This is the Blog for MORRIS BERMAN, the author of "Dark Ages America". It includes current publications and random thoughts about U.S. Foreign Policy, including letters and reactions to publications from others.
A cultural historian and social critic, MORRIS BERMAN is the author of "Wandering God" and "The Twilight of American Culture". Since 2003 he has been a visiting professor in sociology at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
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December 06, 2013
205
Hola Wafers! Time to start another post. My answers below are to comments on previous one. Thank you for your patience.
mb
Jeff T stated this: "Good day MB and Wafers, RIP Nelson Mandela"
Yeah, Madiba was a great man, but some people wonder what changed for the average black person in SA given that the minority whites are still controlling more than 99% of the wealth of SA.
The gap between rhetoric and reality, as it relates to American politicians has never been bigger. It's interesting that Obama has been giving speeches praising Nelson Mandela, even as his endorsement of a warmongering empire that executes people at will stands in stark contrast to anything Mandela ever fought for.
Now it turns out the Obama and Bush families are going together to South Africa for Mandela's memorial. Such a farce. Whereas Mandela said that the Israelis should give back the Palestinian lands they stole in 1967, Bush and Obama have been unconditional supporters of Israel, doing nothing to stop Israeli settlements while sending billions in aid.
There was a good read online about 7 Mandela quotes that most people never heard before. I'm guessing that Bush and Obama never heard Mandela say this one:
"“If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don’t care for human beings.”"
A thumbnail sketch on the fiendishly intelligent Sri Aurobindo: He was way too smart to accept anything as unquestioned as 'the caste system is an expression of inviolable natural/cosmic law as applied to human society' just because someone in authority said that.
What he actually did, which is far more relevant and telling than anything he said, was see the potential in peoples of all castes, nationalities and other variations and set out to educate them all. His embrace of his spirituality made him more profoundly radical and compassionate, not less. He was no reactionary (which is how I'd categorise Danielou) but a true visionary who then acted on and obeyed his vision. This is the razor's edge referred to in the Katha Upanishad, 1-III-14. "Arise, awake, and learn by approaching the exalted ones, for that path is sharp as a razor's edge, impassable, and hard to go by, say the wise."
"Life is life - whether in a cat, or dog or man. There is no difference there between a cat or a man. The idea of difference is a human conception for man's own advantage." --Sri Aurobindo.
And less we forget, Mandela was placed in prison during the Kennedy administration. In fact, according to William Blum in Rogue State, a certain CIA officer, Donald C. Rickard, tipped off S. African intelligence as to the whereabouts of Mandela. Then upon Mandela's release in 1990 President George Bush telephoned him to tell him that all Americans were "rejoicing at his release." This is, of course, the same Bush who headed the CIA for 8 years which continued to supply the S. African government information concerning the ANC. Needless to say, for these 2 war criminals to attend Mandela's funeral is beyond nauseating.
Megan and Ellen have given excellent summaries about Sri Aurobindo and his take on the caste system.
Megan,
My wife had teaching experiences similar to yours when she was a high school physics teacher at a public school near Washington, DC. She describes that period as the most depressing in her life. Now close to finishing her PhD she is getting disillusioned about becoming a tenured faculty at R1 universities in the US.
Ellen,
I have a background similar to yours in that my father worked for the Government (not military) and his job required us along with him to move every 2-4 years to a different location, mostly within southern India. I spent a summer in Britain (Swansea, Wales) with my parents when I was a teenager (early 90’s) and even attended a few classes at a school in Swansea (I think it was Bishop Gore comprehensive or something like that). I have spent sometime in a few other European countries - Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and now I have been in the US for over a decade. I agree with you that one’s worldview expands and becomes more inclusive as one spends time visiting/learning about various cultures around the world.
Dr. Berman,
Unlike other countries that I have spent any meaningful time in, what I have found different about the US is that it is based on “terminal self-interest” (thank you Joe Bageant). A close American Indian friend of mine, who grew up on a reservation in Wyoming, says that when he first went out of the reservation and experienced his first few days in mainstream US, he felt that people were scared of each other and fear was ever present. In a conversation yesterday he said that US is based on greed and he is not proud of the US (this from a person who is a veteran). While there is hustling and commercialism in European and Asian countries too, I have also felt a distinct vibe while talking to people and just observing that there is depth in their culture and mode of being. I wonder if this sense of depth may help in the survival of Euro-Asian cultures during these troubled times while the lack of depth in American culture lead to its demise? I mean what does US have to fall back on?
Kanye-
ReplyDelete1. Pls post no more than once every 24 hrs, thank you.
2. Pls make no refs to 9/11 as an inside job; I'm quite amazed I hafta keep saying this.
mb
Jack-
ReplyDeleteGod willing, WAF will be out in a pb edn in Feb. or March at the latest. Thanks again for yr support!
mb
Jeff T stated this: "Good day MB and Wafers, RIP Nelson Mandela"
ReplyDeleteYeah, Madiba was a great man, but some people wonder what changed for the average black person in SA given that the minority whites are still controlling more than 99% of the wealth of SA.
http://www-nc.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/opinion/the-contradictions-of-mandela.html?=hp&rref=opinion&_r=6&
MB,
ReplyDeleteThe gap between rhetoric and reality, as it relates to American politicians has never been bigger. It's interesting that Obama has been giving speeches praising Nelson Mandela, even as his endorsement of a warmongering empire that executes people at will stands in stark contrast to anything Mandela ever fought for.
Now it turns out the Obama and Bush families are going together to South Africa for Mandela's memorial. Such a farce. Whereas Mandela said that the Israelis should give back the Palestinian lands they stole in 1967, Bush and Obama have been unconditional supporters of Israel, doing nothing to stop Israeli settlements while sending billions in aid.
There was a good read online about 7 Mandela quotes that most people never heard before. I'm guessing that Bush and Obama never heard Mandela say this one:
"“If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don’t care for human beings.”"
http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/7-nelson-mandela-quotes-you-probably-wont-see-in-the-us-medi
Compare and contrast - who was in reality acting like a traitor and a terrorist - Cheney or Mandela?
ReplyDelete1) Dick Cheney Didn't Regret His Vote Against Freeing Nelson Mandela, Maintained He Was A 'Terrorist'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/dick-cheney-nelson-mandela-terrorist_n_4394071.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular
2) Nelson Mandela Delivered One Of The Most Scathing Critiques Of Invading Iraq
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/06/nelson-mandela-iraq_n_4399015.html
Greg,
ReplyDeleteA thumbnail sketch on the fiendishly intelligent Sri Aurobindo: He was way too smart to accept anything as unquestioned as 'the caste system is an expression of inviolable natural/cosmic law as applied to human society' just because someone in authority said that.
What he actually did, which is far more relevant and telling than anything he said, was see the potential in peoples of all castes, nationalities and other variations and set out to educate them all. His embrace of his spirituality made him more profoundly radical and compassionate, not less. He was no reactionary (which is how I'd categorise Danielou) but a true visionary who then acted on and obeyed his vision. This is the razor's edge referred to in the Katha Upanishad, 1-III-14. "Arise, awake, and learn by approaching the exalted ones, for that path is sharp as a razor's edge, impassable, and hard to go by, say the wise."
"Life is life - whether in a cat, or dog or man. There is no difference there between a cat or a man. The idea of difference is a human conception for man's own advantage." --Sri Aurobindo.
And less we forget, Mandela was placed in prison during the Kennedy administration. In fact, according to William Blum in Rogue State, a certain CIA officer, Donald C. Rickard, tipped off S. African intelligence as to the whereabouts of Mandela. Then upon Mandela's release in 1990 President George Bush telephoned him to tell him that all Americans were "rejoicing at his release." This is, of course, the same Bush who headed the CIA for 8 years which continued to supply the S. African government information concerning the ANC. Needless to say, for these 2 war criminals to attend Mandela's funeral is beyond nauseating.
ReplyDeleteGreg,
ReplyDeleteMegan and Ellen have given excellent summaries about Sri Aurobindo and his take on the caste system.
Megan,
My wife had teaching experiences similar to yours when she was a high school physics teacher at a public school near Washington, DC. She describes that period as the most depressing in her life. Now close to finishing her PhD she is getting disillusioned about becoming a tenured faculty at R1 universities in the US.
Ellen,
I have a background similar to yours in that my father worked for the Government (not military) and his job required us along with him to move every 2-4 years to a different location, mostly within southern India. I spent a summer in Britain (Swansea, Wales) with my parents when I was a teenager (early 90’s) and even attended a few classes at a school in Swansea (I think it was Bishop Gore comprehensive or something like that). I have spent sometime in a few other European countries - Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and now I have been in the US for over a decade. I agree with you that one’s worldview expands and becomes more inclusive as one spends time visiting/learning about various cultures around the world.
Dr. Berman,
Unlike other countries that I have spent any meaningful time in, what I have found different about the US is that it is based on “terminal self-interest” (thank you Joe Bageant). A close American Indian friend of mine, who grew up on a reservation in Wyoming, says that when he first went out of the reservation and experienced his first few days in mainstream US, he felt that people were scared of each other and fear was ever present. In a conversation yesterday he said that US is based on greed and he is not proud of the US (this from a person who is a veteran). While there is hustling and commercialism in European and Asian countries too, I have also felt a distinct vibe while talking to people and just observing that there is depth in their culture and mode of being. I wonder if this sense of depth may help in the survival of Euro-Asian cultures during these troubled times while the lack of depth in American culture lead to its demise? I mean what does US have to fall back on?
Thank You,
Himanshu