Wrestling With Evil Part 2
Wrestling Against Evil Part 2
Junious Ricardo
Stanton
“For
we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12
Last week we explored the notion of evil in the world and
how our African Ancestors grappled with the concept of evil, its origins and
nature. We also shared modern examples of evil in the form of menticide the
deliberate attempt to destroy a people’s mind and showed how technology is
being used to affect our brains and “lifestyle” choices in harmful ways.
The creators and developers of social media knew the
adverse impact this technology would have on us but they created it and
promoted it anyway! This is immoral, it is evil. They knew the addictive
physiological effects of social media but monopolized and monetized it anyway
to further their own agenda which by the way is not about merely making a
profit. These misanthropes want to control us and have created a means to
achieve their aims.
Social media is just as addictive as smoking, gambling,
sexual promiscuity or drugs and they know it. They know social media usage induces
biochemical changes in our brains and they exploit this for their own ends.
“How oxytocin works. This neurotransmitter is produced in the
hypothalamus, the brain’s hormone factory, and stored in the pituitary gland. It
plays an essential role in childbirth and breastfeeding, so, for decades, it
was considered only a woman thing. However, both men and women have this
chemical — women just typically have higher levels.
In 2004, scientists began studying oxytocin’s effects in humans. Researchers
found that oxytocin is released into our bodies and brains during positive
social interactions of all kinds. It reduces activity in the amygdala, the part
of the brain responsible for anxiety and fear. And it makes positive
social interactions rewarding, so it’s no surprise that it plays a central role
in developing trust. Oxytocin also contributes to the bond between parents and
children, in romantic love, and even in relationship between humans and
their pets. While oxytocin stimulates those positive emotions, it’s
also a hormone that travels through the bloodstream and provides loads of
health benefits, such as reduced stress and inflammation and a boosted immune
system. It also just plain old makes us feel good.” The Effects of Social
Media on the Brain- And What it Means for Business, Laura Moss https://everyonesocial.com/blog/effects-of-social-media-on-the-brain/
The
social media creators and algorithm programmers know what they are doing; they
know they are creating addiction to the technology, to social media and the
content. They know that social media is directly impacting parts of our brain
and the resulting emotions and attitudes from social media usage. They know
many are substituting social media interaction for real life, real time, person
to person interaction which is not good.
They are using the feel good
hormones to get people addicted to social media! Despite the infusion of
hormones like dopamine and oxytocin, the so called feel good hormones, social
media programmers are a lot like drug dealers fostering an epidemic of
addiction on an unsuspecting public. This is immoral and their actions are
having negative consequences on society both personally and collectively. They
are engaged in menticide the deliberate destruction of a people’s mind.
What can we do about this? Plenty,
we have agency we have choice, we have the power of discernment and we can
always alter our habits and behaviors. Technology is ubiquitous in today’s
culture but that doesn’t mean it has to totally consume or dominate our lives.
We have one thousand four hundred forty minutes in a day; we can choose how we
use them. We can choose to go for walks in nature; we can choose to become
engaged in projects that genuinely benefit ourselves and others. We can choose
to meditate to be mindful and present, right now. We can choose to personally
interact with our loved ones face to face. We can choose to spend our time
wisely not consuming hours and hours of TV or eyeballing social media.
We are in a war, a war for our
minds and our very souls. We are in a struggle against evil, avarice and
tyranny. Social media algorithm programmers don’t care about our health or our well
being, why should we spend so much of our valuable time mindlessly consuming
their products?!
The social media creators are like
the tobacco growers and cigarette manufactures who knew their products were
harmful but lied about it until they were forced to admit it, fuss up and print
warning labels on their packages. They
are like Big Pharma, the monopoly media and government who lied about mRNA injections
being a safe and effective therapy against COVID but now are asking for amnesty.
They are now falsely claiming they didn’t know the technology wasn’t what they
claimed it to be even though they’ve been forced to admit they didn’t test mRNA
sufficiently in the first place!
Social media is a complex issue.
Yes the Internet is a tool but how are you using it? Are you using it for your
edification, for productivity or are you a stone cold junkie, poisoning your
mind with content designed to induce you to: buy, believe or be what the
programmers want rather than what is best for you?
Do some research on algorithmic
radicalization and neuro-economics to find out how we are being manipulated and
programmed by social media. We are in contention for our minds and our very
essence; begin to act like the person of power you are and not an addicted
Zombie.
-30-
Wrestling With Evil Part 1
Wrestling Against Evil Part 1
Junious Ricardo
Stanton
“For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places. Wherefore
take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the
evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:12-13
Humans have long pondered the origin
and nature of evil and wrong-doing, trying to fathom the origin of in the world.
Various ethnic groups, tribes and cultures have attempted to give reason for
the existence of malevolent behavior and actions, they have tried to
practically deal with the negative ramifications of evil in society. By evil I
am not referring to calamities or misfortunes that befall mankind but rather
the behaviors and actions committed by humans against the well being, stability
and safety of the community and the environment.
Our ancient African ancestors viewed
the world from a spiritual perspective postulating that consciousness;
energies/spirits permeated the universe and are interwoven throughout all
creation. Evil then had its roots in spirit. Evil itself is not of God or THE
CREATOR but exists in the world the result of a mix of spiritual (invisible)
and human (visible) causes. “The Yoruba trace the perpetration of
evil in a society to two sources: namely, visible and invisible causes. The
visible ones are the consequence of human action or inaction. These include
murder, violence, oppression, victimization, stealing, and refusal to help
those in need. Invisible sources have a spiritual origin…Yoruba religion
exonerates God from the blame of evil and misfortune that befall human beings.
The problem of evil is attributed to the concept of ori (head) and akunleyan
(fate). It is held that whatever one asked for in front of eleda (creator)
before one was born becomes one’s ayanmo (lot or destiny) in life. Therefore,
whatever happens to one depends on one’s choice of ori when one was making
one’s choice (akunleyan)” Encyclopedia of African Religion Molefi Kete Asante
and Ama Mazama
Page 249-50
Today in
our society we are experiencing evil on every level. Immorality, wickedness and
corruption have metastasized throughout our world from the local to the
national and international levels. In the Black community we see, a rampage of
evil: murders, shootings, hit and run, home invasions, robbery theft and a
general pall of immorality, incivility and lawlessness. It is as if a large
percentage of our people have lost their minds, and we have.
This process was not organic; we
did not all of a sudden become irrational, immoral or suffer brain damage. Much
of this has been induced; it is what the late great psychologist Dr. Bobby Wright
called menticide. Menticide is the deliberate
attempt to destroy a people’s mind. The
Dictionary of Psychology says this about menticide: “literally mind murder,
brainwashing, the systematic attempt to break down one’s beliefs, attitudes and
allegiances in favor of the ultimate adoption of those of another.”
This is what is happening to us
today, it is evil and it is deliberate! The human perpetrators of this
wickedness know what they are doing; they know and anticipate the consequences
of their malevolent actions. We have long known the adverse effects of
television on the human brain, “While much
research has been done on television’s effects on children, adults have often
been left out of these data collections. It’s no surprise that the sedentary
behavior of binge-watching TV can negatively impact our physical health, but
recent studies show it’s also a bad habit for long-term brain health and
function. Studies have also found a link between high television
consumption and the onset of depression.” Is Binge Watching TV Bad for Your
Brain? https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/en/HealthU/2022/08/10/Is-Binge-Watching-TV-Bad-for-Your-Brain
As
bad a TV watching is, binging on Social Media and Internet content is even
worse. Social media impacts our brains in ways we are totally unaware of but
the engineers, designers and programmers know what is happening. “Many people
have been aware of the negative effects on mental health caused by social
media, but people often neglect to look further into how social media is
programmed. Platforms have designed their apps to target a part of the brain
many people are unaware of. This part of the brain is known as the ventral
striatum. When humans experience a social reward, a rush of dopamine and
oxytocin is experienced, or in medical terms, a positive intermittent
reinforcement. Receiving the positive feeling of dopamine creates an
unconscious habit. By using psychological methods to create an addiction
to social media platforms, companies are able to increase interactiveness on
apps which benefits them economically. Significant interaction with
social media platforms caused a 151% increase in suicide among
middle-school-age girls. More effects from social media usage include
alienation, election hacking, inability to focus on current issues, and mass
chaos due to fake news. Therefore, social media negatively affects
people.” How Social Media Companies Consciously Affect Society, Allie Daudelin https://bfamercury.org/6152/opinion/distracted-by-distraction-by-distraction-t-s-elliot-how-social-media-companies-consciously-
Underlined emphasis is mine.
This
is deliberate on the part of the creators of social media; they know what they
are doing. This is unvarnished evil! We will explore this deeper in future
articles. Needless to say we need to monitor our media, legacy and digital,
consumption and balance it with positive real world engagement and interaction.
-30-
Martin Luther King Jr. vs. The Great Reset
Martin Luther King Jr. vs The Great Reset
Junious Ricardo
Stanton
"I am convinced that if
we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must
undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a
‘thing-oriented’ society to a ‘person-oriented’ society. When machines and
computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important
than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism and militarism are
incapable of being conquered." -- Martin Luther King
As we pause to celebrate the ninety-forth anniversary of
the birth of Martin Luther King Jr. perhaps we should ponder and contemplate
what Martin Luther King Jr would say about current events, the war in Ukraine,
COVID lockdowns and the insane income and wealth gaps that currently exist. We
know that King railed against the war in Southeast Asia and was planning a Poor
People’s Campaign with massive demonstrations and live-in in Washington D.C.
His goal was to raise awareness about the entrenched socio-economic inequities
in America and to force the
government to change its priorities and policies when he was shot down in Memphis Tennessee
on April 4, 1968.
What would King’s positions be on these issues and topics
in 2023? As an older man what would King’s approach be to addressing and
attempting to solve the existential issues of the day? If we look at what he
said then, can we extrapolate what his positions might be today on the issues
of war, greed, avarice, poverty and in this modern era transhumanism? Would he
be censored, deplatformed and silenced like so many others? Would he be
silenced by a bullet or an injection supposedly to mitigate a virus?
Unlike the ‘60’s when there was: free speech, the right
to peacefully, assemble, protest and dissent; today’s authoritarian environment
would offer major challenges to a man of conscience and action like Martin
Luther King Jr. In all probability he would be cut off from mainstream media
access, denied a platform to speak to denounce the government’s actions
overseas and here at home. If he were on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and
Twitter he would in all likelihood be suspended and or deplatformed!
In 2023 he would be censored but unlike during
the 1950’s and ‘60’s when it was only the FBI and local police who incessantly monitored and tracked him electronically,
today Martin Luther King Jr. would be surveilled by the fascistic Deep State
meaning the, police, military,
intelligence community and corporate America! How would King address this country’s
ongoing metamorphosis into a fascist police state?
Would King have the same uncompromising courage today he
had in 1968? Would he be willing to stand virtually alone in 2023 against what
he called in 1968 the triplets of racism, materialism and militarism? In 2023
would King add eugenics, genocide and transhumanism to that group? What would
he say about them?!
King
was valiant, he was courageous but how would he be able to get his message out
in today’s environment of censorship and suppression? How would he use today’s
technology to organize and galvanize a following, raise consciousness and
exhort others to decisive action?
What would Martin Luther King Jr. say about Anthony
Fauci, Bill Gates, Klaus Schwab and the other megalomaniacal plutocrats who are
conspiring to usurp the natural order, who are engaged in planetary
terraforming, transhumanism and attempting to disconnect us from our Divinity?!
What solutions would he offer to derail and checkmate their nefarious agenda?
Would today’s King challenge Klaus Schwab, the World
Economic Forum, the World Health Organization, the CDC, FDA and the various
national governments like he challenged LBJ, the US Military Industrial Complex
and the American people to reorient their moral compass towards Peace, Love and
Brotherhood instead of war, greed, hedonism and covetousness? What would Martin
Luther King Jr. think of Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset? Would he call them out on
their hypocrisy, mendacity and disingenuousness?
Would
he tell them to give all their money to the poor, forsake megalomania and worldly
power and dedicate themselves totally to the service of humanity? Would a
ninety-four year old Martin Luther King Jr. be able to spark the radical
revolution of values he spoke so passionately and eloquently about in 1968 or
would his modern message fall on deaf ears?
Martin Luther King Jr. is not here for us to see, but we
still are. We can choose to allow the plutocrats to misdirect us to days of
service and temporarily doing good or we can make the difficult changes King
advocated, a change and shift of values. We can change from materialism,
desensitization and selfishness to core values of empathy, integrity, self and
collective transformation. Today is a good day to decide.
-30-
Keep It Light in 2023
Keep It Light in 2023
Junious Ricardo
Stanton
As we enter
this New Year, let’s work to improve our lives, our health, our wellbeing, our
relationships, our
community and prosperity during the coming year. We are living in tumultuous
times; we are bombarded with negative energy, images, words, propaganda and
indoctrination designed to make us afraid, pliable and submissive yet remain
unaware of an agenda created by people who do not have our best interests at
heart. We are programmed to vibrate and resonate on lower, more negative vibratory frequencies and it is negatively impacting our health and well being.
We are
being conditioned and programmed to exist in reactionary mode rather than
living on purpose, with intention and enthusiasm. We are doing an horrendous
disservice to ourselves, our ancestors, our progeny and THE CREATOR when we
acquiesce to the malevolent agenda of the psychopaths who want to control this
world. We have an obligation to ourselves not to fall for these misanthropes’
okey-doke and live our lives in ways that dishonor the real reason we came to
this plane and fail to accomplish the great work we were created to do!
We live in
a social environment that is not only too materialistic but one that is
aspiritual, unethical and immoral. This is having a lethal affect on us
mentally, physically, psychologically and spiritually. We can do better. But in
order to do better we have to believe and determined that we want to do and be
healthier, better, wiser, more loving and more prosperous.
We are not helpless or powerless.
We have agency and we have the will and the ability to change. Every day
provides a new opportunity for us to actualize our potential and become our
truest greatest self. We have the blueprint and roadmap to do it. Our ancient
African ancestors along the Nile
Valley left us a guide,
“A fundamental principle of Kamitic spirituality is that the well being of the
mind, body and life force (the soul) depends on the vitality and equilibrium of
the life force.” Ra Un Nefer Amen Kamitic
Success Achieving Health, Wealth and Happiness Through The Ageless Teachings of
Ancient Egypt
page 47.
How do we
bolster and invigorate our life force? What is the life force anyway? Our life
force is the animating energy that enlivens us, allows us to be alive, think,
visualize, move, do and accomplish. Our life force is pure energy and
consciousness and like all energy there are varying levels of potency. The Life
Force comes from THE CREATOR it is the “breath of life” infused in us upon
conception and jump started when we take our first breaths outside of our
mother’s womb. When we take our last breath the Life Force leaves the physical
body to return to THE SOURCE.
While we are alive, the Life Force
can wax and wane depending on various factors such as the type and quality of
food we eat, our physical and psychological environment and the thoughts we
think which trigger emotional responses! The Life Force contains its own
intelligence designed to keep the physical body healthy, protect it from harm
and heal it when it is injured. It does this without any conscious input from
us. The Africans of Kongo called the healing aspect of us, “the self-healing
power”. I suggest you get a copy or read Self-Healing
Power and Therapy Old Teachings from Africa by the late Kimbwandende Kia
Bunseki Fu-Kiau published by Vantage Press to see the full implications of this
essential part of ourselves. It tells us how to repair and energize it when it
wanes.
The Nile Valley
teachings which predate the Kongo wisdom teachings by thousands of years also
educate us how to keep this part of ourselves energized and positive by
regulating our breathing, our thoughts, emotions, words and actions (behavior).
“Every thought has two components; a thought and energy. The thought calls up
and directs the energy. Everyone that has failed at mastering their emotions
make the attempt to change the energy instead of the thought. The fundamental
reason resides in the human self-image concept which includes the belief that
emotions are natural and to deny them expression is therefore unnatural and
harmful.” Kamitic Success Achieving
Health Wealth and Happiness Through The Ageless Teachings of Ancient Egypt
Ra Un Nefer Amen page 48.
In essence
the timeless wisdom of our African ancestors taught us we can control our
thoughts and consequently our emotions; to raise our Life Force and enhance
it’s healing and sustaining powers. How? By proper breathing, eating nutritious
foods, keeping hydrated, getting ample sleep and rest, monitoring our thoughts,
mental images and ideation and substituting any thoughts of self-negation,
anger, envy, hatred and harm to self with thoughts of self love, healing,
health, and positivity. This is what our Ancient Nile
Valley ancestors meant
when they said “have a heart as light as a feather”; no worries, no fears, no
anger or negative emotions, be of good character in life. Then when one makes
transition his or her heart will be light and he or she will pass into the
higher realms exalted and honored.
We can do this we have the innate power to
elevate our thinking, our consciousness and our emotions thereby changing our
lives for the better. Keep it light in 2023.
-30-
2023 Predictions
2023 Predictions
Junious Ricardo
Stanton
Prediction: to declare or indicate in advance especially: foretell on the basis of observation, experience, or scientific
reason - Merriam Webster Dictionary
Every year I offer predictions about what we will see and
experience in the coming year. I am not especially clairvoyant, I’m not a seer,
prophet or oracle; nor do I claim or pretend to be any of these things. I make
my predictions based upon current and past trends, events and my observations by
studying them, but most importantly by discerning the consciousness, values and
motivations of people.
Human beings are creatures of habit. We repeat
things over and over again often unconsciously, without thought or preparation.
However there are those among us who are exceptionally greedy, evil and
megalomaniacal. Current events are rarely random, spontaneous or unprovoked and
even when they are, there are always causative factors. Human beings like most
mammals are hierarchical beings, there is always a pecking order, an
interpersonal and group power dynamic involved; whether it is based on
charisma, beneficence, competence, cunning, brute force or all of the above.
This is how we have ordered society from time immemorial. We always had, will have
leaders, influencers and check holders even in informal groups. Often the real leaders
are behind the scenes. Today we often
refer to them as the shot callers or the powers that be (TPTB).
Behind most of the major events
occurring in the world today are the powers that be. Based on this reality and
the fact humans are creatures of habits molded by people in “authority” whether
they are out front and transparent or covert and clandestine we can predict future
events and trends; so here are my predictions for 2023.
Last year I wrote: “Prediction: the price gauging by
Pfizer, Moderna and J&J in particular and Big Pharma in general will
continue into 2022 and beyond. These inoculations can not, will not eradicate
COVID, the fear porn and hysteria will continue. The media will continue to
suppress the fact Coronaviruses mutate which is why vaccines can not and will
never eradicate them! Look for the Pi Rho, Sigma Tau variants in 2022.”
In 2023 I predict Big Pharma, the government, media and the powers
that be will continue their fear porn campaigns about omnipresent contagious pathogens,
they’ll continue to push vaccines and boosters while totally ignoring the proven
science about the human immune system as a powerful protector and healing
agent.
I predict the powers that be will continue to gaslight us about their
mRNA concoctions being safe and effective despite the overwhelming evidence and
increasing studies proving they are directly related to death, massive harm and
adverse health effects to millions of people!
Last year I
predicted inflation would continue to soar, I wrote: “We are being lied to; it
is not supply chain disruptions causing escalating prices, it is the increased
money in circulation which is devaluing the currency whereby the increase in
the money supply lessens the purchasing power of the dollars in existence.
Inflation is actually caused when the Federal Reserve Bank (a consortium of
privately owned banks) increases the money supply in circulation!”
In 2023 I predict the inflation rate will
continue to rise, that the policies of the Federal Reserve Bank will not dampen
inflation and their interest rate increases will cause economic decline
(stagflation and recession) and suffering for the working poor and middle
class. We will continue to experience the disastrous effects of economic policy
on our purchasing power and our ability to keep up with the rising costs of
living.
Full
disclosure, I did not foresee the US
withdrawing from Afghanistan
in 2021 after twenty years of occupation, nor the Russian “Special Military
Operation” in Ukraine
in 2022. However I do now believe both of these events are directly related.
The US has been trying to
weaken Russia politically
and economically since Putin stopped the US
and NATO from doing to Syria
what they did to Libya and Iraq.
In 1967 Martin Luther King Jr.
said, “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today is my own government.”
That trend will continue as the US
becomes more and more directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict. In 2023, I
predict the US and its NATO
lapdogs will escalate the “proxy war” in Ukraine to the point it spirals into
a regional conflict. I predict many of the troops that left Afghanistan in 2022 will be redeployed to Eastern Europe in 2023. How intense this escalation will
be or how long it will last I cannot say. I will say it will be just as if not
more perilous than the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis that almost plunged the world
into a nuclear holocaust.
In conjunction with this trend, I
also predict the world will continue to choose sides. The US/NATO/Israel
alliance is not the team most of the world will chose to play with or for. More
and more nations will choose the BRICS alliance; more will partner with Russia and China
which will in turn create more tension and angst in the West in general and the
US
in particular. I hope saner heads prevail but that has not been the trend in
recent years otherwise we wouldn’t be where we are now.
Fratricide, homicides, mass
shootings and interpersonal violence were off the hook in 2021 and 2022. Sadly
I predict this trend will continue in 2023. Mental illness, substance abuse and
suicide are rampant in this country! The misery index is sky high. Nevertheless,
I am an optimist at heart. I believe we
can do and be better personally, as a people and as a nation. Pray for Peace,
wisdom, sanity, optimum health and prosperity in 2023, we’ll need it!
-30-
Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa
Junious Ricardo Stanton
From
December 26th to January 1, millions of people around the world
participate and experience Kwanzaa, a celebration based upon African and
indigenous people’s values and traditions. Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana
Karenga at a time when Diasporan Africans were breaking free from an oppressive
Eurocentric hegemonic worldview and culture. It was designed to create and build
a set of common core values, instill an appreciation for unity and build a foundation
for empowerment and community renewal. Since its creation in the US,
Kwanzaa is now accepted and celebrated as an established holiday all around the
world!
Over the years the celebration has
had its detractors. Some opposed it because they thought it threatened or
competed with Christmas. Some said it was “a made up holiday”, some said or
implied it was too Black, that it was not really African while others resisted
learning about it, learning the words or they trivialized the principles behind
it.
Others embraced the concept and have
faithfully kept the Kwanzaa tradition despite its detractors. What the
detractors fail to realize is all holy days (holidays) are man made, they are
all invented or “made up”; every single one of them. Each and every holiday in
existence is the creation of the ethnic groups, institutions and culture who
invented them for their own particular reasons to meet their specific needs. Every
holiday in every ethnic group and every culture was “made up”. They were
created by that particular group to meet a specific need, to generate a common
esprit décor among the people or to mold a belief or way of being within the
group..
Christmas or the Christ Mass is a
made up holiday. It was invented by the founders of the Catholic Church to
reinforce their story about the birth of Jesus. The “Church Fathers” decreed
that Jesus’ birth was on December 25th. The fact that December 25th
coincides with the Winter Solstice which was also the stated time of the births
of other avatars and savior gods which predated Christianity by hundreds of
years is no coincidence.
Every holiday we celebrate in this country is
made up. The Fourth of July is a made up holiday as are: Hanukkah, Easter,
Labor Day, Veterans Day, Carnival, Bastille Day, Mardi Gras and Juneteenth. Yet
we don’t question them or their significance do we? No. Many are based upon myths or other people’s
culture yet we still acknowledge and celebrate them without question.
Kwanzaa is based
upon African and indigenous traditions. It has no religious significance
whatsoever, it is not a religious holiday, nor was it designed to compete with
Hanukkah or Christmas. Yes Kwanzaa is African inspired and Black, so what? It was created at a time when liberation
minded Blacks were attempting to assert our agency, encourage empowerment, and
establish an identity free from our externally induced internalized
self-hatred. What’s wrong with focusing on
Blackness, Black empowerment, family, community and unity? What’s inappropriate
about wanting a wholesome community, harmony, togetherness, cohesion and
prosperity, especially in times like these?
Kwanzaa
is not a threat to Christianity, your pastor, or your religious doctrines and
dogma. Kwanzaa is no threat to your Imam or Koran’s teachings if you are a
Muslim or any other religion for that matter.
As far as learning new words is
concerned, we do it all the time! Black people are always making up slang words
and phrases or changing the meaning of English words, its part of our rhythm,
creative swag and hipness. Eventually our slang almost always becomes part of
the American vocabulary and lexicon.
We should be open minded and
willing to learn about our past, synthesize what we’ve learned and apply it for
the betterment of our lives. This is the essence of wisdom, what our African
ancestors called Sankofa; an Akan
word which means “to go back and fetch”. Dr. Karenga was encouraging us to look
back, to learn about and from our history, our greatness and apply it to our
daily lives.
The word Kwanzaa means “first
fruits” harkening to a time when African people were close to the land,
planting, harvesting, raising animals and being thankful for nature’s bounty. But
most of us are urban dwellers in a post industrial transitional society today,
we don’t know much about agriculture or the deep significance of living and
working close to nature. We need to learn about nature, the cycles of the sun,
moon and stars because they are part of our legacy and traditions.
Another good thing about Kwanzaa is,
it’s not a materialistic celebration; you won’t go into debt celebrating
Kwanzaa. Kuumba is one of the seven
principles which means creativity; we are encouraged to use our imaginations to
make gifts rather than going to the store and buying. Kwanzaa tasks us to envision a better reality
for ourselves as a people.
We are becoming too materialistic,
too obsessed with gizmos and gadgets to our own detriment. We are becoming too
detached from ourselves and our families. Technology is minimizing face to face,
soul to soul interaction to the point we think pushing a button to like
something means we’ve taken concrete action. We think joining a social network
means we have real friends but the fact of the matter is, we don’t interact
with these people on meaningful levels.
Kwanzaa is about gathering together,
it encourages being socially engaged and interactive with family, friends and
the community, sharing common values (the seven principles) and reinforcing a
positive vision for ourselves and our community. During times like these the principles of
Kwanzaa should make it even more attractive and valuable. Happy Kwanzaa!
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Taking Stock of 2022
Taking Stock of 2022
Junious Ricardo
Stanton
As we prepare to enter a new year,
it is imperative we look back and considers certain aspects of the past year. In
many ways 2022 was extremely volatile and contentious and it appears 2023 will
be more of the same.
We are living through the most contentious era
of public health policy in history! The corporate media, government, Big Pharma,
unelected and unaccountable individuals/entities conspired using the guise of
addressing a supposed novel virus to alter the world as we knew it. In 2020 COVID-19
was used as a pretext to shut down global economies which sent millions into
unemployment, creating destitution and dependency on government largess which
in turn furthered the bankruptcy of many Western nations, ushered in totalitarian
measures, set in motion major supply chain shortages and accelerated an already
existent agenda of eugenics and depopulation. Now some of the ruling class is
calling for a pandemic amnesty.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/10/covid-response-forgiveness/671879/
They want us to forget about it, get over it and move on. That is probably not
going to happen given the acrimonious attacks the government, media and Big
Pharma unleashed on skeptics and free thinkers; how the powers that be
suppressed discussion, dissent and debate on the COVID issue! https://www.globalresearch.ca/dear-friends-sorry-announce-genocide/5782022
2022 is coming to a close and we
need to examine a few things so we are better prepared to enter the New Year.
We need to pause amidst the daily grind and take stock of our lives and what is
going on around us locally, nationally and internationally. We need to be more
aware of what is happening and discern whether or not the direction we are heading
personally, professionally or as a community is the best for us.
One thing is certain we have not been
told the truth, we have been lied to, deceived and duped. Project Censored is a media watchdog organization that monitors the
news and what is not reported and they compile an annual list of the top most
intensely censored stories of the ending year. You can see their list at https://www.projectcensored.org/category/top-25-censored-news-stories-2022/
Take a look at this list you will
find some extremely interesting topics and egregious issues on it. For me
numbers: 21, 20, 19,18,12,11,10,7,6, and 2 stick out the most but there are a series
of other topics such as “dark money” and its influence on politics and policy
we need to be aware of.
The war in Ukraine is
another issue we have been lied to about. In February 2022 following a 2014 US
sponsored coup d’etat in Ukraine, fourteen years of Ukrainian attacks on
Russian speaking people in the Donbass region of Ukraine and the US moving to
extend Ukrainian membership in NATO Russia
initiated what Putin calls a Special
Military Operation designed to protect Russia’s interests and eliminate the
neo-Nazi attacks on Russian speaking people. Putin’s response was similar to
the US’s reaction to Russia building missile sites in Cuba which
triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis in October of 1960. That almost led to
nuclear war. As we close out 2022, the US
and NATO is engaged in an indirect war against Russia. Economic sanctions are an
act of war, supplying weapons and tactical assistance to Ukraine for use against Russia is an
act of war, training troops and sending mercenaries to fight against Russian
troops is an act of war! Make no mistake this could go full blast in 2023!
For what, why? Ukraine is a failed state. It is a
money laundering and kickback machine taking our tax dollars to make the
Military Industrial Complex, the Democratic Party and certain political hacks
like Hunter Biden rich. Very little of this is reported in the corporate
mainstream or digital media.
https://www.globalresearch.ca/defense-aid-ukraine-tops-20-billion-new-275m-package-announced/5801981
, https://www.cato.org/commentary/nato-vs-russia-proxy-war-ukraine-could-become-real-war
As we enter 2023 the world is
choosing sides and Uncle Sam is not the team most of the world wants to play on
or with! What is called the Global South
is not drinking Uncle Sam’s Kool-Aid. “The Global South is made up of Africa, Latin America and the
Caribbean, Pacific Islands, and Asia, excluding Israel, Japan,
and South Korea.
It is generally seen as home to Brazil,
India, Indonesia and China,
which, along with Nigeria
and Mexico,
are the largest Southern states in terms of land area and population.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_North_and_Global_South
Most of the nations on this list have rejected the US/NATO
position on Ukraine and many
are siding with Russia
attempting to join the BRICS alliance and strengthen ties with Russia and China.
As we close out 2022 we are seeing the West attempt to counter
this trend and persuade Africa to align with
them. Germany sponsored a
German-African Business Summit in Johannesburg South African on December 6-8
and the US held the fourth
US African Leaders Summit on December 13-16 in Washington D.C.
Both of these meetings were attempts by the West to bribe, cajole and persuade
African leaders to side with them. Time will tell how this plays out.
As we leave 2022 let’s determine to be more aware of the world
around us, take more interest in and engage in ways that improve ourselves and the
world.
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