ezrah - Blogs - TheBlackList Pub2024-03-28T20:43:23Zhttps://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/ezrahBirth Of A Nation: Nat Turner's Mental and Military Motivationshttps://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/birth-of-a-nation-nat-turner-s-mental-and-military-motivations2016-10-27T11:35:54.000Z2016-10-27T11:35:54.000ZSendMeYourNewshttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/SendMeYourNews<div><p><a href="http://www.blackstarnews.com/sites/default/files/styles/news-detail-page/public/field/image/turnerrevolt-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.blackstarnews.com/sites/default/files/styles/news-detail-page/public/field/image/turnerrevolt-1.png" class="align-full" alt="turnerrevolt-1.png" /></a>By <span><span class="username">EZRAH AHARONE | </span></span> Nate Parker's movie The Birth of a Nation has revived the question: What caused Nat Turner's 1831 uprising?</p>
<p>Turner, first of all, was not a deranged misfit who acted outside of a historical context of previous African freedom fighters. Throughout slavery's duration, resistance was not only constant and fatal, but twofold-- Africans equally resisted both slavery and Americanization.</p>
<p>Contrary to popular "feel good" versions of history, the "fight against slavery" should not be presumed as a "fight to become American." For enslaved Africans like Turner, Americanization was the obstacle -- not the vehicle -- to the freedom they sought.</p>
<p>A largely overlooked factor that forged Africans into Americans was their inability to muster enough weapons to militarily free themselves from Americanization. Along with the 2nd Amendment which allowed Whites to bear arms, slavery was also backed by America's military, which is why 800 soldiers deployed against Turner. Within this context of warfare (which fomented at least 313 recorded armed uprisings), there is provable evidence that Africans became Americans -- not by virtue of winning the Civil War -- but by virtue of prior military defeats.</p>
<p>CNN Town Halls won't discuss this, but numerous captives were already soldiers in Africa beforehand, who like Turner, held deep monotheistic beliefs. Once in America these battle-tested troops launched guerilla forms of warfare whenever possible, using whatever weapons possible, with clear theological convictions that fused spirituality with revolution.</p>
<p>Naturally, after being forcibly uprooted 5,000 miles from long-lived kingdoms and cultures, they deemed Euro-Americans as new adversaries, and Americanization was certainly not their goal. This explains why tens of thousands of Africans militarily fought with the British against America during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Plus, another 100,000 fled or died fleeing to join British forces.</p>
<p>Conclusive stats are unknown, but from a sheer combat perspective, the Revolutionary War could be framed as the largest uprising of Africans who ever unified to militarily free themselves from Americanization-- including Africans reportedly owned by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.</p>
<p>Despite being defeated, it is still necessary to credit legitimacy to such Africans, beyond distorted narratives that label Turner an "African American" even though men like him sought America's military downfall. Olaudah Equiano (an Ibo, captured at age 11, who published the first surviving "slave account" in 1789: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano) wrote, "When you make men slaves, you compel them to live with you in a State of War." Once freed in 1792, he bolted like lightning to England.</p>
<p>Haiti's independence (1804) ignited further military motivations. On July 4th, 1804, instead of recognizing US independence, hundreds of Blacks in Philadelphia stormed Independence Hall to live Haitian independence vicariously.</p>
<p>Flanked in military formations, they carried swords and attacked Whites for two days, chanting "we will show them [Whites] St. Domingo [bloodshed like Haiti]."</p>
<p>So, by the dawn of his 1831 uprising, Turner was just one cog in a long continuum of such idealists. Other notable military operations involved: Fort Mose in Florida (1738-1763); the Stono Uprising in South Carolina (1739); the German Coast Uprising in Louisiana (1811); Negro Fort in Florida (1815); and David Walker's Appeal (1828) advocated revolution and religion (even though Walker was more an assimilationist than sovereignist).</p>
<p>Men like Turner also equated themselves to other hemispheric freedom fighters (in nations like Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Columbia) who gained independence-- including Euro-Americans. For example, before being hanged for their 1800 planned uprising, one of Gabriel Prosser's soldiers retorted, "I have nothing more to offer than what General [George] Washington would have had to offer, had he been taken by the British and put to trial. I have adventured my life in endeavouring to obtain the liberty of my countrymen, and am a willing sacrifice in their cause." Translation, he meant, "Bring It: I stand upon universal principles of freedom that -- just like you -- I will never compromise."</p>
<p>Interestingly, in a 60 Minutes interview, Nate Parker paralleled Nat Turner to George Washington in terms of their shared idealisms to "Birth a Nation." From this perspective, whether you agree or disagree with Turner's guerilla tactics, his comparative cause to end tyranny was no less honorable than America’s founders.</p>
<p>Tyranny however can be a very peculiar and subjective creature, since "one man's tyranny can be another man's liberty." Hence, George Washington, who enslaved and tyrannized over 300 Africans is deified on Mt. Rushmore as a hero, while conversely, Nat Turner who fought against slavery's tyranny is demonized as a savage.</p>
<p>To this contradiction, James Baldwin once quipped, "In the US, violence and heroism have been made synonymous . . . except when it comes to Blacks."</p>
<p>~~~~~~~~~~~<br />This article was culled in part from The Sovereign Psyche: Systems of Chattel Freedom vs. Self-Authentic Freedom by Ezrah Aharone who is an adjunct associate professor of political science at Delaware State University. He is also a political and business consultant on African affairs, as well as the author of Sovereign Evolution and Pawned Sovereignty. He can be reached at <a href="http://www.ezrahspeaks.com/">www.EzrahSpeaks.com</a></p>
<p><span style="color:#993300;" class="font-size-1"><em>From: <a class="_rpc_i1 o365button"><span title="ezrah@ezrahspeaks.com" style="color:#993300;">ezrah@ezrahspeaks.com</span></a></em></span></p>
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</div></div>The New "We the People"https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/the-new-we-the-people2010-07-02T13:00:00.000Z2010-07-02T13:00:00.000ZTheBlackListhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackList<div><p style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="line-height:150%;font-family:'Bookman Old Style';font-size:12pt;">By Ezrah Aharone 7/10</span></b></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><b><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:16pt;">T</span></b><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">his July 4th marks 234 years of</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">US</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">independence. And although America’s ongoing “melting pot
experiment” is theoretically unbiased to Blacks, Latinos and Muslims, the <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2010/0329/Hutaree-militia-arrests-point-to-tripling-of-militias-since-2008"><span><font color="#0000FF">Southern Poverty Law
Center</font></span></a> reports that hate groups, like the well-armed <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2010/0329/Hutaree-militia-arrests-point-to-tripling-of-militias-since-2008"><span><font color="#0000FF">Hutaree</font></span></a>
<span>militia, have increased 200 percent
since President Obama’s 2008 election. <span>
</span></span></span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%;text-indent:.5in;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">Texas</span><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">, the former rebel republic and current headquarters of the <a href="http://guardiansofthefreerepublics.com/front-page.html"><span><font color="#0000FF">Guardians of the Free
Republic</font></span></a> <span>is now
waging new ethnic and ideological battlefronts, by arming schoolchildren with
conservative-bent</span> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/education/13texas.html"><font color="#0000FF">textbooks</font></a> that re-sculpt some of
</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">America</span><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">’s <span>most traditional outlooks. In</span></span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">Arizona</span><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">, new <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/20/arizona-immigration-law-s_n_544864.html"><span><font color="#0000FF">immigration
legislation</font></span></a> now gives a tacit eyewink for police <span>to roundup and shakedown Latinos. And if you didn’t know, the catchy slogan “If
you see something, say something” is a discreet way of saying “keep a close eye
on all Muslim people.” <span>
</span></span></span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%;text-indent:.5in;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">The resulting rifts over the civil liberties of US citizens and Obama’s recent speech on</font> <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-comprehensive-immigration-reform"><font color="#0000FF" face="Times New Roman">Immigration Reform</font></a><font face="Times New Roman">, offer a perfect platform to dissect the definition and
discrepancies of “We the People” as spoken of constitutionally and
historically. <span>
</span></font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%;text-indent:.5in;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">It was German cartographer</font> <a href="http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0309/maps.html"><font color="#0000FF" face="Times New Roman">Martin Waldseemueller</font></a> <font face="Times New Roman">who named the</font></span> <font face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">Western Hemisphere</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">
“</span><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">America</span><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">” in tribute to Italian navigator
Amerigo Vespucci in 1507. As early as
1782 when colonists were still blasting their British kinfolk with musket balls,
J. Hector St. John Crevecoeur</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">posed the question “What is an American?” in
his famed book <em><a href="http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/CREV/home.html"><font color="#0000FF">Letters from an American Farmer</font></a></em>. So who then exactly are “We the People” in
modern terms and times? <span>
</span></span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%;text-indent:.5in;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">Certainly, when these three simple but significant words were first penned in the US Constitution in 1787, the
founders didn’t envisage</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">America</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">becoming a vast multi-ethnic society
in a world of international laws, where state-sanctioned slavery could have them
prosecuted today for the likes of war crimes and crimes against
humanity.</span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%;text-indent:.5in;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Certainly, when the ironfisted but seldom-mentioned, President James K. Polk, swiped an
unprecedented</font> <a href="http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/prelude/jp_jp_and_the_mexican_war.html"><span><font color="#0000FF" face="Times New Roman">1.2 million</font></span></a> <font face="Times New Roman"><span>square miles of
territory from Mexico as spoils of war in 1846, it was never intended for
millions of Mexicans to sneak across “America’s” border with impunity
today. But as the saying goes, “Mexicans
aren’t crossing the border, the border has crossed them.” </span></font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%;text-indent:.5in;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">And certainly, as for Japanese-American citizens, “We the People” became constitutionally meaningless when Franklin D. Roosevelt decreed
</font> <a href="http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/history/index.html"><font color="#0000FF" face="Times New Roman">Executive Order 9066</font></a><font face="Times New Roman">, which unleashed the</font></span> <font face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">US</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">military
to mass-incarcerate 120,000 men, women, and children of Japanese ancestry during
World War II.</span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%;text-indent:.5in;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">While the malice of the founders and ethnic crackdowns of Polk and Roosevelt do not detract from their “American
greatness,” there’s comparative objection from Blacks and liberal Democrats
because the new textbooks in</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">Texas</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">place positive spotlights on people
like <a href="http://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/"><span><font color="#0000FF">Jefferson
Davis</font></span></a> and <a href="http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/d_h/houston.htm"><span><font color="#0000FF">Sam
Houston</font></span></a>. Based on the
outcry, you’d think that Davis and Houston were more crippling to the cause of
African Americans, than say, George Washington or Thomas
Jefferson.</span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%;text-indent:.5in;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">If you’ve notice however, there’s an overall process at work to politically repackage the image and ideals of
</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">America</span><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">’s founding history. As such, despite centuries of known ethnic
mistreatment and “Whites-Only” privileges,
</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">America</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">conversely portrays itself as being
uniquely constituted with rights and freedoms that were always meant for
“everyone” to partake . . . As though “We the People” signified Blacks, Native
Americans, Latinos, Asians and even Muslims all along. </span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%;text-indent:.5in;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">Sure, this promotes feel-good nationalism, especially during these days of protracted warfare in Muslim
countries. But the unedited political
truth as cited in <i><a href="http://www.tfasinternational.org/iipes/academics/mullercm.pdf"><font color="#0000FF">Foreign Affairs</font></a></i> magazine is that: “For substantial
stretches of</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">US</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">history, it was believed that only
the people of English origin, or those who were Protestant</span><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">, or white, or hailed from northern
</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">Europe</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">were real Americans.” </span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%;text-indent:.5in;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">Although the founders bequeathed</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">a
largely-Anglo</span> <span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;">nation, what they didn’t politically calculate
were a few societal probabilities . . . That demographic shifts could eventuate
a “New We the People,” causing Anglo people to teeter on the brink of becoming a
minority on American soil, where “one man, one vote” would become an
establishment threat. Moreover, that the
“New We the People” could send a Black man to the White House in the 21st
century. </span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%;text-indent:.5in;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">On the downside, along with secretive hate groups, the “New We the People” has attracted mainstream opposition from</font> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/27/reid.tea.party/index.html"><font color="#0000FF" face="Times New Roman">Tea Partiers</font></a> <font face="Times New Roman">who openly aim to “take their country back,” which among
other things is a coded expression of “ethnic displeasure.” The fact that a group like the Tea Party has
almost instantly become a fully-financed movement of scale, is a foretelling
omen that the “New We the People” can expect continued ethnic resistance well
into the future. <span>
</span></font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%;text-indent:.5in;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">So the celebratory fireworks and barbeques on the 4th of July may mask the nation’s racial complexities for 24 hours. Yet the much-hailed ideals that the
Declaration of Independence proclaims are still nevertheless</font> <a href="http://www.cswnet.com/~menamc/langston.htm"><font color="#0000FF" face="Times New Roman">A Dream Deferred</font></a><font face="Times New Roman">,
given that lingering ethnic prejudges and political contradictions remain
endemic 234 years later . . . and still counting. </font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;line-height:150%;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">~~~~~~~~~~~~</font></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Ezrah Aharone is the author of two political books:</span> <i><span style="font-size:11pt;"><a href="http://www.filedby.com/author/ezrah_aharone/1715703/"><font color="#0000FF">Sovereign Evolution: Manifest Destiny from Civil Rights to Sovereign
Rights</font></a></span></i> <span style="font-size:11pt;">(2009)</span> <span style="font-size:12pt;">and <em><span><a href="http://www.authorhouse.com/Bookstore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=18126"><font color="#0000FF">Pawned Sovereignty: Sharpened Black Perspectives on
Americanization, Africa, War and Reparations</font></a></span></em></span> <span style="font-size:12pt;">
(2003). He is</span> <span style="font-size:12pt;">a founding member of the <i>Center for Sovereignty Advancement</i>. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:Ezrah@theCSA.org"><font color="#0000FF">Ezrah@theCSA.org</font></a>. <span>
</span></span></font></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%;text-indent:.5in;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"></p></div>Lessons from Confederate History Monthhttps://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/lessons-from-confederate2010-04-22T15:51:42.000Z2010-04-22T15:51:42.000ZTheBlackListhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackList<div>By Ezrah Aharone:<br /><br />
Next year in April commemorates the 150th anniversary of America’s Civil War. So under the pretext to “encourage tourism” in Virginia, which has over 100 Confederate monuments, GOP Governor Bob McDonnell dusted-off an old proclamation that declares April as “Confederate History Month.” Not only did he revive it, he removed a clause stating “that slavery was one of the causes” of the war.<br /><br />
President Obama called this “an unacceptable omission,” while members of Virginia’s Legislative Black Caucus said the document was “offensive, one-sided, and a revision of history.” GOP Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi, who declared April as “Confederate Heritage Month” in a similar proclamation which also excluded slavery, said all the fuss “doesn’t amount to diddly.” But McDonnell apologized and amended Virginia’s proclamation to include and condemn slavery. <br /><br />
The real problem here however, supercedes the omissions and one-sidedness of any single proclamation, including Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. American history is largely promoted with slanted, bravado narratives of nationalism, whereby the means are always vindicated by glorifications of the end. And when it comes to the historiography of slavery, a taboo-blame of racism is transferred upon African Americans who veer from sugarcoated viewpoints. <br /><br />
As such, Americans are made to think that the Civil War was fought to end the Confederate immoralities of slavery. But based on unquestioned racism that lasted well into the 1960s, it’s illogical that millions of Whites would actually fight and slaughter 624,000 of themselves over the rights of Blacks way back in the 1860s. If the Emancipation Proclamation was really predicated upon America’s “goodness of democracy,” why would Democrats and Republicans turnaround and willfully legislate a full century of segregation after so much self-bloodshed? <br /><br />
On the surface, this outlook certainly qualifies for a transferred taboo-blame of racism. But to lend historical validation, consider a quote from President Obama himself. As then-senator, he commented to Time Magazine (June 25, 2005) that: “I cannot swallow whole the view of Lincoln as the Great Emancipator. I am fully aware of his limited views on race. Anyone who actually reads the Emancipation Proclamation knows it was more a Military Document than a clarion call for justice.” <br /><br />
Speaking of “omissions and one-sidedness” in proclamations . . . Instead of mandating a unilateral “Military Document” (signed only by him and his Secretary of State), Lincoln and representatives of our forbearers should have jointly agreed and formally signed a binding “Bilateral Accord” that satisfied the ideals and demands of the 4 million “Emancipated” people in question. That would have been the honorable, non-racist, democratic thing for any offending government to do after nearly 250 years of enslavement. <br /><br />
What’s lasting and telling about this affront and disingenuous nature of the Emancipation Proclamation, is the unspoken but undeniable lack of affinity and familiarity that African Americans hold towards it today. Although it presumably represents our long-awaited “triumph over slavery,” it’s hard to find a Black person who can recite a complete phrase from it. Simply ask around and you’ll find proof yourself. <br /><br />
The unedited truth is that Lincoln ended slavery in the Confederacy for the same reason it was instituted – to make capitalism more functional. By the 1860s the Industrial Revolution was in gear. Northern industrial businesses would outperform Southern agrarian businesses, making it necessary to restructure labor, commerce, and capital investments. Paying low wages to Black industrial laborers therefore made better economic sense and great social policy for a more civilized face of government. <br /><br />
But since Southern states stood to lose billions in property (enslaved) assets and wealth, the Confederates sought secession and war became an unavoidable consequence of this industrial shift. While a Confederate victory would have definitely prolonged slavery, this should not be politically misconstrued into the notion that Lincoln’s fight against secession was thereby a fight for the justice of abolition. <br /><br />
To believe that the principal of the Civil War was to “free” Africans from the Confederates is as inaccurate as thinking the current war in Afghanistan is being fought to free Afghans from the Taliban. Although Afghans may eventually be liberated from Taliban influences as a by-product of the war, the underlying purpose and politics of the conflict are immensely more far-reaching. And likewise were the driving circumstances between the Civil War and the by-product of Emancipation. <br /><br />
But since the facts of American history are slanted with narratives to glorify American democracy, the Civil War is framed to unduly credit and equate the Union with noble motives. So it’s acceptable to place taboo-blames of racism on supporters of Confederate History Month, since Confederates resided on the opposite side of the war. Yet, the prevailing mischaracterizations surrounding Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation, now cause African Americans to reside on the opposite side of the truth.<br /><br />
Ezrah Aharone is the author of two political books: <a href="http://www.filedby.com/author/ezrah_aharone/1715703/">Sovereign Evolution: Manifest Destiny from Civil Rights to Sovereign Rights</a> (2009) and <a href="http://www.authorhouse.com/Bookstore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=18126">Pawned Sovereignty: Sharpened Black Perspectives on Americanization, Africa, War and Reparations</a> (2003). He is a founding member of the Center for Sovereignty Advancement. He can be reached at <a href="Ezrah@theCSA.org">Ezrah@theCSA.org</a>. <br /></div>Political Burglary in the Unionhttps://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/political-burglary-in-the2010-02-09T17:30:00.000Z2010-02-09T17:30:00.000ZTheBlackListhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackList<div><p style="margin-bottom:0in;line-height:150%;" align="justify"><font face="Bookman Old Style, serif"><font size="3"><b><br />By Ezrah Aharone:<br /></b></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;padding:0px;line-height:19px;display:block;text-align:justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse:separate;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;font-size:medium;"><font style="line-height:1.2em;" face="Times New Roman"><b style="line-height:1.2em;"><span style="line-height:36px;font-size:18pt;">D</span></b><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">uring <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_0" style="line-height:1.2em;background-color:transparent;border-bottom-style:none;">President Obama</span>’s first <i style="line-height:1.2em;">State of the Union</i> address, there were over 100 applause lines, no shouts of “you lie,” and no reality show contestants (that we know of) breached security on a schmooze mission.</span></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;padding:0px;line-height:19px;display:block;text-align:justify;"><font style="line-height:1.2em;" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">Aside from these successes, the </span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">Union</span> <span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">is being politically burglarized and is in immediate need of rescue – Rescue from the collapsing weight of national debt and unregulated greed throughout </span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">America</span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">’s “Free Market Capitalism,” and rescue from the fast-sinking quicksand of military mishaps. This plundering for profits and power, long superseded Bush’s arrival and will long subsist beyond Obama’s departure. </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;padding:0px;line-height:19px;display:block;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;"><font style="line-height:1.2em;" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">World capitalism (costs of labor, value of currencies, controls over resources) did not evolve haphazardly in isolated fragments that are unrelated to coercion, occupation, and military might. With few exceptions, nations with the strongest currencies also have the strongest militaries and records of hegemony. <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_1" style="line-height:1.2em;">Capitalism</span> euphemistically has “free markets,” but as <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_2" style="line-height:1.2em;border-bottom:1px dashed rgb(0,102,204);">Ron Jacobs</span> wrote in <i style="line-height:1.2em;"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_3" style="line-height:1.2em;border-bottom:1px dashed rgb(0,102,204);background-color:transparent;">CounterPunch</span></i>, capitalism is neither moral nor immoral – it is “amoral.” And “in order to survive, it must expand . . . The fact that the </span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">US</span> <span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">spends more money on weaponry and war is directly related to this phenomenon.” </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;padding:0px;line-height:19px;display:block;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;"><font style="line-height:1.2em;" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">America</span> <span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">was not only born with foreign debts from war-costs of its revolution, but it has bled annual debts in all but two years since its founding. Of the $3.8 trillion in Obama’s proposed 2011 federal budget, $738 billion is for defense and over $1 trillion will be borrowed from foreign creditors. </span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">Now with double-digit unemployment and a $12 trillion national debt, at least 45 cents of every US dollar is owed to governments like </span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">Kuwait</span> <span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">and </span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_4" style="line-height:1.2em;">China</span></span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">. </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;padding:0px;line-height:19px;display:block;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;"><font style="line-height:1.2em;" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">Sovereign Wealth Funds (<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_5" style="line-height:1.2em;">financial institutions</span> of foreign governments that invest in other nations) are pouring into </span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">America</span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">faster than immigrants. At one point from November 2007 to <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_6" style="line-height:1.2em;">January 2008</span>, the governments of </span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_7" style="line-height:1.2em;border-bottom:1px dashed rgb(0,102,204);">Kuwait</span></span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">, </span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">China</span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">, </span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_8" style="line-height:1.2em;">Singapore</span></span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">, </span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_9" style="line-height:1.2em;">United Arab Emirates</span></span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">, and </span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_10" style="line-height:1.2em;">South Korea</span></span> <span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">invested over $40 billion in US banks. Since 2001, the dollar has tail-spun in value to the point where it is no longer the world’s strongest currency. </span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">And if you notice, some </span><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">US</span> <span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;">businesses will now accept payments in Euros.</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;padding:0px;line-height:19px;display:block;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;"><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;"><font style="line-height:1.2em;" face="Times New Roman">In a <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_11" style="line-height:1.2em;">Charles</span> Darwin-like fashion of “natural selection/survival of the fittest,” the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_12" style="line-height:1.2em;">financial services industry</span> has subsequently resorted to cannibalizing the financial meat off the bones of the disadvantaged public, via <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_13" style="line-height:1.2em;">subprime mortgages</span>, usury interest rates, excessive penalties, Ponzi schemes and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_14" style="line-height:1.2em;">predatory lending practices</span>. Consumers who’ve lost homes, investments, and retirement funds have had little government recourse, unless you count state-operated Power Ball lotteries.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;padding:0px;line-height:19px;display:block;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;"><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;"><font style="line-height:1.2em;" face="Times New Roman">Had this burglary been orchestrated by individuals instead of institutions, it would be criminal. But under the guise of “too big to fail,” rather than prosecuting, the government is subsidizing some of these same institutions with billions in tax-funded bailouts. And in a classic case of “wolves watching the henhouse,” some of the same <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_15" style="line-height:1.2em;">Wall Street execs</span> are being rotated into musical-chair appointments as “experts” to run the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_16" style="line-height:1.2em;border-bottom:1px dashed rgb(0,102,204);">Federal Reserve</span>, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_17" style="line-height:1.2em;border-bottom:1px dashed rgb(0,102,204);">Treasury Department</span> and other fiscal agencies. </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;padding:0px;line-height:19px;display:block;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;"><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;"><font style="line-height:1.2em;" face="Times New Roman">But how could the so-called best and brightest people of government and Washington think tanks, who supposedly safeguard society, sit back and watch clusters of companies become “too big to fail” in the first place? Whether it’s incompetence or complicity, here’s what they should know before more ransom is given to bailout corporations that later split multimillions of loot “bonuses” among execs – If any business, in any industry, is deemed “too big to fail,” then that alone should stipulate it as a “modern-day monopoly” which, under expanded <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_18" style="line-height:1.2em;">Antitrust Laws</span> should subject it to be broken-up long before its failure can burglarize society. </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;padding:0px;line-height:19px;display:block;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;"><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;"><font style="line-height:1.2em;" face="Times New Roman">As for healthcare, once you mix corporate greed with the political influence and endless lobbying dollars of the insurance industry, it’s easy to understand why “affordable” insurance is so controversial among congressmen who already have comprehensive (tax-funded) coverage. Remember, capitalism is amoral. So, because of “profit motives” your health is secondary to money. Therefore, whenever a healthcare bill does pass, the pendulum will surely swing to favor money-hungry companies that delay and deny needed approvals to the sick. Not to mention “drive through” surgeries.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;padding:0px;line-height:19px;display:block;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;"><span style="line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;"><font style="line-height:1.2em;" face="Times New Roman">The coziness, favoritism, and profiteering between government and corporations are known practices of “dollars and dealings” within a thriving plutocratic culture, where society’s elite moneychangers engage in “Pay-to-Play Democracy” to influence policymaking, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_19" style="line-height:1.2em;">party platforms</span>, and election outcomes. Bluebloods who “donate” $25,000 per-plate to attend political fundraisers, don’t waste their “bargaining chips” by trying to moralize capitalism. Besides, it would be rudely inappropriate to advocate for the burglarized public while plutocrats dine on braised stuffed pheasant.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;padding:0px;line-height:19px;display:block;text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in;"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;padding:0px;line-height:1.2em;display:block;text-align:justify;"><font style="line-height:1.2em;" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height:1.2em;font-size:12pt;">Ezrah Aharone is the author of two political books: </span><i style="line-height:1.2em;"><span style="line-height:1.2em;font-size:11pt;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.filedby.com/author/ezrah_aharone/1715703/" style="line-height:1.2em;text-decoration:underline;color:rgb(0,51,153);"><font style="line-height:1.2em;" color="#0000FF"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_20" style="line-height:1.2em;">Sovereign Evolution: Manifest Destiny from Civil Rights to Sovereign Rights</span></font></a></span></i><span style="line-height:1.2em;font-size:11pt;">(2009) </span><span style="line-height:1.2em;font-size:12pt;">and <em style="line-height:1.2em;"><span style="line-height:1.2em;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.authorhouse.com/Bookstore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=18126" style="line-height:1.2em;text-decoration:underline;color:rgb(0,51,153);"><font style="line-height:1.2em;" color="#0000FF"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_21" style="line-height:1.2em;">Pawned Sovereignty: Sharpened Black Perspectives on Americanization, Africa, War and Reparations</span></font></a></span></em></span> <span style="line-height:1.2em;font-size:12pt;">(2003). He is also </span><span style="line-height:1.2em;font-size:12pt;">a founding member of the <i style="line-height:1.2em;">Center for <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_22" style="line-height:1.2em;border-bottom:1px dashed rgb(0,102,204);background-color:transparent;">Sovereignty</span> Advancement</i>. He can be reached at <a target="_blank" href="/mc/compose?to=Ezrah@theCSA.org" style="line-height:1.2em;text-decoration:underline;color:rgb(0,51,153);"><font style="line-height:1.2em;" color="#0000FF"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265737170_23" style="line-height:1.2em;border-bottom:1px dashed rgb(0,102,204);background-color:transparent;">Ezrah@theCSA.org</span></font></a>. <span style="line-height:1.2em;"><br /></span></span></font></p></div>Sovereign Evolution: Manifest Destiny from "Civil Rights" to "Sovereign Rights"https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/sovereign-evolution-manifest2009-08-30T00:09:42.000Z2009-08-30T00:09:42.000ZTheBlackListhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackList<div><b>Book Review</b>
Sovereign Evolution: Manifest Destiny from "Civil Rights" to "Sovereign Rights"
by Ezrah Aharone
(Reviewed by Dan Tres Omi, The Liberator Magazine)
<a href="http://weblog.liberatormagazine.com/2009/08/from-civil-rights-to-sovereign-rights.html" target="_blank">http://weblog.liberatormagazine.com/2009/08/from-civil-rights-to-sovereign-rights.html</a>
When the topic of legal sovereignty is brought up, it is usually masked by spookisms
and gobbledygook. When one attends lectures on sovereignty one is bombarded with
quotes from the Bible or the Qu'ran. Sovereignty is sold as this mysterious legal
undertaking that only a few have access to. It is a tremendously complicated concept
that many of us would rather avoid. When this book came across my desk, I hesitated
to read it. The book's synopsis, however, offered a different view point.
Ezrah Aharone is no ghetto scholar. A scholar and a well-traveled man, Aharone's
background qualifies him to be an expert on the topic. Yet, after reading Sovereign
Evolution: Manifest Destiny from “Civil Rights” to “Sovereign Rights,” it is very
clear that Aharone writes for the lay man. His argument is clear and current.
Aharone does create a utopian and mythic past and makes his points relevant.
Usually, one hears how sovereignty is good for the individual. Aharone however,
points out that freedom is relative and comes in states. From that viewpoint,
Aharone explains how sovereign rights are good for the collective. He states that it
is part of our political evolution. A good number of people feel that we have
reached our political peak in the 21st century and Barack Obama's successful
campaign is the best example of that. Aharone begs to differ.
Aharone's main argument is that Euro Americans never had it in their plans to
accommodate people of African descent in any way, shape or form. It is obvious that
this dilemma continues today since we are given a few token measures and laws to
give the illusion that democracy is working. "The real mockery," Aharone says, "is
that we remain in a unprincipled political relationship with a European people who
hold 'parental authority' to conditionally approve what they feel is politically
best for us." Again, history is the best measure we have. Aharone uses several
historic examples to demonstrate how sovereignty is used to acquire political and
economic power.
Aharone describes the relationship between people of African descent with Euro
Americans as one of products and owners of product. It is no lie that our ancestors
were bought here as laborers. Their work was a form of free capital that was used to
build up the United States. Today, we are still a dependable labor force. His
solution is to create a collective sovereignty not just legally, but spiritually and
mentally. That is the component that we fail to realize. Sovereignty should not be
seen as just a legal position, it should be seen as a mental and spiritual one. Many
of us don't just want to assimilate politically, we want it to be all-encompassing.
To quite a few of us, this information will not be new. Yet, Aharone's voice is not
fiery. He uses a sound scholarly voice and leaves it up to the reader to make the
final assessment. He lays out his argument, at times in a somber voice, but he does
not chastise or place blame. The word is evolution. We must never assume that we
have reached our peak. I look forward to reading Aharone's earlier work and for him
to continue writing on this subject. For those who are opponents or skeptical about
sovereignty, I suggest reading Aharone's latest offering. It will not only make one
rethink his or her position on sovereignty, it will also help one rethink the course
of our political evolution.
<i>Ezrah Aharone is also the author of Pawned Sovereignty. He can be reached at
<a href="Ezrah@theCSA.org" target="_blank">Ezrah@theCSA.org</a>.
Related postsThe Vices of American Values.
Recession Proofing
A 40 Year-Old Dream [motorcycle diaries]
"The Rat That Got Away" [book review]
What makes a gentrifier?</i></div>American Exceptionalism vs. Obama’s Idealismhttps://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/american-exceptionalism-vs2009-04-24T19:30:00.000Z2009-04-24T19:30:00.000ZTheBlackListhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackList<div><b><u>Ezrah Aharone</u></b>:
During his European debut, a reporter in Strasbourg, France asked President Obama if he subscribes to the school of “American Exceptionalism” as did his predecessors. Being the first Black president and known as a uniter, the question weighs heavy in irony since America’s self-grandiosity is tied to military aggression and presidential legacies that are littered with unapologetic ethnic and cultural indifference. Although not a common term, African Americans should form long lines like voting to get information whenever the subject of “Exceptionalism” is mentioned.
Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville coined “Exceptionalism” in his 1835 book Democracy in America to describe the notion that America considers itself a superior and trustworthy nation that’s favored by God to play a special political, economic, religious, and military role in the world . . . Therefore, U.S. values and policies are presupposed by Americans as right and best for all nations to follow. Nothing is inherently wrong or unjust with any country espousing “Exceptionalism.” The problem and danger is when such views are pursued or imposed at the human or sovereign expense of others.
America’s brand of “Exceptionalism” took Machiavellian detours along the way for the worst. Yes, it verbally professes “Equality and Justice for All,” but at its core remains a prevailing Manifest Destiny for wealth, resources, and power that’s paved in blood and knows no bounds. Because of this duplicity, “American Exceptionalism” can only stand limited-level scrutiny before depths of contradictions and sensitivities are reached that this establishment prefers not to redress.
But all this is belied by “religious fluff” that cloaks what otherwise is inexcusable historical conduct engaged by both parties. Based on the puritanical overtones associated with its founding history and founding fathers, you would think America is spiritually incapable of human and civil rights violations that legalized enslavement and segregation to contrarily coexist with “democracy” for centuries, with impunity.
Today, the same arrogant nature of “Exceptionalism” allows America to “forgive itself” for the past and become an Evangelical arbiter that places labels of “evil” on nations with comparatively far less guilt. The U.S. government is also quick to holler “war crimes” against other nations, yet conversely doesn’t want U.S. soldiers, officials or mercenaries like Blackwater, subjected to possible prosecution for war crimes at the International Criminal Court – Even though Obama says “America does not torture.”
Politicians popularly say, “God bless America.” But it’s politically unthinkable to ever associate God with “punishment,” as did Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans who then had to apologize after Hurricane Katrina for saying, “God is mad at America . . . and doesn’t approve of Iraq.” “Exceptionalism” was also behind the denunciation of Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Black Liberation Theology. (Note how the media bleeps-out the word “damn” where he says “God damn America” in his infamous sermon . . . as though it’s too unbearable to broadcast on airwaves that are already filthied with commercialized vulgarities, violence, and sexual content).
Protestant theologies stem from yearnings within groups to relate and appeal to God to address their specific hardships. The only difference between Black Liberation Theology and any other “Protestant” theology, like Lutheranism or Methodism, is that the “Protest” is directed against flagrances of America as opposed to the Catholic Church or British Crown. So of course, according to “Exceptionalism,” Rev. Wright and Black Liberation Theology must be discredited in the mainstream. This establishment will not sit silent and watch a Black president relate or appeal to God in ways that deem them transgressors. They’ve studied Aristotle well-enough at think tanks and Ivy institutions to know that a government must always give appearances of “uncommon devotion to religion” so that “subjects do less easily move against” it.
All in all, “Exceptionalism” has thrived ever since their formative years when Euro-Americans were considered roving bands of “Rebellious Brits” who defied King George III. Although the Declaration of Independence and Constitution clearly weren’t intended to apply to Black people, the same political elements of “Exceptionalism” that assured our past exclusion are now actively revising history right before our very eyes, by propagating Obama’s presidency as the long-awaited ethnic fulfillment of the founder’s “real” intents of democracy and equality.
Being a great idealist and well-schooled articulator of universal aspirations, Obama admitted America was “imperfect,” but he smoothed-over the question as though “Exceptionalism” only applies to America’s greatness, and as though his predecessors were all as race-neutral as he. Like his predecessors however his job is to defend America; deviances against us included. Even a Black president doesn’t alter the reality that we as Africans have integrated into an already-sovereign European society . . . And because of the hypnotic sways of this thing called “American Exceptionalism” we find ourselves paying tribute to heroes, holidays, and history that otherwise would make no political or logical sense.
<b>This article was culled in part from Ezrah Aharone’s 2009 book, <a href="http://authortree.com/EzrahSpeaks">Sovereign Evolution</a> (Chapter 4: “The Cloak of Exceptionalism”). He is also the author of <a href="http://www.authorhouse.com/Bookstore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=18126">Pawned Sovereignty</a> and a founding member of the Center for Sovereignty Advancement. He can be reached at <a href="Ezrah@theCSA.org">Ezrah@theCSA.org</a>.</b></div>Ezrah Aharone's New Book: "Sovereign Evolution"https://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/ezrah-aharones-new-book2009-01-15T02:43:14.000Z2009-01-15T02:43:14.000ZTheBlackListhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackList<div><b>SOVEREIGN EVOLUTON</b>
<b><i>MANIFEST DESTINY
FROM
“CIVIL RIGHTS” TO “SOVEREIGN RIGHTS”</i></b>
_____________________________________________________________________
<b>Ezrah Aharone</b> • <a href="http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~56362.aspx">AuthorHouse</a> • 301 Pages • ISBN: 978-1-4389-3858-5
____________________________________________________________
<p style="text-align:left;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}3828506054,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" width="129" height="184" /></p>
<b>F</b>rom emancipation to segregation to integration, African Americans exist today by virtue of a continuum of political evolutions, each of which is built upon prior legacies and achievements. In advancing our political progression, Sovereign Evolution re-declares freedom and equality in 21st-century terms, using sovereign principles and standards. Though its content centers on African Americans, Sovereign Evolution has wider political implications that equally relate to the future progression of Africa and Africans in general. In this regard, Sovereign Evolution is both the title of this work, as well as a transformative political concept to advance sovereign ideals, interests, and institutions.
Whether the issue concerns socioeconomic disparities, or Katrina and Jena, or being underrepresented in Congress and overrepresented in penitentiaries, the common thread as Ezrah Aharone demonstrates, is the obvious but overlooked reality that African Americans are an “Un-Sovereign People,” who pay varying degrees of “Un-Sovereign Consequences.” Thus, in a very methodical and convincing manner, he circumscribes sovereignty in a universal and historical context that confers African Americans with just as much integrity and authority as any other people to espouse and employ sovereign aspirations.
The ideological framework herein self-applies and legitimizes the concept of sovereignty in ways that no other work has succinctly captured in politically-relatable terms, specific for African Americans. Realizing that not all African Americans will embrace sovereign values, Aharone uniquely specifies how a Sovereign Evolution can mutually advance the best interests of us all, without conflict or compromise to core beliefs of anyone. Accordingly, the book sets a platform to infuse sovereign discourse into mainstream domains that reach from street corners of “the hoods,” to Black universities, to church congregations, to the halls of Congress.
The advent of President Barack Obama indicates a necessary and long-awaited political shift in time and history, which also conveys veiled implications of our sovereign potentials as a people. What once seemed politically improbable has proven to be politically achievable. Our only political limitations exist within the limits of our own vision and courage. To this end, Ezrah Aharone factually sculpts the sociopolitical substance of our historical experience into a sovereign consciousness and political language to initiate a <b><i>Manifest Destiny from “Civil Rights” to “Sovereign Rights</i></b>.”
Please Visit <a href="http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~56362.aspx">AuthorHouse</a> for Excerpts and Further Information</div>