Recently, a blogger managed, successfully, to entice me to another blog with this description of the blogger's post:"Have you ever read a post that moves your spirit? That seems to engulf your soul from all directions, like a jazz composition… jazzuloo. You listen to it over and over again, mesmerized by the notes, nuances and lyrics… not exactly sure that you are actually hearing what you are hearing, but knowing that you are hearing something unique, real… from the heart."
With a pitch like that, it's nearly impossible not to bite. And I wasn't disappointed: The post was precisely as the blogger had recounted, prose set to music--that is, until I came to the following jarring lines:
"When you speak of Africa, do not look at me, I do not want their stereotype to splatter on my being. I am not the martyr of their corruptions and own shortcomings. I have my country and my culture to look after."
I'm not here to chastise, or to castigate my black brother. He spoke his mind. He spoke from his heart. He conveyed his truth. And that's a good thing. Yet, there are other truths, truths that are held just as passionately as his. And that, too, is a good thing.
Over the years, John Donne, in one of his "meditations," has spoken my truth for me, and I'd like to share it with you once again. I'm sure that I have, at least on one occasion during the months that I've posted here, shared this, my truth, with you:
"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
Like Donne, I, too, "am involved in mankind." It matters not from whence they hail, be it Africa, still troubled by its colonial past, and European oppression, or China with its billions of souls, or Iraq with its fallen thousands, a number which, incidentally, Wikileaks, only days ago, updated for the world community--correcting and revising the official count of war dead, using leaked military documents as its source:
The reports detail 109,032 deaths in Iraq, comprised of 66,081 'civilians'; 23,984'enemy' (those labeled as insurgents); 15,196 'host nation' (Iraqi government forces) and 3,771 'friendly' (coalition forces). The majority of the deaths (66,000, over 60%) of these are civilian deaths.That is 31 civilians dying every day during the six year period. For comparison, the 'Afghan War Diaries', previously released by WikiLeaks, covering the same period, detail the deaths of some 20,000 people. Iraq during the same period, was five times as lethal with equivallent population size.
The writer of the blog described an amalgam of races, and cultures, to which he belonged, the whole of which, he suggests, is now greater than the sum of the parts:
Africa has always remained a standstill from the time it was the cradle of humanity, a kingdom of spears, a colony and independent. My ancestors [those of the Black or African Diaspora] moved and shake the world. They went from the cradle of humanity, chased out with spears, broke the chains of slavery and gained liberty. Do you have another name for freedom?
And with one final thrust, one final act of divestment, and repudiation, one final act of defiance, the blogger threw off the yoke that is Africa, and aligned himself fully and completely with the diasporic black people around the world:
"Africa calls 'come back, come back to mama Africa. Give to mama Africa'.
I don’t understand their languages. My tongue moves to English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese and few others which my culture created. I am not going back; I don’t want to be Africa’s house Negro. I will not give either. I will not give back the sweat and flesh of my ancestors. I am European, from the West Indies, and quite happy about my diversity!"
And his words were seductive: The many who commented there were enchanted by his words. For, in his words, they found their own truths validated. His words were so many Sirens beckoning their hearts and souls toward the rocks of an unshakeable certainty.
Yet, as I read, all I could hear were the words of John Donne, speaking eloquently of the interconnectedness of life, and of the oneness of humankind. Almost daily, it's becoming clearer that we humans are connected at the three levels that comprise our humanity--at the level of the body (We now know that it's highly probable that "all humans alive today are descended from a single African man"; at the level of the mind (A book asked once, "What do all people have in common?" The answer: "They're all conscious at the same time"; and at the level of the soul (We're emotional beings: All things being equal, we can all feel happiness, and sadness, love and fear equally.)
If I were to expand upon John Dunne's words, and apply them to nation states and to the people of the world, I'd say this:
"No nation is an island, entire of itself; every nation is a piece of the continent, a part of the world. If a nation be washed away by the sea, the world is the less, as well as if promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any nation's demise diminishes us all, because, whether we like it or not, we're involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
5 comments:
"If a nation be washed away by the sea, the world is the less...."
Haiti is facing a cholera outbreak. More than a couple of hundred Haitians are now dead, and the worse may not be over.
BD,
There's certainly more than one take on this. First, as regards the blogger, I find it ironic how those of us in the diaspora want to throw off the yoke of Africa or our own culture, while others study and wish to appropriate that which is of our essence. I understand that colonialism, slavery and assimilation has made us more American, European and etc than African, but I don't see how one advances himself by discarding himself at the same time.
Do you remember the story of the Indians selling Manhattan for $24 worth of beads and trinkets? They probably laughed at the Dutch for paying them for something they perceived belonged to everyone. The native Americans and most aboriginal peoples had no concept of ownership natural resources per se. When we talk of exclusive ownership of anything, then the concept of artificial scarcity comes naturally into play which spawns competition for these things and a focus on "me". When one is focused on "me", there's little room to consider others or their plight. As it is for individuals, so it is for nations.
IMO, almost everything can be tied back to the current economic paradigm we operate in. At its heart, the system is based on creating artificial scarcity and competition around it. This becomes the be all and end all to our existence.
@Greg: "I understand that colonialism, slavery and assimilation has made us more American, European and etc than African, but I don't see how one advances himself by discarding himself at the same time."
The notion here is that those who are in the diaspora are somehow "better than" those left behind, that our diasporic experiences have strengthen us in ways that set us apart from those now living in Africa.
I beg to differ with the blogger: We're not somehow better off, because we left Africa (consider the brain drain for Africa), or because we mingled our blood, or our DNA with whites. The merging of blacks and whites, physically, and culturally, didn't somehow create a superior black man and woman.
"The native Americans and most aboriginal peoples had no concept of ownership natural resources per se."
Excellent point all around. You're right: Rather than spawning cooperation, it spawned competition, rather than encouraging sharing, it set the stage for the exploitation of others.
"At its heart, the system is based on creating artificial scarcity and competition around it. This becomes the be all and end all to our existence."
And if we're not careful, it will end our "existence."
"I am not the martyr of their corruptions and own shortcomings."
This is all too true. We in the West are more the benefactors of the pillaging of the rest of what we term the "under-developed" world. Our standard of living would be impossible without such things as the natural resources of Africa, the cheap labor of China, India and Latin America.
BD...I totally agree with you on the interconnectedness of our common destiny. We will all suffer the consequences of sticking with this unsustainable economic system until it is too late. Global environmental collapses do not discriminate against anyone.
@Ernesto: "We in the West are more the benefactors of the pillaging of the rest of what we term the 'under-developed' world."
And I'm getting to the place where I don't wish to play--that is, purchase items built with virtual slave labor from "developing nations."
I would like a new computer. But I'm thinking: How do I buy one that wasn't built by the Chinese, or others using slave-labor conditions? I don't wish to contribute to the exploitation that's taking place abroad.
Now if I can find a web site that identifies which products were built ethically, I could avoid this dilemma.
That will be my goal for my next big purchase.
"Global environmental collapses do not discriminate against anyone."
So true. We're living in a house of cards, and more than subject to the domino theory.
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