Race, Religion and Power

Race, Religion and Power - An Introduction
By LeVoyd L. Carter, II
September 10, 2006
http://rrpmedia.blogspot.com


For many years I have wondered how the perception of race could shape the way an entire group of people are viewed and treated socially, politically, economically and intellectually. Native Africans and African Americans, or as we refer to ourselves, Blacks (whether you agree or not) have been subjected to the absolute worse treatment of any people throughout the history of civilized mankind.

How is it that a human being of a different hue or color can unilaterally determine another persons worth based solely on their skin color and/or native language? Why is it that ignorance, racism and prejudice has been recognized and rewarded as genius and visionary - as the forefathers of the United States have been immortalized as heroes despite their obvious racist proclivities?

Self professed Christian men had the vision to draft and adopt the Constitution of the United States and had enough insight to realize that “all” men (male or female/ black or white) are created equal. Yet they allowed racism and chattel slavery to be the ultimate plague of the land as the United States began to prosper and grow as a sovereign nation. Willful blindness is no excuse for the deadly and oppressive conditions that African men, women and children were made to suffer and endure at the hands of the founders of the United States of America.

Yet and still, today this nation remains in denial and does not truly recognize how race has played a tremendous role in shaping the United States and the perception of African Americans worldwide. Despite the oppressive conditions that African Americans endured at the hands of their fellow Americans, we have survived and continue to prosper. One could realistically say that African Americans are superhuman, ultra resilient and invincible, especially after enduring and surviving the middle passage, chattel slavery, jim crow and other forms of systematic racism, prejudice and the latest natural and man made disasters, respectively, Hurricane Katrina and the U.S. Government’s lackadaisical response.

These and many other lapses in human mental capacity have been well documented and do not need to be restated in this brief commentary. However, the psychological damage that has plagued African Americans as a result of chattel slavery and its remnants’, remain pervasive and deadly to this day. So the question I pose is, “What are we to do to remedy the wrong doings of the past, heal the present and promote a healthy and progressive tomorrow without the “cancers” of racism and ignorance?”

As part of this forum, race will be addressed and considered as one of the fundamental elements that continues to impact the very condition that we find ourselves in as Americans and human beings in the new millennium. The discussions and exchanges within this forum will also focus on religion and power and their impact on our lives daily.

For example, as we posture back and forth seeking and claiming ownership of the identity of the God of gods, the Lord of lords and the Prophet of prophets, human beings are lost in the labyrinth, shuffle and transition through and from this world misguided by their faith and belief that human beings with cloaked self-serving motivations coupled with the gift of the spoken word (i.e., ministers, rabies, imams and etc.) will lead them to divine revelation.

In addition, the hope and/or earnest expectation that the after life holds tremendous rewards for the “chosen” few have led to some of the greatest atrocities in the history of mankind. Chattel slavery was a result of Christian men and women misinterpreting the scripture to justify the capture, rape and robbery of millions of African men, women and children. Judaism applied in its extreme, has been alienating and used to justify land grabs and war against people of other religious belief systems, despite the universal belief that all life was created or stems from one source often described as God or Jehovah. Islam has been interpreted and used to wage war against so called infidels (non-Muslims or non-believers of Islam). The followers of these extreme interpretations are willing to strap bombs to their bodies, commit suicide and murder arguably innocent individuals, who like Muslims themselves also claim to be the descendants of Abraham and the beneficiaries and legatees of Abraham’s Covenant with God.

When will we as intelligent and truly faithful individuals realize that race and religious affiliations are not justification for any person to relegate other human beings to subservient positions on the scale of human existence? When does a human being become more than skin color or pigmentation and/or the mastery of various disciplines and/or degrees of education? When will we begin to recognize one another as the greatest creation known to pure intelligence and spiritual awareness? These examples are part the dark side of religion and we want to discuss and analyze the impact of religion in general (both good and bad) on our daily lives and derive meaningful solutions that people of different faiths and belief systems can put into action to improve the human condition one person at a time.

That brings us to the third and arguably the most vital of the principals that have a direct and real impact on human existence, “POWER”. Power is often defined in ways that emphasize its political, financial or religious characteristics and/or nature. Power is found in the recognition of the human spirit that is within each of us. It is also the power to influence our existence and interactions with one another as well as with nature, for good or evil, if you believe such exist. We are all endowed with a certain amount of power. Power was and is the late Tupac Shakur’s ability to mesmerize the youth worldwide despite being marginalized as a black man in America; power is George Bush’s ability to call into action, at will as the Commander and Chief, the most powerful military on the face of the planet; power was Rosa Parks’ ability to change the complexion and focus of the Civil Rights movement by making a decision to sit in a certain seat on the front of a bus in Alabama in the 1960s; it is the love, will and resilience of Carl and Kami Anderson who in the face of their beautiful daughter Aspen transitioning into the after life, worked in unison as faithful and determined parents of dangerously premature triplets with the support of family, friends and hospital staff to preserve the lives of the once fragile and promising siblings of Aspen, Aden and Austin; power is the ability of human beings to consciously disregard race, religion, financial status, affiliations with fraternity and sorority, and etceteras, to pull together in the face of the terrorist attacks on New York’s World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and very dangerous conditions to literally dig by hand to save lives; power is the empathy and tremendous amount of giving to the children of Darfur and other impoverished nations that are suffering daily as a result of civil war, corrupt governments, poverty, AIDS and genocide. The human spirit is the very essence of power.

As a result, this Race, Religion and Power bog and/or intellectual and spiritual fusion has been created with the vision of answering the questions that divide us, to hear the voices that have been muted and to move all of us towards the realization of a peaceful co-existence that does not ignore or degrade our differences, but embraces the same as a beautiful and priceless part of our existence and tie that binds us all.

You are welcome to participate, question, disagree with, challenge and add to any position or thought that is presented in this forum. Please forward this site to your friends and family and encourage their participation.

Life is short, so make the most of each day and participate.

Copyright ©2006 by LeVoyd L. Carter, II
All Rights Reserved