BlackEconomics.org®
This “Headline Thoughts” is unlike any other. We dispense with our usual formalness and present raw issues in raw form. These are not “headlines” per se. Rather, they are haunting thoughts about turning points that are on our mind. We believe that they should be on your mind, which motivated our production of this submission. Headline Thoughts #10 covers: (i) What does Gaza mean for Black Americans? (ii) Revisiting “A Price for Everything” (APFE) and “All It Takes Is One” (AITIO); (iii) What Just Happened: A Usurpation Effort? and (iv) A Fundamental Misunderstanding about “Monotheism?” These four elements are integrally related, and we bring them to you in as concise and as “humble a manner as we know how!” Now let us begin the conversation.
What does Gaza Mean?
If you are a Black American (Afrodescendant) and know your history, then you can skip this “Headline Thoughts #10” entry. On the other hand, you can read on because we will conclude this entry in short order with the following series of brief statements:
- Since even before the conclusion of the U.S. Civil War in 1865, Black Americans had opportunities to undertake nation formation efforts. For many reasons (but mainly due to unwise and corrupt leadership) we have failed to do the right thing for and by ourselves.
- Many formerly colonized Asian, African, and American (Western Hemisphere) nations were able to throw off the oppressive mantle of their colonial masters—even if only ceremoniously and not in practice—since the close of WWII. Yet Black Americans have been unwilling to undertake appropriate steps to achieve the same outcome. We have been foolishly happy to be called “the people who have helped the rest of the world find their way to freedom from European rule.”
- While those who know should never forget, most Black Americans have no knowledge (no clue), that the venerable Ralph Bunche was a critical factor that enabled Israel to achieve statehood in 1948. Mr. Bunche was one the earliest Black diplomatic officers in a very racist U.S. Department of State, who played a critical role in navigating Israel through boobie trapped minefields using intricate and skillful negotiations to achieve statehood. Mr. Bunche earned a 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
- Many nations around the world have achieved statehood since the 1950s and 1960s, in part, using United Nations (UN) support based on claims involving violations of Human Rights. These nations have ranged from very small to sizeable in populations and economies. Yet Black America sits well over a century and a half in a post bellum era without true self-reliance, self-determination, or freedom (liberty) with a population estimated in the 45-to-50 million range and with so-called spending power (not income) near or above $2 trillion annually.
- This week, important UN member nations broke with the US and Israel to recognize the Palestinians right to statehood.
Now to answer the question: What does Gaza mean? The answer is that the current Palestinian population (Palestinians also reside in several Middle Eastern Countries and elsewhere around the world) mainly in East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank, is about 5.5 million. This population is estimated to have an annual gross domestic product (GDP, nominal dollar value—with no adjustment for inflations) of less than $15 billion. If important UN nations are willing to defy the US and Israel and support a separate Palestinian nation state in a tiny space where wars and skirmishes have erupted periodically since 1948, then why would important UN nations not defy the U.S. in support of a separate nation state for Black Americans [a 45-to-50 million population group with annual economic spending power of $2 trillion or more (unadjusted for inflation); and with sizeable areas of land for building a separate nation state within the U.S., which has engaged Black America in an undeclared war since 1865, and has a long record of documented Human Rights abuses against Black Americans (Afrodescendants)]?
In other words, current developments in Gaza signal a favorable point for Black Americans (Afrodescendants) to act to achieve our own statehood, which has been a goal of many freedom efforts in the U.S. since the end of the Civil War. Failure to capitalize on this current opportunity may mark our final chance to form an independent Black American state. And if so-called Black American leadership fails to act on this opportunity now because it is preoccupied with other less important matters, then such inaction will be unmistakable evidence that Black American leadership is no leadership at all, and it should be abandoned!
Revisiting APFE and AITIO
This portion of “Headline Thoughts #10” is limited to the recollection of, and the provision of URLS (links) for, two earlier submissions from BlackEconomics.org that provide answers to two very important questions that may be part of your daily contemplations or mediations:
- How can war be avoided?
- What will be the ultimate outcome of Israel’s current war with the Palestinian’s HAMAS organization?
Without elaboration we provide the two submissions for readers to consider and arrive at their own answers to these questions, which may or may not be consistent with the answers that we offer.
- “A Price for Everything” (https://www.blackeconomics.org/BELit/apfe110424.pdf, 212 KB, November 4, 2024).
- “All It Takes Is One” (The most recent version of this submission appears as Chapter 3, in our December 2020 book entitled Exodus: A Book for Black Americans Suggesting a Way Out and Up; https://www.blackeconomics.org/BEAP/exodus.pdf, pp. 23-43). The first page of the chapter may be sufficient as an answer to the second question posed in this “Headline Thoughts #10” entry.
What Just Happened?
We just concluded a telephone conversation with a sibling who recently completed a radio interview concerning “Faith, Family, and Future.” When he mentioned that the recent murder of the right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk served as context for his comments during the radio interview, we commented on our preparation of this submission. As you may have already deduced, this third entry in “Headline Thoughts #10” concerns the events that have followed Kirk’s murder; especially, the surge of religious (Chrisitan) expressions.
What we know is that today’s world is marked by an expectation and anticipation of unprecedented change. Black Americans, who believe this with deep faith and conviction are expressing it prevalently in social media, and they see “us” (Black Americans) as the reason for the coming change. It is believed that our 400-plus year undeclared war in the U.S. against hard task and abusive masters, and our unrelenting and very tight grasp on the handhold of faith, have precipitated the expectation and anticipation of marvelous, magical, even unbelievable change that will bring deliverance in one fell swoop. Although the mechanism/method of deliverance is seldom clarified, this faith has sparked a wave of new praise and worship, and it is expected to open an avenue through which the change will arrive and produce a new existence for us all. All of this is consistent with Old and New Testament prophesy and we (Black Americans, ADOS, Afrodescendants) are viewed to be the definitive reason for “God’s” intervention to usher in a new world order after six and/or 25 thousand years—depending on which believers are consulted—when evils was permitted to exist as a powerful force in our world.
But something just happened that we may have missed. We know that evil entails lies/deceit, theft, and murder, and evil ones lurk, identify, and then exploit available opportunities. Some believe that the White Religious Right is leveraging the Kirk murder (assassination) and the subsequent memorial services to raise and motivate in the consciousness of MAGA (Make America Great Again) adherents a religious spirit that underpins and buttresses the already existing intent to bring into existence a White and pure America. This view is consistent with conditions that many believe the nation’s “Founding Fathers” envisioned and intended. The ebullient expressions of religiosity, the recitation of prayers, and the joyous praise of Jesus the Christ (depicted as White), who is paused to initiate a new kingdom under his rein is consistent with expectations that he and the Great God (Yahweh, Jehovah, Ellohim, etc.) will uncork a celebration for the change highlighted at the outset of this “Headline Thoughts #10” entry.
Although Black America’s creative and religious acumen transformed the already discussed Old and New Testament historical, mythological, or allegorical prophetic expressions into a seemingly achievable reality, there appears to be a move afoot among the White Religious Right to usurp this Black reality and make it their own. Remember, that evil opposers of Black Americans have no interest in countenancing or welcoming a new Black reality; especially if it entails successful realization of a newly designed, expected, and anticipated “Kingdom of God” that has Black Americans at the center as the prime beneficiaries.
It is now up to Black America to see “What Just Happened” and act to reverse the White Religious Right usurpation effort. Otherwise, Black Americans may be praying for the next six and/or 25 thousand years about “What evil forces stole.”
Monotheism?
As a “non-atheist economist, we have emphasized the following: (i) The only constant is change; (ii) Believe it or not, “God” as reflected in HERIS (her and/or his) creation is changing, and God and HERIS creation are changing not necessarily because of HERIS intervention, but because the laws/rules/principles that govern HERIS creation permit change as part of the normal course of developments to which humans contribute;i and (iii) comprehending that God (creation) changes, should open the door to believers considering changing their view of “God,” HERIS creation, and to permit religion to respond to change.
What we know is that technology now renders easy comprehension of all forms of “God-like” adherence. When we explore major world “religions,” we recognize that they all have similar elements. Also, long-standing “religions” have played a role in preserving peoples and societies for thousands of years. Therefore, it is logical to conclude that religions to which we do not adhere have something favorable to offer—certainly, this true for those religions’ former and current adherents.
Consequently, we should consider feasting on all religions that we identify, and in a smorgasbord-like fashion, select (consume) those elements that we believe are, or would be, favorable for us. In other words, in today’s world each person can develop their own religion—tailored by sampling in the same way that we develop our own soundtracks by “sampling” from a smorgasbord of artists. It is general agreement, including from the state and religions themselves, that religion is a personal matter. Therefore, we should no longer constrain ourselves to religions that are not a perfect fit.
Rather, we should be wise enough to develop our own personal (designer) religion for which we can take ownership. We are likely to be more attentive adherents to our own designer religion than to a “non-perfect-fit” religion if we believe or feel truly connected to the religion that we design for ourselves.
The foregoing situates us at the topic: “Monotheism.” The three Judeo-Christian-Islamic religions claim relationship because of adherence to “one” God. Adherents of these three religions, in turn, may spurn other religions that appear to permit worship of more than one God.ii
However, even without a long and formal background in the study of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic faiths, we call the attention of adherents of these faiths to obvious literary references to the “One God” being the “most high” or “supreme.” To be “most high” or “supreme” is to infer that there may be others that are not so high or supreme. Also, in the Judeo-Christian traditions there are references to humans being “gods”—sons and daughters (children) of the “the Most High God.”iii In other words there appears to be an inconsistency in the religious literature that permits expansion of “Monotheism”—as typically espoused (there is only one god that should be worshipped)—to be understood to mean the “Great God,” should be viewed as the “God of Gods.” In fact, the New Testament Revelations states explicitly that Jesus ultimately achieves a oneness with the Father and becomes the Great God, who is “King of Kings,” and “Lord of Lords.
Therefore, the just arrived at realizations opens the door to sampling not just so-called “monotheistic” religions to design our own personal religion, but to consider all religions to select the best/ideal concepts, principles, laws, rules, and practices that will enable our own rise to perfection—as we define it. All religions (“monotheistic” or otherwise) clarify that we are responsible for ourselves. We may or may not control the spiritual, mental, or physical state in which we enter this world, but we certainly are personally and individually responsible for our state (spiritual, mental, and physical) when we depart it. History informs us that humans have always sought to use “religion” to reach a favorable state before departing this world.
B Robinson
©092625
Endnotes
[i] One interpretation of monotheism is that “God is one,” and “HERIS” creation is one. Relatedly, we can consider that no matter where scientists look in the universe, they observe identical patterns—or nearly so—existing. They identify round or spherical material bodies that are labeled stars, planets, moons and other accompanying similarly shaped forms engaged in motion governed by gravity.
[ii] An adherent of Hinduism informed us that that religion boasts the existence of 33 million gods.
[iii] In certain cases, angels are also assigned these “son” and “daughter” designations.