Friday Information in early March 2018

When I think of the United States of America, I think of a multiplicity of things. It is the place of my birth and I know a great deal of its history and culture. I live America. I have visited urban communities and rural communities in real life from Southampton County, Cambridge (in Maryland), Richmond (in Virginia), and to Baltimore including other locations. I have tasted foods that were created by human beings among many backgrounds. I have worked among people (in many jobs) of a diversity of colors and creeds. Therefore, America represents the diversity of its people and the necessity for the thriving to be better. As we all know, America's history is combination of good things plus bad things. We can't be naive and sugarcoat the errors of America. Likewise, heroes are found in the United States of America. We know of Harriet Tubman who freed hundreds of black slaves. We know of Muhammad Ali who stood up against an unjust war and advanced inspirational confidence among black people. Eleanor Roosevelt came about to travel the world to promote peace, women's rights, and racial justice. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ella Baker, and Malcolm X courageously organized demonstrations and movements for equality and justice too.

Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughn, and Stevie Wonder promoted jazz, soul music, R&B, and profound excellence in musical expression in general. Toni Morrison, Edgar Allen Poe, Maya Angelou, and Hemingway wrote some of the greatest literature that the world has ever witnessed. Therefore, legends and prominent people, who instituted wide ranging change, are all part of the repertoire of America. Unsung folks, who have positively impacted the lives of the world, outline the power of America too. America is the most diverse nation in human history. It has a combination of the some of the greatest people and some of the most evil people in human history. It is the most powerful nation militarily in human history too. Today, America has over 325 million people living in its 50 states plus other areas like Puerto Rico. It has the third most populous country in the world. The Native Americans are the original inhabitants of the United States who came here in ca. 15,000 years ago from Asia.

We have to learn about the Native Americans if we desire to learn about America. They formed diverse, complex cultures (like the Mound Cultures, the Mayan civilization, the Olmec civilization, etc.) and European colonization changed the Americas forever with genocides, imperialism, slavery, and other evils. My people from Africa were involuntarily kidnapped and brought here as slaves centuries ago. Literally, America was developed by the blood of slaves and the genocide of the indigenous peoples. Our history has been characterized in a struggle between those who want to extend human rights to all people and those who want to restrict them (our people have been involved in every U.S. war and in many social movements as well. Our forebears defeated the traitorous Confederates during the U.S. Civil War. We defeated the Axis fascists during World War II, and we will defeat the reactionaries today as one of its leaders is the bigoted occupant of the White House. His name is Trump). Right now, we witness the new era of the 21st century. America had 33.4% of the total wealth on Earth, and it has the largest share of global wealth concentrated in a single country.

This dual reality is that America has been involved in imperial adventures overseas to the detriment of other human beings (especially poorer nations and peoples of color as tons of people have been the victims of Western colonialism and imperialism) while being a leading political, cultural, and scientific force internationally (whose economy is post-industrial with services and knowledge-based activities along with a manufacturing sector. America has a mixed economy where large corporate oligarchical interests dominate a large aspect of our economy unfortunately). To reconcile this reality, we have to make a distinction between Americans doing evil and Americans who are caring for their families, who are fighting justice, and who possess a real conviction in believing in liberty plus justice for all. We don't desire reformism (which doesn't go far enough in establishing freedom). We desire revolutionary change to help humanity. The same democratic principles (i.e. freedom of speech, the separation of powers, the freedom of the press, the right to assemble, etc.) that we cherish are what we defend wholeheartedly. Therefore, I live in the United States of America and I will continue to believe in the Dream too.

One of the greatest women heroes is Harriet Tubman. She was born in the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I visited the area before. She suffered a lot from being whipped and her head being hit with a weight. She was heavily mistreated. Also, she had total courage. She went back multiple times not only to rescue her family from bondage. She rescued hundreds of black people who experienced the evil of slavery. Harriet Tubman was political and worked to be involved in the Combahee Raid (in South Carolina) that defeated the Confederate enemy (and freed more black people). She moved her family into New York State. She visited many places in the States. A fighter for racial justice and for suffrage (or giving women the right to vote) characterize her legacy. She was very spiritual too. Her last words was about a place prepared for her in Paradise. So many women sacrificed for us, so we could live in this time. That is why we fight for justice positively, because of heroes like Harriet Tubman. When Trump talks about tariffs and "America First", he is talking about economic nationalism. Economic nationalism doesn't work because of many reasons. One reason is that airplanes, and other products assembled in America have parts which were originally created in other countries. Also, if a trade war comes about (which the EU has threatened), then American workers will bear a huge amount of the backlash. His economic nationalism only benefits select corporations and advances cuts to environmental regulations and tax cuts for the wealthy. True economic justice benefits workers internationally. The way to increase American jobs isn't to place an economic wall around America. It is to invest in America by building its infrastructure, advancing education that especially deals with technology, and the rest of the STEM fields, advancing a living wage federally, promoting universal health care (as every developed on Earth has), and strengthening unions (which brought us many of the economic benefits spanning generations). It is also important for us to promote solidarity with workers and other oppressed human beings globally.





By Timothy