A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
(Full Story)
Search This Blog
Back to 500BC.
==========================
Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Thursday, February 2, 2017
I watched President Trump’s inauguration from an airport TV in
Guatemala. I’d just finished leading 22 people on a pilgrimage to live,
study and participate in ceremonies with Mayan shamans at sacred sites.
For me, it was the first leg of a two-month working-journey. I am still
in Latin America, teaching and speaking at a variety of venues. In the
days since that inauguration, I, like so many, have felt the horror of
the emerging Trump policies.
Latin Americans cannot understand why so few of us voted in the last
election and why so many who did, voted for Trump. A larger percentage
of people vote in most Latin American countries than in the US; in
several countries, voter turnout exceeds 90%. Many of these countries
have a history of brutal dictatorships. Once free of these
dictatorships, they revel in their rights to hold democratic elections;
they see their ability to vote for their leaders as both a
responsibility and a privilege. They wonder why such a relatively small
percentage of voters would elect a potential dictator. And moreover, why
those non-voters did not vote against him.
The participants on the Guatemala trip ranged from successful business
executives to community organizers and healers – with lots of other
professions in between. They came from Canada, Ecuador, England, France,
Indonesia, Italy, the United States, and Guatemala. Many – especially
those from the US – arrived in Guatemala feeling disenfranchised,
disempowered, depressed, and – yes, horrified – by the election.
However, as we moved through the shamanic ceremonies, they grew
increasingly convinced that the election is a wakeup call for Americans.
We have been lethargic and allowed our country to continue with
policies that hurt so many people and destroy environments around the
world (including Washington’s involvement in the genocidal Guatemalan
Civil War against the Mayas that raged for more than three decades).
This election exposed a shadow side. It stepped us out of the closet.
Many people expressed the realization that Americans had failed to
demand that President Obama fight harder to end the wars in the Middle
East, vacate Guantánamo, reign in Wall Street, confront a global
economic system where eight men have as much wealth as half the world’s
population, and honor so many of the other promises he had made. They
recognized that he was up against strong Republican opposition and yet
it was he who continued to send more troops and mercenaries to the
Middle East and Africa, brought Wall Street insiders into his inner
circle, and failed to inspire his party to rally voters to defeat Trump
and what is now a Republican majority in both houses.
We talked about how throughout the world, the US is seen as history’s
first truly global empire. Scholars point out that it meets the basic
definition of empire: a nation 1) whose currency reigns supreme, 2)
whose language is the language of diplomacy and commerce everywhere, 3)
whose economic expansions and values are enforced through military
actions or threats of action, and 4) whose armies are stationed in many
nations.
The message became clear: we must end this radical form of global
feudalism and imperialism. Those who had arrived in Guatemala
disillusioned and depressed now found themselves committed to
transforming their sense of disempowerment into actions.
At the end of WWII, Prime Minister Churchill told his people that
England could choose the course of empire or democracy, but not both.
We in the US are at such a crossroads today. For far too long we have
allowed our leaders to take us down the path of empire.
President Franklin Roosevelt ended a meeting with union leaders by
telling them that now they knew he agreed with them, it was their job to
get their members to force him to do the right thing. FDR understood
that democracy depends on We the People insisting that our leaders do
what they promise to do.
We failed with our last president. Let’s not repeat that mistake with the new one.
It is extremely important that We the People force Trump and his band of
corporatocracy henchmen to keep the promises we heard in his inaugural
address. Let us hear “making America great” as “making America a true
democracy!” Let us hear “we are transferring power from Washington,
D.C. and giving it back to you, the American People” and “we do not seek
to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an
example for everyone to follow” as an echo of Prime Minister Churchill’s
contention that a country cannot be both a democracy and an empire.
It is up to us to insist upon democracy. It is essential that we
continue to demonstrate and march, to bombard Trump and our other
elected officials with tweets, posts, phone calls, and emails; to rally,
clamor, and shout; and in every way to get out the word that we must
end the wars, feudalism, economic and social inequality, and
environmental destruction; we must become the model democracy the world
expects of us.
When General George Washington was hunkered down with extremely
depressed troops at Valley Forge in the bleak winter of 1777, he ordered
that an essay by Thomas Paine be read to all his men. Some of the most
famous lines are as applicable today as they were then:
These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the
sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their
country; but he who stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of
man and woman. . . A generous parent should say, “If there must be
trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace” . . .I love
the man who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress,
and grow brave by reflection. By perseverance and fortitude we have
the prospect of a glorious future.
We have arrived at such a time again. We must each do our part. Let’s
here and now commit to taking positive actions. I commit to writing and
speaking out at a wide variety of venues. I commit to supporting the Love Summit business conference,
a powerful event that is committed to bringing love and compassion into
business and politics, to transforming a Death Economy into a Life
(Love) Economy. What are your commitments?
We have arrived at a time that tries our souls. We must gather strength
from distress, grow brave by reflection, and know that by perseverance
and fortitude we can achieve a glorious future. Let’s make sure that the
combined legacies of Presidents Obama and Trump will create the
opportunity – indeed the mandate – to show the world how a country can
be a true democracy. These are the times. . .