i agree that the absence of moral authority makes the rhetorical reasons
for invading sound hollow. they mostly are hollow.
i couldn't begin to examine the moral authority of an invading force to
judge the validity of the invasion.
i want to turn it around and claim that nations always act on their own
national interest. if a leader were not to do so, he or she would be
booted out.
so the question for me becomes, given that france and the u.s. and the
u.k. are acting in libya for their own national interest, is the
intervention itself something that i am happy is happening. and i mostly
feel that ghaddafi should not have been allowed to quash the movements
against his regime by the use of force.
i wish there were a way we could lend support to the uprisings in syria
and bahrein and yemen, the democracy movement in morocco, even in
algeria. i find these movements enormously inspiring.
i am skeptical that support for these movements will "install
democracy." i am opposed to a model of african/arab/latin american
peoples sitting around waiting for outsiders to install things into them.
on the other hand, on both sides, that of the invaders and the invaded,
there are complicated mixed motives for action. sometimes it might be a
simple landgrab, but often the contradictions between rhetoric and
actions point to mixed motives.
i've only recently come to see this, that despite the oppression of
colonialism africans took away from the encounter with the colonialists
much that they wanted and were able to use to their advantage, included
ideas about liberal human rights, gender rights, and so on. and some of
this, maybe most of it, was despite colonial policies. for instance,
colonial censorship was very severe, but the ideal of freedom of the
press and rights of self-expression couldn't be extinguished, and they
carry through today with journalists in africa some of the very bravest
people on earth. in country after country that i follow, i see
journalists on the firing line, and willing to risk jail or their lives.
why is that?
we in the west talk about freedom of the press. there is much we could
criticize about murdoch's press as biased and worthless trash; but that
ideal of a free press, especially in countries like cameroon and
senegal, is lived at a much much higher level than i've ever seen in the
u.s.
basta
thanks for your response and thoughts
ken
(by the way, to justify my comment about women's rights being something
african women took to their advantage, i would offer the novels of
nwapa, emecheta, mariama ba....the older women authors who set the stage
for african women's writing, as testament to my claim. they themselves
wrote about their experiences in schools when they were young that gave
them a spirit of freedom. add aidoo to that list.
another great example is wangrin by hampate ba, but that is another story)
On 6/28/11 7:06 PM, Emeagwali, Gloria (History) wrote:
> Ken, this time around I am merely the messenger, not the author,
>
> although I note your comments.
>
> Incidentally I disagree with your view that an invading power should not at least
> have some semblance of moral authority and some 'locus standi'. Without that
> its justification for invasion sounds hollow and it joins the league of blatant hypocrites.
>
> To say that you, as a power, are invading to install democracy whilst
>
> your own government is undemocratic is weird. What do you think?
>
> Dr. Gloria Emeagwali
> www.africahistory.net
> www.esnips.com/web/GloriaEmeagwali
> emeagwali@ccsu.edu
> ________________________________________
> From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of kenneth harrow [harrow@msu.edu]
> Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2011 5:51 AM
> To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Imperiled Revolutions
>
> the binary postulated here is too neat. "Islam" is better written
> "Islams." there are strong divisions in most countries in the middle
> east, i believe, concerning more conservative versus more liberal
> understandings of islam.
> i think one could also argue that liberal secularism is also the product
> of a relatively small segment of most societies around the world, with
> differences. in the u.s. conservatives run against "secular humanism,"
> and have managed to demonize it, for example. and the split here in
> france is clearly along similar left-right divisions over liberal
> secularism.
> ken
>
> On 6/26/11 4:15 AM, Emeagwali, Gloria (History) wrote:
>> Islam is embraced by the vast majority of the Middle East. The idea of a liberal secular republic is the vision of the bourgeoisie, professional elements among the middle strata, and the more organized and skilled sections of the working class. There is little doubt that the mosque provided an institutional foundation for opposition to secular authoritarian leaders – the Church took on a similar role in Eastern Europe under communism – and it makes sense that organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood should have a jump start on political organization in the post-revolutionary society.
> --
> kenneth w. harrow
> distinguished professor of english
> michigan state university
> department of english
> east lansing, mi 48824-1036
> ph. 517 803 8839
> harrow@msu.edu
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
> For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
> For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
> To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
> unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
>
--
kenneth w. harrow
distinguished professor of english
michigan state university
department of english
east lansing, mi 48824-1036
ph. 517 803 8839
harrow@msu.edu
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
No comments:
Post a Comment