THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and womanâ Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.
Africa and Africans are in a state of crisis, And because, unlike the Continental Congress forces that Paine was addressing, our cause is just and not tainted with hypocrisy and duplicity of a settler colonial UDI, but is indeed just and honorable, the words of Paine are more appropriate for our situation than it was for the forces he wrote them for. We are fighting for freedom, we are victimized by tyrants and tyranny, and indeed those who fight for African liberation do deserve the gratitude of the worldâs people; as the struggle to liberate Africa will have a singular positive affect on people around the globe, including the Europeans.
As Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah wrote our problem is an economic problem, and as such it can only be resolved by affirmative political action on our part.
To be more specific, our problem is a problem of economic exploitation and social oppression directly emanating from the illegal possession of our land. We all know that land is based of power, as Malcolm X- Omowale constantly reminded us. Land is the source of our naturally occurring resources, such as metals, silicon, precious gems, energy sources (gas, petroleum), agricultural, naturally occurring plants, timber and other forestry goods, wildlife, and so forth. Land also means the things attached to land such as the mines used for extraction. Land is also important for geo-strategic purposes for example the tip of South Africa/Azania is considered a vital area for space launches, the Suez area in Egypt is considred strategic for military operations in Asia and Africa, in World War II the Roosevelt administration supported the British â Free French effort to seize Dakar Senegal from the Vichy French because they knew it would be an effective base for German u-boat attacks on American maritime and naval traffic.
Land is also considered to include the airspace, the waterways, adjacent oceans/seas, and the general electromagnetic spectrum associated with the specific land area. In capitalist economics land is considered one of three factors of production, along with labor and capital. This view is generally shared by all theories of economic development, although obviously in the socialist view the relative and respective roles of the three factors are distinct.
Whereas capitalism advocates that the critical ingredient is capital, socialist revolutionaries understand that the critical factor is the interaction of the human labor and the land. After all it is the human ingenuity and skill, in other words work, applied to the land and its derivatives that makes capital possible. Without people, there could be no capital. Without land there could be no capital. So the capitalist position that capital is primary is patently wrong and if oppressed people allow bogus leadership to continue to impose this theory of life on us, we will never be free.
It is the role of conscious Africans to propagate and promulgate the proper role of land in the equation of development. . We can only do this by creatively combining the correct understand of the factors, mode, and means of production and wealth creation, with the correct cultural and historical perspective; since true socialism can only emerge if the practitioners and theories are consistent with the general way of life; the values, history, characteristics, attributes, morals, ethics, ethos, traditions, customs, mores, and institutions that define the specific human society in which socialism is being constructed. This requires that we constructively integrate the many disparate elements impacting on the society and the interconnectedness of the world, and the global population, including institutions such as supranational and national governmental agencies, corporations, especially trans-nationals, organizations and groups, as well as the actions of individuals; into a coherent database, if you will, that can be collectively analyzed as the basis for both our strategic and tactical planning and implementation activities. If we do this scientifically, then we will be able to understand the dialectical link and interrelationships of economic, cultural, and physical elements such as land and water and their varied derivatives.
The world today is skewed to enrich a tiny miniscule segment of the human population. Some women activists recently pulled together some very timely statistics on the lopsided global economy. I quote a few of their findings here:
Facts on Distribution
Among the 4.4 billion people who live in developing countries
THREE-FIFTHS have no access to basic sanitation Almost ONE-THIRD are without safe drinking water
ONE-QUARTER lack adequate housing ONE-FIFTH live beyond reach of modern health services
ONE-FIFTH of the children do not get as far as grade five in school ONE-FIFTH are undernourished
The 3 RICHEST PEOPLE in the world own assets that exceed the combined gross national product of ALL LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES and their 600 million people.
The richest 20% of the worldâs population enjoys a share in global income that is 86 times that of the poorest 20%.
More than 1.2 billion people in the world live on less that $1 a day. More than 50% of them are children.
Nearly 1 billion cannot meet their basic consumption requirements.
The assets of the 200 richest people are more than the combined income of 41% of the world's people. A yearly contribution of 1% of their wealth or $8 billion could provide universal access to primary education for all. Industrialized countries hold 97% of all patents, and global corporations hold 90% of all technology and product patents.
Over 80% of foreign direct investment in developing and transition economies goes to just 20 countries, with China receiving the maximum share.
Debt relief for the 20 worst affected countries would cost between US $5.5 billion to $7.7 billion, LESS than the cost of ONE stealth bomber.
Facts on Consumption
Basic education for all would cost $6 BILLION a year; $8 BILLION is spent annually for cosmetics in the United States alone.
Installation of water and sanitation for all would cost $9 BILLION plus some annual costs; $11 BILLION is spent annually on ice cream in Europe.
Reproductive health services for all women would cost $12 BILLION a year; $12 BILLION a year is spent on perfumes in Europe and the United States.
Basic health care and nutrition would cost $13 BILLION; $17 BILLION a year is spent on pet food in Europe and the United States. $35 BILLION is spent on business entertainment in Japan; $50 BILLION on cigarettes in Europe; $105 BILLION on alcoholic drinks in Europe; $400 BILLION on narcotic drugs around the world; and $780 BILLION on the world's militaries.
20% of the world's people in industrialized countries account for 86% of total private consumption expenditures, while the poorest 20% account for 1.3%
The overall consumption of the richest 20% of the worldâs people is 16 times that of the poorest 20%.
The share of the poorest 20% of the world's people in global income is 1.1%, down from 1.4% in 1991.
There are 16 cars per 1,000 people in developing countries and 405 cars per 1,000 people in industrialized countries.
On average, developing countries have one doctor for every 6,000 people whereas industrialized countries have one for every 350 people.
Sources: United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report 2000 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000); Human Development Report 1999 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999); Human Development Report 1998 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).
We know that Africa and her people around the world has been and is among of the most adversely impacted by the current configuration of the world economy, and its precedents.
This is precisely why Pan-Africanism is so vital, for without interlocking networks of Africans committed to the benefit of Africa, we will never overcome those interlocked, networked supranational forces whose interest it is to maintain the status quo. This is why Nkrumah pointed out that the neo-colonialist power that control our continent and our lives operate on a global and Pan-African basis, and thus can only be defeated on a Pan-African and global basis. Think about it. And as for Africans born in the diaspora, let me suggest we consider the following words of the martyred Amilcar Cabral:
I am bringing to you - our African brothers and sisters of the United States - the fraternal salutations of our people in assuring you we are very conscious that all in this life concerning you also concerns us. If we do not always pronounce words that clearly show this, it doesn't mean that we are not conscious of it. It is a reality and considering that the world is being made smaller each day all people are becoming conscious of this fact.
Naturally if ask me between brothers and comrades what I prefer - if we are brothers it is not our fault or our responsibility. But if we are comrades, it is a political engagement. Naturally we like our brothers but in our conception it is better to be a brother and a comrade. We like our brothers very much, but we think that if we are brothers we have to realize the responsibility of this fact and take clear positions about our problems in order to see if beyond this conditions of brothers, we are also comrades. This is very important to us.
We try to understand your situation in this country. You can be sure that we realize the difficulties you face, the problems you have and your feelings, your revolts, an also your hopes. We think that our fighting for Africa against colonialism and imperialism is a proof of understanding of your problems in this continent. Naturally the inverse is also true. All the achievements toward the solution of your problems here are real contributions to our own struggle. And we are very encouraged in our struggle by the fact that each day more of the African people born in America become conscious of their responsibilities to the struggle in Africa.
Does that mean you have to all leave here and go fight in Africa? We do not believe so. That is not being realistic in our opinion. History is a very strong chain. We have to accept the limits of history but not the limits imposed by the societies where we are living. There is a difference. WE think that all you can do here to develop your own conditions in the sense of progress, in the sense of history and in the sense of the total realization of your aspirations as human beings is a contribution for us. It is also a contribution for you to never forget that you are African.
page 76, Return to the Source
I would like to close with the words of Leonard Peltier, an imprisoned fighter of the original people of this hemisphere.
There are books on top of books telling of what should be. I'm referring
to religious material that I've come across lately. There are those who
pit one against the other in the name of the creator, but these are just
inspirations of men. If we look around, we can see the things that the
creator has given us. I am not a religious person, but a spiritual person. I
religiously put on my shoes every day. (Smile; just in case you thought, I
was trying to preach to you.)
We see the abuse the world powers heap upon the common people & our
Mother Earth. We must ever be vigilant of the deceivers who exploit the
earth & us for they are in charge of the media. When you read something
or hear something weigh it against the right or wrong of contributing to
life or death as the creator has given us.
Many times, people called us revolutionaries. I like that, although it often
seems used in a negative sense, by the deceivers. Revolution refers to
something traveling in a circle. All the Creators work seems to be in a
circle -- the Earth, the Moon, the Seasons, or a man's life.
As Native people of this land, we started in freedom & were receptive to
others who came here for the same. This portion of our Mother Earth was
clean & nature was in balance. I wish to see things revolve back to a
situation like that again. If, in my life, I am a part of that process... If my
imprisonment in any way has brought a view to the public of how we
should stand together, how we need to protect our freedoms & regain what
we have lost... then I feel honored. There is no reason why technology
can't ultimately be used to protect our Mother Earth.
Let us be revolutionaries in such a way that we enhance the circle of life.
Let us be revolutionaries that our children, generation after generation,
shall enjoy freedom & a healthy clean Mother Earth. Let our lives be
based in the circle not some straight line that has a dead end.
There are speakers & doers. If you can speak, then speak. If you can
carry out the work, do so. If you can do both, so much the better.
Again, I want to say I am deeply honored to be among you in spirit even
though I am not there physically. The years roll by faster than you
would realize. Life isn't all that long so be good to one another, be true to
yourself, seek harmony with the Creator & know that I appreciate you.
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