HAPPY AFRIKANS DESCENT DAY

 DAY TO SHARE THE PAST & LIVE THE PRESENT ‘DESCENTLY’

First and foremost, we wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, Australia, on which we live and pay our respect to their elders of the past, present, from all nations who gave their lives for all their enduring praiseworthy causes.

The truth might hurt but must be told, regardless. We all have our own unique cultural predispositions while growing up in different social and educational settings that may not gratify everyone.

“If you shut up truth and bury it under the ground, it will but grow, and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it bursts through it will blow up everything in its way.”

Without going back further, just starting from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama, the shackles of chain and the knees that pushed the people of color down for centuries have been torn apart by the descendant of the Lion King from Afrika, in 2009.

As we’ve seen the emotions of the people who couldn’t take it any more back in 2009 voted to put the pulsating Barack Obama in office. Since then, America slipped back to its racial profiling and abuses by the very people who took oath in office to obey and serve everyone equally and unconditionally. Just when we thought America has learned about a perfect leadership that managed a perfect union on the land, they need to start all over again, to vote and put the same dynamic leadership that awakened the nation, again. “Whatever we do echoes for generations.” –Barack Obama

We no longer live in the draconian time of “see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil”. It’s time to speak what’s on our mind, especially, if it is deemed prejudicial to our society.

A better and more peaceful world can only be attained by societies developing basic principles of altruism, supporting others thru individual empowerment, practicing non-violence and self-development thru inner transformation. “There’s no vaccine for racism.” –Kamala Harris

It’s not rational anymore to accept that the “western” world is democratic, and the rest is “undemocratic”. This is a misconception that merely rests on vindictive thinking of dichotomy and things don’t have to be accepted just the way it is anymore.

In the face of evil, the question in our morality is always a clear one. We can choose to be silent; we can choose to be defenders and accomplices of evil, we can choose to blindfold ourselves in the face of evil or get in the faces of evil doers or we have a choice to be damn evil to condone it or openly accept it.

The message is clear, all of us who teach and preach to others to do things differently, have the choice, seek the opportunity to make the difference, refrain from being doing the same thing and playing by the same rule again, again and again. Make no mistake time to heed, refocus and transform the way we deliver our speeches and speak honest opinions to connect with others.

One must remember the rule of law or democracy is not an advantage that we can automatically get because we are in a certain environmental location or upbringing. It is rather an innate virtue we all humans are entitled to enjoy. If we accept anything, “That’s just the way it is”, nothing will change and neither can we.

There is no stronger weapon against inequality and no better path to equal opportunity than an education that unravels our genetically given potential to live together decently as a human race.

We all have our own unique cultural predispositions while growing up in different social and educational settings that may not gratify everyone.

Reverence is long overdue, empathetically. Nevertheless, this is not a blame or hostility for the arrogances, invasions or maltreatments of the past or whatever you want to call it. It’s absolutely essential to know history, how far society has come travelling a stifling journey and to give the concept of sorry and reconciliation for the significance this day upholds.

This may sound so harsh but take a heed or make no mistake that anything is possible if we mindfully put our heart in anything we do. Change is possible.

We need to break free from negative emotions of the past & outdated beliefs of generational scenario, inherited collective mind-patterns that have kept our parents & ancestors in captivity, without blaming anyone, creating so much of their suffering for eternities manifesting in our misery today.

Any society should learn from the outdated past systems of governance or any covenants and stride forward with renewed approach of openness and accountability in any social relations, business dealings or political capitulations in any endeavors in the rapidly changing world.

We can’t change the past but we can shape up our future only by forgiveness, empathy, consideration and reconciliation.

It's now time we draw a line under the differences of the past and work together to build consensus around a proposal for change without hostility.

No matter what has happened in the past, we can’t obliterate history. What we can do now, nevertheless, is forgive and move on knowing that the benefits are much greater than playing politics in a continuous vicious cycle to fix the past hefty maltreatments and all delinquencies with so much substantiated mendacities for vengeance.

“The difference between a dreamer and a visionary is that a dreamer has his eyes closed and a visionary has his eyes open.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

What we believe individually and collectively, whether good or bad, right or wrong, true or false, will be determined by our creed, values, beliefs and principles that will shape the final outcome.  

It is a mentality that is willing and able to reflect on the past experiences, past actions and their outcomes. It is only through such reflections that one learns one’s strengths, weaknesses and the environment and conditions in which actions were undertaken and what could have been done differently that could have resulted in a constructive outcome. It is not enough to admit collective failure. One needs to evaluate one’s role in the failure.

However, any failure can be turned into an opportunity to learn and grow. I say it can, because it requires a particular attitude to benefit from our failure. Without that mentality, all our failures will go to waste. This is true in political affairs as it is in personal life for a leader, contender as well as a follower. So, what is that mentality?

Today, it’s not enough to create change at the level of symptoms and structures. We need to work together even more deeply to change the underlying paradigms of thought and to connect with our deeper sources of creativity and self in a heterogeneous society.

The process of unifying people is difficult and the road to agreement is often littered with the debris of historical grievances, animosity and resentment.

However, we can’t continue living in the past anymore, whether we like it or not errors do happen. We have the choice to move forward with a comprehensive social change, compromise, recognition and resolution. “I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.” –Abraham Lincoln

However, we are all interconnected humans fundamentally and we can’t afford to abandon our moralities and privileges to coexist harmoniously.

Today, because of all those who made the difference before us and those who are making the change for a better society now, we’re able to live side by side even though the road to change is still far away from reaching “the mountain top”.

As wounds of the past still lingering around in their respective territories, Afrikans are genuinely making a solid declaration that they no longer allow, to be scrambled by authoritative and hungry, foreign or domestic, hippos to satisfy their voracious appetite.

It’s time that all Afrikan countries must also give up their colonial names and replace it with descent names that fit into the culture and their country of origin vetoed and voted by the voice of the people, regardless of the geographical locations.

The greatest anti-apartheid hero and philanthropist, Nelson Mandela, said, “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

Here is also one good act to follow: “May we uphold the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

May those who have lost their lives in all unjustly maltreatments and wars in our past and to this modern day, Rest In Peace, and also sending condolences to their grieving families and loved ones.