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Working Towards Self-Sufficiency - Part II
August 29, 2005
By Onochie A. Onuorah
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Not surprisingly, the Caucasian race was said to have, on average, the largest brain size which was wrongfully assumed to directly correlate with intellect. Also at that time biologist Charles Darwin attempted to extrapolate from his theory of evolution which race(s) would be able to out compete all others to the point of extinction due to specific cultural adaptations that incurs and assures the survival of groups or "races" and quite expectedly he concludes in his book titled "the descent of man" that: "At some future period, the civilized races of man will almost certainly exterminate and replace the savage races through out the world". Darwin even went as far as to think that other non-western groups were a continuum of beast, citing as evidence the comparison he makes between the sound of their speech to those of dogs and chickens. Darwin's bigoted and racist philosophies of evolution that, in part, served as a moral justification for the black holocaust (inappropriately called the slave trade) is now euphemistically termed "social darwinism". Time alone has discredited the teachings of social darwinism given that the groups or "races" categorized as savage and destined for extinction are today proliferating while those categorized as civilized and culturally superior by possessing capabilities and technological devices that make them the fittest thereby guaranteeing their survival are having the serious issue of sterility confronting them.
Early European explorers, engulfed in bias and ethnocentrisms, sought to interpret and judge other groups based on their own standards, and in the final analyses of their classifications they refer to groups that up hold different norms and values as barbaric or savage. By their subjective standards they relayed absurd tales back to their country men, and notable personalities in academia and religious institutions such anthropologists and clergies respectfully would proceed to construct a racial hierarchy that places the Caucasian race at the top of human civilization and the "negro" (derived from the Greek word necro; meaning dead) at the bottom. It can be said that this established racial hierarchy became engraved in the psyche of individuals of European descent as it is evident today in their arrogance, their institutionalized racism and socio-economic relations towards other groups, particularly Africans.
Some may and do argue that the economy and political systems of all contemporary African societies appear to corroborate this racial hierarchical construct given that no black African nation on earth in recent history has proven capable of establishing and maintaining a stable and developed economic and political structures. Those making such arguments are obviously ignorant about African history and apparently regard western civilization as universal; the standard of which all other societies are measured. They also appear to focus on and consider only intellectual achievements that only border around scientific and technological innovations that are derived through empirical studies and the scientific method while ignoring all other important factors that allow cultural vibrancy and dynamism such as rhythm, of which all sentient beings resonate to, and spirituality, which keeps a people connected to the life forces that sustains all things.
Modernity and technology are not an integral part of a civilized society and, if any thing, can be destabilizing if not applied with caution. Being civilized has more to do with values, moral and cultural ethos; it is about living in honour of the land and with fellow citizens. Contrary to western perspective, primitiveness does not imply incivility and it is really difficult if not near impossible to analyze a foreign culture objectively because all cognitive observations we make of the world around us is guaranteed to be tainted by and filtered through our own believes and societal conditioning.
Nonetheless, it is possible to judge cultures based on universal truths which includes, among other things: the repudiation of incest , the destructiveness of over consumption, rapprochement of unrestrained violence, prohibition of same sex marriage e.t.c and when we commence comparison of western and indigenous cultures based on universal truths we find that western civilization is indeed not only a misnomer but an oxymoron because never in the recent recorded history of man kind has any one culture caused so much pervasive pain and suffering and this perverse legacy of theirs is theoretically and practically irreconcilable with the true definition of civility.
I must say, however, that slavery was not solely a western, Jewish or Arabic practice since almost all groups at some time in history were involved in this degrading act but we should also note that the scale, method, motives and level of brutality was way different than the westerners and Arabians approach. The most distinctive feature being the acknowledgement of the slaves humanity which was unlike the Jews, Arabs and Europeans who regarded their slaves as sub-human and for that reason they treated their slaves very inhumanely i.e. like commodities. The tenacious and aggressive movement of white supremacy as seen currently in the form of globalization has proven to be any thing but civil considering the fact that all basic principles that give the word civility its meaning has been violated to a certain degree. Western civilization is known to be domineering, over consuming, war mongering, arrogant, impatient...now how is it that modern humans now term these obvious aforementioned characteristics civilized? Even western civilizations claims of pioneering human rights, democracy and freedom are completely false (if not a joke) because one need only observe their historical exploits of and dubious foreign policies towards less defensive indigenous groups around the world and besides a number of nations, like the Igbo of Nigeria, had already established and fortified democratic rule way before the west conceived of it.
Unfortunately, it is obvious that white supremacy is growing stronger each day as world cultures become more homogeneous at an alarming rate, with so called third world countries busy clamoring for loans, aid and foreign investment in a effort to attain the levels of industrial and technological growth of their first world counterparts which is totally unrealistic since the productive capacity of mother earth cannot keep up with such demands. In candor, it is a sad sight to see black African nations join this pathetic chorus in support of globalization which in turn explicitly suggests that we either have sheepishly abandoned the dreams and struggles of our ancestors for true independence and autonomy or most of us have been brain washed to believe that the resistance and struggles of our ancestors were mere acts of ignorance induced by their primitive conditions.
At this point in history, it is imperative that we realize that we do not have to abandon our culture and ancient philosophies in order to be deemed progressive, that is, we black Africans have to collectively contrive a harmonious blend of our traditions with certain beneficial aspects of modernity that will not pose a treat to the preservation of our cultures. Let us not perceive our lag in scientific and technological innovations as a total setback because in many ways this seeming liability is actually a blessing in the sense that some technologies cause more harm than good, for example space exploration, genetically engineered foods, nuclear energy, radiation therapy, electronics, mechanized farming in synergy with the use of herbicides, pesticides and insecticides e.t.c It is our obligation to reject all kinds of technology that threaten our well-being and that of our posterities as well as the sustainability of our natural environment.
In Nigeria for instance, few people have the resources to purchase new vehicles that are more environmentally friendly than second hand cars which the majority can afford and as a direct result of this and poor waste management the air quality in a city like Lagos is filthier than that of Detroit; the world's largest producer of these machines. Perhaps another contributing factor could be the greenhouse gases in the northern hemisphere that is carried downward to the southern hemisphere by strong winds. Which ever way, we have to be mindful of the aggression we have unleashed on the biosphere otherwise an apocalypse is not only a guarantee but it will be deserved.
It is of the opinion of this writer that freedom is good and very welcome but we should be careful not to let one mans freedom be another mans health problem. And economics calls this irresponsible use of power and freedom: "externalities". In a country like Canada, the public are not informed about which produce are genetically modified and all potential long term effects on the health of the citizens of Canada are dismissed by the economist as "externalities"... well, these externalities, if not paid attention to due to expediency, could cause the demise of that very economy they are trying to expand by any means. To put it in simple terms, economics determines history. Economics is the most important aspect of sociology; a culture cannot be complete without a firm economy and only through wise and democratic economic laws can lasting peace, through justice, be manifested.
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