Lately my mind has been over-preoccupied with visions of “re-patriation.”
Needless to say, new ones (i.e., ideas, visions, etc.) have been kinda crowded out in that process.
But, thankfully, I have my good old stash of CRG posts (all 612 of them) out there to be used on occasion for spare parts…
I’ve received a few comments on various posts over the years that attempt to label me as one of those nut-jobs who leans towards socialism, or even communism.
Hell, some will quickly label you that way as soon as they find out you voted for Obama.
I believe some might get that impression because in the past I’ve mentioned the likes of Che, or Sandino in a favorable light.
Actually I really don’t feel qualified to judge the ways in which men choose to govern themselves.
I simply call it like I see it.
I once observed the world through very restrictive lenses…
When you grow up in a particular place and associate only with particular people, you tend to have views about the world that are “in line” with your environment.
That’s understandable.
But almost invariably as soon as one ventures out a bit further from the fold, new vistas of thought and perception open.
Especially if you’re a person who isn’t content to just take in new experiences sensorially…
and not allow yourself to venture into deeper levels of awareness.
You may refuse yourself that luxury because of being so anchored in your traditional experience of life.
You’re content to play the role of outsider looking in.
But then there are those adventurous types who open up their hearts and minds, becoming a part of their experience.
I’m definitely one of those types.
And I’ve become a part of the Latin American experience.
I’m still a gringo, no doubt about that (I get reminded of it frequently), but I’ve come to empathize with the feelings that Latin people have towards my previous paradigm that would have quickly condoned capitalistic imperialism as being “the will of God.”
It isn’t.
And all that leads not to the conclusion that I’m a socialist, nor a communist.
In my humble opinion, ISM is a suffix that sucks!
You see, when folks believe that they do (have it all right), problems occur, resentments are fomented, wars are started, people are oppressed and slaughtered and humanity is generally brought a notch lower.
I don’t have the answers and don’t mean to pretend to.
I don’t believe anyone does.
But I do believe in a few things.
Like being compassionate and open-minded and trying to understand why people believe and behave differently and not condemning them for doing so.
I also believe that we’re all connected.
That there’s some force outside of our understanding that is in control and has given us a purpose and that it’s not to pursue our destruction (that word “our” implying and encompassing a sense of connectedness with each other, the natural world, and the universe).
Too often the isms lead us down that road of mutually assured destruction.
Usually it’s because we become convinced in our hearts and minds that “we” are right and “they” are wrong.
I believe that most of these ism’s, world views, religions, or whatever you want to call them have some element of good in them.
The “good” that works for the common benefit of the entire connected world.
Maybe we should just focus on that and disregard all the rest.