Finalist-PhilBlogAwards 2010

Finalist-PhilBlogAwards 2010
Finalist for society, politics, history blogs

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Showing posts with label The Guardian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Guardian. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

GLOBALIZING CHRISTMAS

Erle Frayne D. Argonza


Christmas is now nearing as of this writing. Christmas bell tolls, kids’ carols, merry songs & dances are now up in the air, inviting everyone else to share the spirit of fun and camaraderie.

A Christian and sectarian holiday Christmas is, no one doubts this. Granted that Christmas is a sectarian affair, is it possible to transform it into a global/universal, multi-cultural event? There are apparently two (2) perspectives that clash concerning the matter.

From the point of view of fundamentalist, ultra-conservative church practitioners, whether Christian or non-Christian, Christmas is a sectarian affair and should not veer into cultural spaces not meant for its observation. A Muslim fundamentalist would throw monkey wrench at any attempt to globalize Christmas, and the same may be true for those fundamentalists of other denominations.

From the vantage point of a non-fundamentalist, cosmopolitan person, Christmas is one occasion that Christians can share to others. It is a multi-cultural affair, and it belongs to the whole of humanity for that matter. Ergo, everyone on Earth better attunes to the Christmas spirit and feel the ‘family of mankind’ fraternal bonds that the affair espouses.

As to where I stand in that polarity of perspectives, I am among those who wish to share the Christmas spirit as a multi-cultural blessing. Born a Catholic, but now a freethinker who espouses post-church spirituality, I remain attuned to the Christmas holidays just the same for the reasons stated above.

Christianity is a cult of Jesus, and I will have nothing to do with following or propagating such a cult. Esoteric Christianity, however, isn’t the same as the folk Christianity of the flocks who regard Jesus as a cult figure, and I squarely stand on the grounds of this mystical version of Christianity.

Esoteric Christianity teaches universal brotherhood among its core lessons. Universal brotherhood, a battle cry of cosmopolitan esotericists, is still a very valid principle to stand up for. It is the ethos that permits a soul to go beyond the bounds of sectarian precepts, embrace fellow humans as co-family members, and build a culture of dialogue across the planet.

I do hope that the more cosmopolitan Christians would consciously invite non-Christians to be part of the holidays, truly embrace their non-Christian brothers and sisters, and allow the latter to participate in such year-end party rituals as gift-giving. And, invite the non-Christians to 24th of December midnight gathering, where they can sit by the Christmas tree and partake of the food blessings for the occasion.

Non-Christians who may not be invited by Christians in their homes on the 24th & 25th of December can also go ahead and celebrate the affair with their families and friends on the said dates. Nothing is wrong for them to put up a Christmas tree at home and party on the 24th midnight and on the 25th of December. And, at the end of the month, celebrate New Year’s Eve too.

In the Philippines, the transformation of Christmas into a multi-cultural event has already been going on in the 60s till 1972. Unfortunately, the Mindanao War came, a Christian-Muslim schism was propagated, and Muslims became reluctant to celebrate Christmas with their brethrens among Christians.

I just hope that the tide of cleavages is now ebbing and ceasing. We formally recognize Muslim and Chinese occasions in this country, and so it would be fitting for all Filipinos including Chinese and Muslims to celebrate Christmas as well. By Chinese I refer to those Chinese who are Buddhist, Daoist, atheist, or non-Christian.

The occasions for Christmas parties are now going on, from one organization to another, and so it is best for us all to participate in these events. And, comes the 24th-25th of the month, celebrate Christmas at home as a ritual occasion to solidify family bonds. Then, comes the New Year’s Eve, celebrate with a Big Bang accompanying a party or gathering.

Peace be with you! Advanced Happy Holidays!

[Philippines, 08 December 2010]

[See: IKONOKLAST: http://erleargonza.blogspot.com,
UNLADTAU: http://unladtau.wordpress.com,
COSMICBUHAY: http://cosmicbuhay.blogspot.com,
BRIGHTWORLD: http://erlefraynebrightworld.wordpress.com, ARTBLOG: http://erleargonza.wordpress.com,
ARGONZAPOEM: http://argonzapoem.blogspot.com]

Friday, December 03, 2010

WIKILEAKS ERODES REMAINING U.S. CREDIBILITY, WORLD POWER BULLYING IS OVER!

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Dusk has begun to envelop my space as I write this piece. The WikiLeaks has been receiving a crescendo of publicities recently, as the leaked secrecies of the US diplomatic community has reached the big media players, eg. The Guardian. The devastating impact of the WikiLeaks on US credibility is now gnawing at the morsel of US governance itself, further exacerbating the already fragmentary situation of US governance institutions.

As I’ve been elucidating in articles of mine, the new millennium opened up with a context of multipolar world order, an emerging context that demanded re-carving of foreign policy architectures and the actual diplomatic dealings of world and regional powers with other nations. Sadly, the United States faired very badly in adjusting to the emerging context, as it chose the hawkish path of brinkmanship, unabashedly exhibited superpower arrogance, and bullied other nations into submitting to its diktats.

Take the case of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Rather than use the United Nations as the platform to contemplate and decide on the fates of the so-called “rogue” states, the US bamboozled its allies into submitting to its hawkish diktats, compelled them to join the “coalition of the willing,” or be identified with those who are “against us.” The hubris and arrogance of America’s leaders was captured emphatically in the finger-pointing George W. Bush whose madness exudes a demonically behaving sociopath.

The WikiLeaks disclosures have revealed to the world the true and honest perceptions of Americans towards the leaders and peoples of other nations. America’s diplomacy is but putting superficially sweet-looking mascara on top of the real thing: Saxon condescension on all peoples and nations of the planet. For Americans are truly of Anglo-Saxon psyche: the same marauding, pillaging, plundering, and destructive Saxons of antiquity whose very culture and psyche the Americans have inherited en toto.

Over a hundred years ago, upon America’s invasion and occupation of the Philippines, its leaders and negotiators already manifested the sordid duplicity that is markedly demonic. Presenting themselves before then president Aguinaldo as allies who’d help the Filipinos flash out Spain’s imperial forces, the Americans eventually ended up showing their true intentions by invading the country, an invasion that led to the deaths of almost a million Filipinos nationwide.

Having planted themselves well on Philippine soil deep up through the hinterlands, the conquering Americans than sang with gusto “Brown Monkeys with No Tails in Zamboanga” everywhere they went. So demonically condescending, you’d wonder whether the Anglo-Saxon Americans have ever truly modified their behavior across time.

It now seems, as the WikiLeaks aptly reveal, that America’s leaders and probably seconded by most of its people regard all other leaders and peoples as ‘monkeys with no tails’. For even those White leaders of the West do not escape the derision and philistine condescension of the Americans, coming at a time when the USA’s own western allies need them badly to help salve their ailing economies and stave off the possibility of a continent-wide protest movement that could lead to a new round of Spartacist anti-oligarchic revolution.

The likes of WikiLeaks do speak of new innovative ways of tech-oriented non-conventional means to battle the global oligarchy, beginning with the Anglo-American oligarchs and their political, technocratic, and military subalterns. Not only the USA but other world powers as well will not be spared from the scrutinizing vigilant eyes of concerned citizens who will disclose internal defense, diplomatic, big business, and related classified information, the effects of which will deal devastating blows on the images, credibility, and institutional strengths of entities and powers concerned.

Not just world powers but, again, the financier oligarchy will be de-fanged by the non-conventional attacks that will be waged against them via unveiling WikiLeak-type information. For world powers are mere footstools of the oligarchs. How I wish that the same modalities of disclosures will reveal the evils of the global elites, led by the Houses of Rothschilds and Rockefellers. Sooner or later, the world’s peoples must be made aware of the real nature of the elites and the world/regional powers as their puppet footstools.

The time for world power bullying has finally come to be reversed, with the advent of info-tech platforms for guerilla-type attacks versus the rich and powerful. America’s last bits of credibility are now being pulverized by the WikiLeaks disclosures, and it will just be a matter of time before those of other demonic world powers’ will follow.

[Philippines, 02 December 2010]

[See: IKONOKLAST: http://erleargonza.blogspot.com,
UNLADTAU: http://unladtau.wordpress.com,
COSMICBUHAY: http://cosmicbuhay.blogspot.com,
BRIGHTWORLD: http://erlefraynebrightworld.wordpress.com, ARTBLOG: http://erleargonza.wordpress.com,
ARGONZAPOEM: http://argonzapoem.blogspot.com]