Tag: political construct

The White Supremacy Myth

Western culture is a broad term for traditions from Europe, rooted in Greco-Roman philosophy, Christianity, and Enlightenment ideals. It has influenced Western Europe, the Americas and the regions of Australia. Because of western culture’s elements of capitalism and individualism, western culture has also sought to explore and often exploit other regions of the globe…This has been known as “colonization”, a term that I believe is blatantly overused these days.

According to Wikipedia, Nearly 60% of the world’s population lives in Asia, with more than 2.8 billion in the countries of India and China combined. The percentage shares of China, India and rest of South Asia of the world population have remained at similar levels for the last few thousand years of recorded history. Racially speaking, the people living in these regions are quite homogeneous. Note that western “colonization”, at least racially, has never been prevalent in Asia although the western culture of capitalism, or a form of it, is present.

Contemporary anthropologists and other scientists, while recognizing the reality of biological variation between different human populations, regard the concept of a unified and distinguishable white race as a social construct with no scientific basis. Prior to the modern era, no European peoples regarded themselves as “White” and instead defined their identity in terms of their religion, ancestry, ethnicity, or nationality. Pre-modern descriptions of race focused on physical complexion rather than on the idea of race.

In the U.S., the term Caucasian is used as a synonym for people considered “white” or of European, Middle Eastern, or North African ancestry for census purposes. I would have to say that this definition is certainly a construct. Furthermore, Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately as an ethnicity, not a race, although people of Hispanic origin can choose any race. A construct? Yup.

Transparency in governance helps.

Of the 8.2 billion people on the globe there are approximately 1.6 billion black people and 1 to 1.5 billion “white” people. These numbers combined with the Asian population of 2.8 billion result in about 2 or more billion people being of other races or “complexion”. What do these numbers tell us? White supremacy is a myth…It would be more accurate to say that the globe has capitalism supremacy.

People of all races and ethnicities use trade with each other to help their particular societies develop and thrive. Those societies that isolate themselves do so at their own peril. This includes cartels that trade in illicit goods and services because their practices are not transparent.

Transparent trading partners bring peace and prosperity to all people on the globe. Anyone who decries white supremacy is an isolationist and wants to cheat in a transparently fiscal ecosystem. And if you’re cheating you’re probably doing something else like lying and plotting against the others, typical addiction behaviors obviously. A reality we are now seeing play out in many regions.

The next time you hear someone blaming white supremacy for something, try to discern their ultimate motive for doing this. Maybe the blame should be on their own nontransparent practices regardless of their skin color?

Political Constructs

”To err is human…” – Alexander Pope

Being human takes a lot of thought. We humans don’t know this until life embarks on its discontented journey…We each have our own road, and if we are thoughtful enough, we use our free will to make some good choices. These thought skills take time and practice to perfect.

Freedom enables the best use of our free will. Even if we take for granted this freedom, our free will aught to be used with ample discretion. But humans rarely understand the many boundaries that exist within life’s framework to use discretion properly which is why communities of humans have rules.

When a human breaks the smallest of community rules there is need for justice. How many of us will honestly apply this standard on a daily basis, be thoughtful about it, and understand the burden of repairing each rule we break with humility? Probably quite a few of us practice it regularly. Yet we cannot assume that everyone will. As Alexander Pope once said, “To err is human…”

Rules usually apply in family, workplace, and organized group situations. We get good practice in these settings. Penalties for rule breaking are meant to cause brief shame. Our chance for redemption is pretty high if a sincere apology is accepted and we correct ourselves through active example. Shame becomes respect in this way.

Laws, however, are much more strict. This is necessary in the broader context of human interaction because we gave up tribalism long ago…Systems of governance are used between and among towns, counties, states and nations so that all people can move about and interact peacefully. The development of laws takes time and practice, and thoughtful governments try to improve upon their implementation continually which is the basis of justice.

Currently I see many people turning to tribalism to obtain “justice”. Law and order has been eroding which undermines any form of peaceful process toward desired justice. Dignity must be bestowed upon all humans no matter their race, religion, gender, sexual preference and even job choice. Harm directed at one of us is harm to all of us. Over the past centuries humans have already done too much harm to each other in the name of justice when in actuality the ulterior motives were more or less “spiteful revenge”. Where does this spiteful revenge come from? I believe that political forces cause us to lose sight of our human capacity to be our best selves.

In our goal to seek proper justice we must use empathy and humility. Peaceful protest in the public common is a fine start, but leadership must be identified and goals must be adopted. Positive change is a result of carefully measured action steps through our democratic process, otherwise we can fall prey to tribes using vengeful tactics.

Realize this though, political leadership quite often enjoys the use of oppression and injustice through political constructivism. If your intuition suspects that your government is not working for you or your community’s best interest, you have the power to change things! It is not your government’s responsibility to make change because if it was then we would always be waiting for change…Sound familiar?

What have politicians or other people in positions of power (this can include church figures too) constructed for you? Emotional and tribal barriers are burdensome to the soul. When a politician says that they can “change the soul” of your community, watch out! That is a political construct using their will to manipulate your free will…It crushes souls and demeans the spirit. Laws are then changed to suit their purpose of power over you. They will push examples of social, gender, and racial constructs to justify their use of power to take away freedoms.

What burden does your soul and spirit carry within you? Does it reflect the barriers that exist outside of you? You are responsible for discovering the truth that sets you free…Do not delegate it to a tribe or a politician. Forgive yourself for not understanding this before, and move forward in your life in humble purpose that includes all your acquaintances. Your light will reflect onto them and harmony with each other will be achieved.

“To err is human, to forgive is Devine.” – Alexander Pope