All to be emancipated

GUEST COLUMN

LENNOX FRANCIS

DR KEITH ROWLEY, you are wrong. Pearl Eintou Springer, you are wrong. Khafra Kambon, you are wrong.

Firstly, those who were shipped from the continent called Africa and even the present inhabitants do not respond to the identification “black people” but instead are animated by their nationality.

Secondly, referring to them as “black people” only confirms a deep ignorance and acceptance of that degrading association. These are simply people with black skin.

It is easy for a dominant group to create a system that discriminates and subjugates. Those who do not measure up to that system are categorised as underperformers and relegated to second class or worse.

If you put a horse and a turtle to race in the sea, guess who will win? Would you conclude that the defeated underperformed or that the environment did not lend itself to equal opportunity?

So many of our systems – education the leader – put people unfairly in a caste and they are not given a second chance. Every system has a rating and the further away it is from the top, the lower the ranking.

Those who find themselves on the bottom rung have great difficulty coping with the elevated systems. Self-esteem is low and in their perceived helplessness may even drive them to employ violence to counterpunch suppression.

How I wished the education system had judged me on my sporting ability. Instead, I was confined to the dungeon of a classroom and my instincts and talents smothered with mediocrity in academics. Like so many others I buckled under the yoke of indoctrination that did not allow breathing space for rebellion. It was massa’s whip rekindled in the 21st century.

Bob Marley in song challenged us to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery. But which grouping of human beings is free of shackles? Religion enslaves for it asks the faithful to accept and follow with blind faith. Politics is no different as elected leaders hide behind the theory of democracy, create turmoil and chaos while the electorate responds to only the crack of their whips.

Having used the tools of economics, those well endowed with financial wealth are enslaved by the desire to hoard and keep their possessions. Some are enslaved by the yearning to be famous, others to be powerful. The life force in many is consumed by the belief that there is shortage and they must strive to secure their share.

We all have this myopic way of thinking that allows us to unintentionally create a world where our status is in ascendancy. This high-profile nature abruptly comes to zero at death. Consider for a moment how all the important things for life are presented to us free of charge: air, sunshine, food, water, a body that can regulate itself, the ability to care and the qualities that we need to feed the spirit are there in infinite abundance.

Since the tools are provided all we have to do is pursue the things of the spirit and develop it to recognise that there is only abundance, produce a character that is pure and honest, preserve our health internally and externally and make the body strong. The achievement of these things is to enjoy Heaven on Earth.

These spiritual laws exhort the individual to realise himself. There is no need to make efforts to change the world. Nationality and ethnicity are transcended. Classification and condemnation are outlawed. In this natural system the man’s status manifests itself in his fruits, the real judge.

As angels there is no need for us to descend to the turmoil and excessiveness of this world. We can blindfold wishes, ambitions and distracting thoughts and direct them to the bottomless pit.

Even if we have to mingle we can do things differently, cheerfully and still be contented. As the universe unfolds if we can adapt easily to the changes we will be able to cope with our circumstances.

As we continue to reflect on emancipation let all men be reminded that when the spirit is free only then will we see the worth of our kind and hear the echo, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

The ability to emancipate is within our grasp. No amount of self-pity, forgiveness of the exploiters, compensation from those who benefitted or retribution will change history.