgrado dove aveva portato a termine il lavoro Milosevic - provocò la “caduta” di Shevardnadze e l’ascesa, sul gradino più alto della repubblica caucasica, di Saakashvili appunto. Trentasei anni, una laurea in legge ad Harvard, egli è il presidente più giovane del mondo.<br />
Lo scorso 5 gennaio Saakashvili ha dunque conseguito un nuovo mandato presidenziale, in occasione di consultazioni durante le quali è stato chiesto ai georgiani anche di esprimersi sulla (più che) eventuale adesione del Paese alla NATO. I presupposti di tali elezioni sono stati davvero significativi, a partire dalle dichiarazioni di Joy Davis-Kirschner, direttore dell’Ufficio Affari Politici dell’Ambasciata statunitense in Georgia, che il suo Paese avrebbe stanziato cinque milioni di dollari quali aiuti per l’organizzazione dell’evento elettorale – giusto per riabilitare un po’ l’immagine di una Georgia democratica dopo le manifestazioni di protesta, duramente represse, del precedente novembre. Il candidato dell’opposizione, Levan Gachechiladze, dal canto suo si era lamentato del fatto che gli indici di popolarità di Saakashvili sarebbero stati appositamente gonfiati, protestando con… John F. Teft, ambasciatore statunitense in Georgia. Tutti insieme, i candidati dell’opposizione avevano chiesto un aiuto affinché le elezioni si tenessero in modo trasparente al… Segretario Generale della NATO.<br />
Difficilmente ci si potrebbe aspettare qualcosa di diverso, sapendo che la risoluzione 391 del Senato degli Stati Uniti d’America definisce la Repubblica di Georgia “una democrazia emergente strategicamente ubicata tra la Turchia e la Russia, importante alleato politico e geopolitico per gli Stati Uniti”.<br />
Altri dati illuminanti:<br />
in Georgia sono attive 200 Ong occidentali;<br />
la Georgia è fra i primi cinque paesi al mondo per donazioni procapite concesse dagli USA;<br />
tutti i politici georgiani, compresi quelli dell’opposizione, negli anni Novanta hanno collaborato con l’Open Society Foundation del magnate George Soros od in altre Organizzazioni non governative facenti capo al cosiddetto “Re d’Ungheria”;<br />
le truppe speciali dell’esercito sono addestrate sotto il controllo del Pentagono.</p>
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<item>
<title><![CDATA[Ubuntu: Afrikan Humanism (and my Further Thoughts)]]></title>
<link>http://lionsroar.wordpress.com/2007/11/28/ubuntu-afrikan-humanism-and-my-further-thoughts/</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 29 Nov 2007 03:31:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>The Precision Afrikan</dc:creator>
<guid>http://lionsroar.wordpress.com/2007/11/28/ubuntu-afrikan-humanism-and-my-further-thoughts/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[What is Ubuntu? It is the notion, expressed in Zulu and present in other Bantu languages, that ]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>What is Ubuntu? It is the notion, expressed in Zulu and present in other Bantu languages, that "a person is a person through other people." It is the notion that an individual is born into the community and will always be a part of the community. It is a statement of interdependence and communalism, that the welfare of the individual is dependent upon the welfare of the community, and vice-versa. I claim Ubuntu as a guiding philosophy of mine, inasmuch as it is obvious that I am because we, as Afrikans, are. Having been a serious student of Buddhism, one reads in the notion of [inter-]dependent co-arising and the "interbeing nature of things" that, in acheiving awareness of anatman or not-self - the absence of any independently existing entity of a "self" - one fully understands that he or she does not belong to his/her supposed "self." Our physical bodies are little more than compilations of stardust animated by the life-force, genes and cells given us by our parents and all of their ancestors. Everything in the world and in us can only exist because of everything else, and if the forest which provides the wood for the table, or the food that the table-maker's parents ate before they even thought of conceiving the table-maker, are removed from the table, the table cannot exist. Likewise, humans cannot exist without all the elements that precede us, all of our ancestors, all the elements of nature and the world that permit being, and so on. To live symbiotically with the world and with the community we are born into only makes perfect logical sense. Ubuntu, interdependence and Afrikan humanism, must therefore be more than mere positions on how to animate and organize a society, for they emerge from deep scientific truths. Interdependence with the elements of the natural world to perpetuate a sustainable and balanced life-cycle is called deep ecology in some circles, a radical and proper conclusion based on an understanding of the symbiotic form that living in the world should assume. Ubuntu is practiced in the very same vein, based on a fundamental understanding of how reality works and what beings like us bring into this universe as we come and go.</p>
<p>In his book <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">African Cosmology of the Bântu-Kôngo</span>, Dr. Kimbwandende Kia Bunseki Fu-Kiau discusses African communalism in Bantu societies and how that concept, which he derives from his native BaKongo context but which is clearly analogous to the Ubuntu practice, is applied in the organizing and governing of a community. In doing this he shares an aphorism which is often recited by some traditional BaKongo peoples (in KiKongo) before community meetings of social, political, economic or judicial significance:</p>
<p>Mu kânda</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Within the community</span></p>
<p>Ku mukadi mputu</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">There is no room for poverty<br />
</span></p>
<p>Mu kânda</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Within the community<br />
</span></p>
<p>Ku mukadi mvwâma</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">There is no room for ill obtained wealth<br />
</span></p>
<p>Mu kânda</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Within the community<br />
</span></p>
<p>Ku mukadi mpofo</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">There is no room for blindness<br />
</span></p>
<p>Mu kânda</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Within the community<br />
</span></p>
<p>Ku mukadi mfumu</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">There is no room for "order-giver"<br />
</span></p>
<p>Bobo mfumu na mfumu</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">All are masters, and only masters<br />
</span></p>
<p>Bobo ngânda na ngânda</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">All specialists, and only specialists<br />
</span></p>
<p>Mu kânda</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Within the community<br />
</span></p>
<p>Bilesi</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Young generations<br />
</span></p>
<p>Mu kânda</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Within the community<br />
</span></p>
<p>Mwâna mfumu</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Ancestors' sons<br />
</span></p>
<p>Mu kânda</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Within the community<br />
</span></p>
<p>Busi/ nsâng'a kânda</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">A sister, the community shoot<br />
</span></p>
<p>Mu kânda</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Within the community<br />
</span></p>
<p>Nkasi a kânda</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">A brother, a future leader<br />
</span></p>
<p>Mu kânda</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Within the community<br />
</span></p>
<p>Kinenga ye dedede</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Equilibrium and equality<br />
</span></p>
<p>Mu kânda</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Within the community<br />
</span></p>
<p>Kingenga/ kimpambudi nwânana</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">There is no room for separatism/ privacy</span></p>
<p>Mu kânda</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Within the community</span></p>
<p>Sèkila kumosi</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">All sleep at once<br />
</span></p>
<p>Mu kânda</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Within the community<br />
</span></p>
<p>Sikamana kumosi</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">All wake up at once<br />
</span></p>
<p>Mu kânda</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Within the community<br />
</span></p>
<p>Mbèni ku mbazi</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">Enemies stand out<br />
</span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;">              </span>(Fu-Kiau, 80-82)</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>These aphorisms reflect the extremely advanced, deliberate, sophisticated, and humane philosophy that we Afrikans developed to survive and thrive in pre-colonial times and which are the birthright and inheritance of all Afrikans today. It is our responsibility, indeed our necessity if we are to survive on this planet, the only world we've got, to <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight:bold;">live this</span>. All we need do is continue our organically humanistic lifestyle and reconstitute a truly humane, progressive, democratic, and open society for the Afrikan, in which our economic life never fails to meet human needs and where land and the means to produce are commonly owned with no private property in the hands of the few to disfranchise and exploit the rest. Fu-Kiau, in this very important and recommendable text, informs us that in the world-view of the Bakongo, "individual wealth is an abominable crime" (Fu-Kiau, 76):</p>
<p><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">"Individual wealth of all kinds above the accepted standard of necessary goods, is <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>considered a crime. One says that this kind of wealth could not be accumulated without <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>exploiting [wuka/ yiba] other members of the community. In that case, the wealth itself <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>is called kimvwâma kia muyeke, wealth that betrays, yekula, the community and its<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>members. The owner of such excessive properties was often <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight:bold;">killed</span> or hoodooed [lokwa].<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>African communities believe strongly that the individual accumulation of property has <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>always had negative effects on the traditional social structure and on policy-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span>making institutions."</span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;"><br />
</span></p>
<p>Afrikans need to think critically about the way of life into which we have been socialized under the contemporary regime of capitalism, neo-colonialism, and the myth of individualism. This regime has removed us from what living reality otherwise would make clear, that we cannot exist apart from or at the expense of our world or our communities, and thus ought naturally to seek to live in harmony with nature and our communities. For Afrikans, the practice of Ubuntu must begin at home, amongst Afrikans. It does us harm to be generous with everyone else before we are generous with one another. It may do us good to be exclusive of others in our dealings, until such time as when Afrikans are no longer being exploited and destroyed by others. At such time as when there is true equilibrium among all peoples of the world, there can be a more open atmosphere. Until then, may Afrikans practice Ubuntu exclusively with other Afrikans, and exclude from Ubuntuist Afrikan communities all the capitalistic, bourgeois aspirant, individualistic, selfish, greedy and malevolent negroes.</p>
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<title><![CDATA[Nigerian Potential]]></title>
<link>http://lionsroar.wordpress.com/2007/11/24/nigerian-potential/</link>
<pubDate>Sat, 24 Nov 2007 18:33:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>The Precision Afrikan</dc:creator>
<guid>http://lionsroar.wordpress.com/2007/11/24/nigerian-potential/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[They say crime owns contemporary Nigeria. Its corruption is unparalleled on Earth, if not in the who]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>They say crime owns contemporary Nigeria. Its corruption is unparalleled on Earth, if not in the whole universe. Its wealthy couldn't have greater disdain for its poor, who are the masses vastly outnumbering the tiny elite behind their walled compounds. It is addicted to a mineral extraction economy in the form of petroleum, and only a few see any benefit while the people living near extraction areas (the Niger Delta) suffer <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">immensely</span> from gas flaring, massive oil spillage, displacement, murder, war, and so on. Its cities house incredible slums where disease and crime fester. I am an <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrikan</span> whose parents were born in the Niger Delta, <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Kalabaris</span> from Rivers State, but I never can shy away from having a ferociously critical eye towards Nigeria or the rest of the territories on Earth peopled by <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrikans</span>. I feel as Haitian as I do <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Harlemite</span>, as Congolese and Southern Sudanese as I do Nigerian, because I'm always being a Black <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrikan</span>, a die-hard <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrikan</span> to the fullest, and a Pan-<span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrikanist</span> recognizing the shared history and identity of indigenous Black <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrikans peoples</span>.</p>
<p>So I do have the capacity to imagine a better and humane future for the <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrikan</span>, looking at and contemplating Nigerian potential, a subsection of the discourse on human potential. Nigeria produces many highly educated and skilled people, but they often assume a posture of elitism, and besides that, economic realities often dictate that they emigrate to the West to make a descent living. Nonetheless I recognize the potential that would exist if all the human resources Nigeria produces were combined with the material resources of Nigeria to produce a society of equality, dynamism, creativity, transparency, opportunity, and perhaps most of all, discipline. Indiscipline is the father of corruption and stupidity.</p>
<p>Imagine, the geniuses of Nigerian descent training all the Nigerians to be even better geniuses in the deployment of renewable energy, the installment of solar and wind power to eliminate the energy problem of Nigeria and even its <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">neighbors</span>. Imagine, all the teachers that emerge from Nigeria, reducing the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">illiteracy</span> problem of Nigeria which stands at a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">preposterous</span> 43% of 140 million black Nigerians today. A 99.9% literate Nigeria would be incredible, and would introduce millions of Nigerians to knowledge of the world and how to better shape their lives and transform society.</p>
<p>Imagine no religion in Nigeria. Religion is one of the gravest problems in Nigeria, as well as the rest of <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrika</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrikan</span> peoples. It is an obstacle to progress, to intelligence, to thought, to reality, to humanity, to the liberation of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrikan</span> woman. A Nigeria based on science, reason, human needs, reality, solving man-made problems, human <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">responsibility</span>, human potential, justice, respect for the Earth, etc. would make immense material progress overnight. A priest-ridden, fatalistic, superstitious, cowardly society of religious tribalism is, well, no real society at all, divided amongst itself by its different blind faiths in the unfounded lies of iron-age, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">tyrannical</span>, anti-human, <span class="blsp-spelling-error">pre</span>-scientific philosophies. Imagine a Nigeria focused on making as much progress as possible in the real world and in the lives of real human beings, free from the irrational fear of non-existent deities and the falsely comforting, illogical hope of unknowable and impossible afterlives. Imagine a Nigeria free of the lying spiritual authorities (pastors, imams) exerting social control and constant extortion on the masses, through fear and delusion.</p>
<p>Imagine a Nigeria where <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrikan</span> culture flourished, picked up from the interruption of real progress caused by European intervention. A Yoruba, <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Igbo</span>, Hausa, <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Izon</span>, etc. literature, a literacy of science, a commitment to contribute to world culture rather than just mimic Western culture. Imagine a Nigeria that takes the fullest pride in being <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrikan</span>, such that it inspires the whole <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrikan</span> world to be proud to be <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrikan</span> and to take note, study and immerse itself in the culture of Nigeria. Imagine a Nigeria committed to the advance human civilization in science and technology, making serious and competitive contributions consistently.</p>
<p>Imagine a Nigeria building most of what it needs, an indigenous production capacity for everything from <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">refrigerators</span> to automobiles, none of which are made in Nigeria or most of the rest of <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrika</span>. Imagine a Nigeria where the rural and urban divide no longer exists, and development is an even process. Imagine a Nigeria with high standards of cleanliness in the waterways, in the sanitation systems, in the city streets, and so on. Imagine a Nigeria with public mass transit, subways and trams in the urban sector, trains and paved roads in the rural sector, engineered by the very engineers who otherwise have emigrated to America to build highway for the US Department of Transportation, or to UK to maintain the National Railroad.</p>
<p>Imagine a Nigeria where women and men are equal, where men no longer oppress women, where children are encouraged to think, where creative people are encouraged to innovate. Imagine a Nigeria where critical thinking is the cornerstone of education, where precision analysis and strict discipline is demanded of all intellectual endeavors. Imagine a Nigeria where the arts and letters are not feared.</p>
<p>Imagine a Nigeria where the workers own the means of production, where the elites and corrupt officials die off and leave the people and their land alone, where landlords cease to exist so that people are no longer landless. Imagine no poverty in Nigeria. Imagine human rights and human freedom in Nigeria, and a nation whose economic life is self-determined, not set by neo-liberal Western economists and <span class="blsp-spelling-error">CEOs</span>. Imagine a Nigerian economy set to better the lives of all Nigerians first and foremost and strictly, not elites and foreign bosses. Even development, an educated and open society free of dogmas, a mature people able to determine their own destiny, a society not afraid of progress nor afraid to go to the extremes to remove the obstacles to progress. This is the sort of Nigeria that I would begin to be happy to reside in. This sort of Nigeria, with all its potential compared to other <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrikan</span> lands, would begin to be an example for the rest of the continent. <span class="blsp-spelling-error">ECOWAS</span> could become a People's West <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrikan</span> Federation, one country as big as the United Snakes, and exist like this. Perhaps the remaining black Afrikan countries could unite and thus create one borderless black Afrikan homeland. That would be an amazing feat and a death-blow to imperialism. It would be the new revolutionary standard for all people who seek freedom and justice, and it would attract  grassroots working <span class="blsp-spelling-error">Afrikans</span> the world over to build success atop of success.</p>
<p>Now that's what's up.</p>
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<title><![CDATA[Required Reading for Young Patriots]]></title>
<link>http://riseoutcenter.wordpress.com/2007/11/23/required-reading-for-young-patriots/</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:49:42 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>riseoutcenter</dc:creator>
<guid>http://riseoutcenter.wordpress.com/2007/11/23/required-reading-for-young-patriots/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[If there is one article you read during the holidays or before we turn to 2008, is an interview with]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If there is one article you read during the holidays or before we turn to 2008, is an interview with Naomi's Wolf. And if you find her coming to a school or public forum near you, I recommend tuning in and getting active.</p>
<blockquote></blockquote>
<blockquote><p> If you think we are living in scary times, your worst fears may be confirmed by reading Naomi Wolf's newest book, <em><a href="http://www.alternet.org/rights/62407/">The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot</a></em>. In it, Wolf proves the old axiom that history does repeat itself. Or more accurately, history occurs in patterns, and in order to understand where our country is today and where it is headed, we need to read the history books.</p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p>Wolf began by diving into the early years leading up to fascist regimes, like the ones led by Hitler and Mussolini. And the patterns that she found in those, and others all over the world, made her hair stand on end. In "The End of America," she lays out the <a href="http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/65748/">10 steps</a> that dictators (or aspiring dictators) take in order to shut down an open society. "Each of those ten steps is now under way in the United States today," she writes.</p>
<p>If we want an open society, she warns, we must pay attention and we must fight to protect democracy.</p>
<p>I met with Wolf to discuss what she learned while researching this book, how the American public has received her warnings, and what we can do to squelch the fascist narratives we are fed in this country each day.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.alternet.org/rights/68399/ ">Check out the interview:</a></p></blockquote>
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