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Post by Magnet Man on Mar 17, 2006 17:57:37 GMT -5
When one considers the paucity of aid that is going to Third World cultures, one can only relate this to the fact that the majority of wealthy people do not feel any pressing moral obligation to give the helping hand that Africa especially not only deserves, but has more than paid for. The general assumption is that whatever social deprivations colonialism might have wrought on indigenous cultures, the damage has been more than made up for by the technological advantages, and the spiritual salvation brought in by western science, and our religious mission stations. The corollary behind such hard-ass sentiments is that if Africa does not know how to take full advantage of the blessings received, She has nobody to blame but Herself. The former assumption is only half-true. What has not been factored in, is that the introduction of advanced technology uprooted Africa’s traditional agricultural base and when colonialism ended, it never left behind enough trained and qualifi ed native technicians to apply the new industry effectively – at least not on the competitive world market. The latter spiritual assumption is not only entirely untrue, but also quite the reverse. The dogmatic introduction of a white man’s view of God caused permanent and irreparable damage to the African psyche – they suffered a devastating ancestral and spiritual insult from which they may never fully recover. |
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TarotDragon
Apprentice
ignore me, i'm an idiot
Posts: 99
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Post by TarotDragon on Jun 22, 2006 15:43:36 GMT -5
they suffered a devastating ancestral and spiritual insult from which they may never fully recover. Are you speaking of slavery? Or more of the underlying problems?  Okay, so we know slavery did a helluva lot of destruction, but it couldn't have ravaged the entire continent did it? And colonialism wasn't so far scattered, that it entered everywhere in the beginning. So what's happened? How'd everything get so messed up? Or have I got all my facts screwed up? |
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Post by Jupiter on Jul 23, 2006 8:34:40 GMT -5
War and poverty go hand in hand, you can't feed your children our yurself you will kill for food. I think that terrorism happens because the imbalance between the haves and have nots. As far as the reaching effects of colonialism the roots of that tree spread deeper than perhaps any other. And as for slavery well we have that in America with out sourcing and the minimum wage with no benefits, etc. Not much between it and the old plantation owners. Bit I do agree that we are self destructing and no one has solutions or the ones that have solutions don't get listened to by the ones that could do something.
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Post by Magnet Man on Jul 26, 2006 14:43:40 GMT -5
War and poverty go hand in hand, you can't feed your children our yurself you will kill for food. More like greed and war go hand in hand. Millions die of hunger in Africa and they go quietly. without war, while armed fat cats plunder their land. Amen to that. Human consciousness has been evolving for at least 2.5 million years. True we started to colonize Africa and then the world almost immediately - but modern (European Imperialistic) colonialism started only five centuries back. Amen to that too. |
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Post by know knot on Feb 8, 2008 21:36:14 GMT -5
When one considers the paucity of aid that is going to Third World cultures, one can only relate this to the fact that the majority of wealthy people do not feel any pressing moral obligation to give the helping hand that Africa especially not only deserves, but has more than paid for. on this note, and not as a permanent answer... but as a nation run on "taxation" you would think that individuals, companies, actors, etc , that make, say… $50,000 or over a year, are eligible for a 2% or whatever tax on their gross annual income that goes to a private Poverty Aid Organization in the States, or even world wide. Not as a donation but as a LAW. This organization could then distribute the funds to the hungriest candidates. Not necessarily in food aid but into areas like education. Now I know that this could never work at as an everlasting solution but taking small calculated steps with a greater philosophy in mind... |
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Post by Kwan Yu on Feb 8, 2008 22:01:09 GMT -5
[. Not as a donation but as a LAW. ... More law More police enforcement |
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Post by Magnet Man on Feb 8, 2008 22:28:20 GMT -5
they suffered a devastating ancestral and spiritual insult from which they may never fully recover. Are you speaking of slavery? Or more of the underlying problems? I mentioned spiritual. Early missionaries demonized shamanism and ancestral worship for no good reason - other than to indoctrinate them with a white God. Islam did the same. In effect we made them ashamed of themselves. I am afraid so. Slavery assisted the rest of the civilized world to advance. Colonialism helped to accelerate Africa out of the Bronze Age of farm-based economies. What went wrong was that the colonials never treated the natives with enough respect. The back-lash from generations of self-shame was anti-colonialism. Millions of whites fled Africa. The move out was premature - Africa was left with phony political boundaries and generations of people who had forgotten how to farm. They were left without enough industrial smarts to keep the economy going. The result is mass unemployment, mass starvation, mass genocide, mass sickness and mass corruption. |
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Post by Kwan Yu on Feb 8, 2008 22:37:17 GMT -5
. Thus was Europe in the Dark Ages after Rome collapsed. History repeated. |
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Post by know knot on Feb 8, 2008 22:43:00 GMT -5
[. Not as a donation but as a LAW. ... More law More police enforcement Ultimately, I do agree. But perhaps it’s more of a diversion of existing law enforcement to actually doing something productive in the here and now, instead of inane things like wearing your seat belt, gun control...pot, etc, etc. Or can we change the way of thinking in the American people, particularly with the rich and famous who have the clout and power to do things that actually matter? |
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murex
Global Steward
Posts: 117
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Post by murex on Feb 9, 2008 0:56:40 GMT -5
People shouldn't be forced to hand over money for charity.
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Post by know knot on Feb 9, 2008 16:32:11 GMT -5
people also shouldn't die of hunger when, lets say the cost of just one of Paris Hilton's hand bags could support a whole village in africa for a year...just speculating.
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TarotDragon
Apprentice
ignore me, i'm an idiot
Posts: 99
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Post by TarotDragon on Feb 9, 2008 19:15:43 GMT -5
Okay, but if they didn't do this, would they have been able to... rule them? I'm not saying what they did was right, far from it, but was there another way? It has to be extremely difficult to govern people when you don't have the same fundamental beliefs, right? I'm in agreement with you there, know knot. Lol mention to the pot. Onto the fact of making it law for the rich to hand over some of their money for the poor. They're not gonna do it on their own and to the ones that do, well, they're few and there is not enough given. So in the short term, until people wake up and give on their own, it might be the only way. Jeez, how the hell does Paris Hilton get into a philosophy forum?  I'm in agreement though. |
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murex
Global Steward
Posts: 117
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Post by murex on Feb 9, 2008 22:34:19 GMT -5
people also shouldn't die of hunger when, lets say the cost of just one of Paris Hilton's hand bags could support a whole village in africa for a year...just speculating. I agree. This doesn't counter what I said thow. I still believe that it is up to the individual to donate money to such causes. The people who buy Paris Hilton's handbags should instead try to live within their means and help others when they have more money than they know what to so with. |
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Post by know knot on Feb 9, 2008 23:54:35 GMT -5
people also shouldn't die of hunger when, lets say the cost of just one of Paris Hilton's hand bags could support a whole village in africa for a year...just speculating. I agree. This doesn't counter what I said thow. I still believe that it is up to the individual to donate money to such causes. The people who buy Paris Hilton's handbags should instead try to live within their means and help others when they have more money than they know what to so with. Yes, it is up to the individual. As Kwan Yu said "More law More police enforcement" and so we are left with: 1. laws breed laws which breed laws etc etc. It is obviously not the right way. and: 2. people should send aid of their own free-will, to their brothers and sisters across the seas. but wont. A Stalemate. So how do we help Africa and all our dying neighbors? without a world wide new conciousness, wont world poverty only worsen in Third World countries? |
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murex
Global Steward
Posts: 117
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Post by murex on Feb 11, 2008 14:59:43 GMT -5
Well, it can't be solved if starving people keep breeding without the ability to feed their children.
So.....birth control?
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