Hanging by a Moment

It is rare for me to hope that the part of humanity that is decent will touch people and make then turn against their initial urges and do the right thing.  What is troublesome to me is that I see the opportunity for the Mugabe Legacy to not be redeemed, but be less tarnished.

To hope that a cruel madman would voluntarily give up the power he has worked so hard, and slain so many to keep is absolutely foolish.  I can only assume that the pharmaceutical drugs that have been leached into our drinking water are to blame for this momentary lapse of my sanity.

I will attempt to preserve some sense of academic integrity, whatever that is, by saying that despite what he will do, this is a defining moment for Mugabe.  He is respected by many across Africa because of his fight against colonialism and to preserve the sovereignty of Independent African Countries.

He gained even more street cred with his obvious support for the Anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa.  His involvement is has a direct correlation with the current system/political parties being in power in South Africa, and is why they are so hesitant to criticize his regime.

Only Mugabe can know if he truly believed in these causes, or merely used them in order to gain the spotlight to raise his level of influence to ever reaching heights.  However just believing in something doesn’t make it work, kinda like Bush thinking that invading Islamic countries would not be protested by other Islamic countries.

The main fight between the Black Africans, and the White Africans was over equal opportunity.  In fact, one may look at this region in Africa and see possible outcomes that the United States could have faced.  Violence was advocated among some groups of African Americans in order to balance the violence that had been perpetrated against them.  Zimbabwe was not so lucky to have a Martin Luther King Jr. Figure in order to stem that tide of revenge.

Zimbabwe was known as the bread basket of Africa.  This was due to the enormous exports of products that came from the White African population that, through colonialism, tamed the land and became very wealthy.  With Mugabe’s rise to power, and using a distortion of democracy – it was voted that the land held by White Africans could be seized by their Black African Counterparts.

While Reverend Jeremiah Wright may see this as just retribution, the violence and corruption involved was the fundamental cause for the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy.  Mugabe gave these fertile lands to friends, family , and cronies who quickly allowed the land to fall into disrepair because of their ignorance of the trade of farming.

Inflation has risen on average 32% since, and 100,580% in 2008.  The average lifespan fell from 60 years to 35 years.  While Mugabe himself is 82.  He has fixed elections, intimidated and beaten opponents, executed rivals, and thrown Zimbabwe into vast pits of despair.

The one thing that he could not do is kill hope.  Much like other tyrants through history this elusive foe is difficult to kill.  Blades, bullets, torture, even executions seem to merely make hope weaker, but never fully die out.  So the people of Zimbabwe have allowed their hope to be voiced, that they turn the page of history and attempt to true reconciliation with their colonial past.

Mugabe’s moment is to step aside, and be remembered through propaganda as a man who loved his people and defended them against colonial aggression, and championed causes important to all Africans.  His presidential reign could be whitewashed as a man who lost his way, power is a tempting mistress and has many victims.   Mugabe could at this moment make this a chance to allow his legacy to be allowing democracy to be expressed in Zimbabwe.

The more likely scenario is that he will fix the election to allow himself to participate in a run off, and then allow himself to win a landslide victory, continuing the now all too tragic military coup upon his death in order to maintain the status quo – no matter how deadly that may be.

So the world stands with Zimbabwe wondering what the outcome will be – Hanging by a Moment

Better to Rule in Hell I Guess

If there is a singular example of why Africa seems to have been orphaned by God, luck or fate, it is the conversation that is taking place in the country of Zimbabwe.  The premier of the former country/Colony of Rhodesia has died this week, sparking the most depressing conversation people could have.  Be a part of a society that actively seeks to keep you from taking part in the economic gains of the “bread basket of Africa”, or be the elite power bloc in a country that has become a joke to the international community. 

These are the choices that the native Africans had under the white rule of Rhodesia.  A system of Aparthied that made the Jim Crow laws of the American South look like kindergarden.  There were jobs to be had, menial low paying ones, combined with laws that actively mad sure that you would not be able to climb the social ladder by education, nor economical prosperity.  Surely one would not wish to have anything to do with such a system, for even if you are the elite, it creates a disdain for ones fellow man that fosters a depraved system. 

What makes one pause to be so against this system is the one that has followed.  To exact revenge against the people who had kept you down is a human emotion, but if your revolution was to have justice and based on human rights, then the Land Carving excercise that is the root of the problems Zimbabwe faces today.  The average life expectancy in Zimbabwe is 35.  With a president who will be 82, that is unconscionable. 

In my brief time on this earth I have been the subject of discrimination, both because of my religion and the color of my skin, yet I can hardly fathom the lengths of discrimination that the Black Africans had to endure, both in Rhodesia and South Africa.  Yet, there is the difference between having competant morally centered leadership, instead of Mugabe.  For South Africa has the ability, if not the desire, to be a Hegemonic Power within Africa. 

For the leadership of South Africa held true to the democratic principles of minority rights, and while there was new legislation that passed with the intention of creating a even playing field, and wealth distribution that was fair, nothing reached the lengths and depravity that we saw in Zimbabwe. 

It is now that we see mouthpieces of the Mugabe regime, that say while things are tough now, they were so much worse under the rule of the Ian Smith regime.  “Even though we had food we were not treated as men” is the mantra I have read over and over.  “Mugabe is not to blame, the inability to change by Ian Smith and other whites are”  is a self absolving arguement.  People had choices: moral, political, economic choices that they made to do cruel and unspeakable acts in order to seek vengence, and then seek hollow legitimacy and say, “it was the will of the people”. 

While Zimbabwe’s social reformation seems to sadly be the norm in cases where large segments of the population are discriminated against, there is the question of, “what if” when we look to places like South Africa and the United States who suffered the same injustices, yet did not tear itself apart.  Each person must make their own choice of serving in Heaven, or to rule in hell.  The Africans in Zimbabwe have decided it is Better to Rule in Hell I Guess. 

Zimbabwe: The Happiest Place on Earth

Imagine if you could a place where money was of no worth. A place where the money given to you was more valuable as an agent for starting a fire, rather than being able to actually spend it. This is the current status of Zimbabwe, whose inflation rate has reached 1600% according to the BBC. Now exactly what does this mean and who the hell cares?

Inflation is the term used to determine the increase in the amount of money available in the market, without having an increase in services. This is why 2 months ago my fast food dinner bill was 10.78 rather than 11 bucks even now. Stupid inflation. So what does this have to do with Zimbabwe oh Wise Holder of Knowledge?

It means that if any country in the WORLD needed a violent revolution to rid itself of incompetent and corrupt leadership, it is frekin Zimbabwe. I came upon this conclusion as I was interested to know who is second place in the worst economy sweepstakes. The answer didn’t kinda surprise me, it was Iraq,what did was the rate of inflation 40%. Lets repeat this for those not so good at math, Iraq: brink of civil war, terrorist attacks, Iranian influence, Turkey about to invade, inflation at 40%; Zimbabwe is at SIXTEEN HUNDRED PERCENT.

Who in the the hell is in charge of their country’s money? Is it a baboon? You can tell me if it is , in fact it would make me feel better in some strange way. I mean reasonable people can disagree on a variety of subjects, ice cream, religion, what to be for Halloween, if the University of Southern Cal operated by the Devil, but to refute that violent action not be taken against a government this ineptly stupid? Balderdash. (For those keeping score I am still unfamiliar with the type of language that will get me censored hence the old people speak)

Many will say, that is Africa. The history of the Continent has not been exactly the best when it comes to public relations, as all we hear about are famines, pestilence, revolutions and genocides. You are correct ladies and gentlemen, but it was not always so for Zimbabwe. Well for Zimbabwe maybe but not what it used to be called was Rhodesia. A colony that the Brits were really looking forward to keeping and making it a success.

To be sure their were problems of social unrest though not as serious as the country of South Africa with the Apartheid, but there were enough to cause concerns since the White Minority held all the power and money. So it came to be that Rhodesia became splintered into two countries North became Zambia and the South became Zimbabwe. This of course skips over the White Minority Government putting down democratickish uprisings. Some of which were legitimate, while others not so much.

So it was that in the year 1980 Zimbabwe became a country under the once rebel leader and now Executive President Robert Mugabe. Hailed as a hero for his freedom fighting/insurgent campaign depending on how you look at it, he became “responsible” for the citizens of the newly formed country. Instead he saw that the white minority, while without political power still held the financial reigns. While we can agree social reforms are indeed necessary they must be taken with responsible and good natured intentions that are fair to those who need help and those you are “taking” the help from.

Mugabe’s policy was, whites have the farm land which makes them rich, kill or force them away and then my people will then be rich. Problem solved. Except not really if you give it to people who don’t know what in the hell they are doing with the farmland. Not to mention the fact that the rest of the International Community would have a problem with such a ridiculous and short minded policy. What had happened is the economy went into the tank and what had been known as the “Breadbasket of Africa” is now known as the Happiest Place on Earth.