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Regarding a welcome and obligation C'mon over to http://kundaiblogspot.com Welcome to this my long overdue-but-now-here opinion section. Since this, my website is the best platform I have to engage the world’s attention I will, from time to time, pontificate on various goings on around the world in a bid to air my small but valuable views on such matters. As you read through this and future posts, my plea is that you hear my views as they are—each of us entitled to their own opinion, and leave them at that. I make no pretense to know how everyone else thinks. For my part, I will strictly adhere first to the standards of good grammar and writing, and most importantly to what I feel about the said issues. I therefore am not promising to always have nuggets of wisdom awaiting you; neither can I profess that these writings will posses any power to change the present course of your life. What I can promise you dear reader, is that, “The provision, then, which we have here made is no other than Human Nature,” as Henry Fielding so aptly put it in the introduction of his epic story The history of Tom Jones, a foundling. That prefatory obligation fulfilled, I need not hold you any longer from my opinions on various issues. Evidence that demands a verdict: A new day is dawning for Zimbabwe.
It might have shocked or even disturbed some of you that I haven’t shared my views on the parliamentary elections going on in my home country today. I guess I’ve been thinking, digesting if you will because a lot has been going on and there’s a lot of evidence that demands a verdict. The run up to these elections has been more controversial than any other election in Zimbabwe’s short 25 year history. Just two months ago, the MDC, Zimbabwe only opposition party had it’s supporters in limbo as they balked and stalled about whether they were going to participate in the elections. The MDC’s leadership complained that the playing field was not even. I’m surprised they thought it could be even after petitions they filed in the courts appealing some of ZANU (PF's) victories from the last elections were held up by pro-Mugabe over the last five years. The teething pains of a political party in its infancy saw the MDC weather it’s first major internal squabbles when Sekesayi Makwavara, the political double agent dumped MDC on whose ticket she’d been elected deputy mayor of the former sunshine city, Harare, and when Tendai Musekiwa reneged on his parliamentary obligations absconding to the UK. See this A few other people left the MDC and off course the government’s propaganda machinery pounced proclaiming the MDC an effigy of days past. It is during this inaugral term too that MDC was rocked by the suicide of Learnmore Jongwe a founding member of both the opposition party and ZINASU—the Zimbabwe National Students Union. The tragic death of this young lawyer cum politician cast a dark cloud over all those who had high esteem for the moral fiber of the MDC. Jongwe in death as he was in life, will be remembered as a maverick and a real agitator whose contributions to the evolution of democracy in Zimbabwe will be hard to replicate. If you think these tales from the MDC are high drama, hold your scowls and conclusions for these juicy extracts of some of the events that unfolded in ZANU (PF) since the last elections. The overarching theme for much of the jostling going on in Zimbabwe’s ruling party for the past three years has been propelled by Mugabe’s long awaited and overdue announcement of his intentions to quit active politics after his current term expires in 2008. Many of his lieutenants and their backers have been busy aligning themselves covertly and openly to people they see as assets in their aspirations for the top position. The death of Simon Mzenda, former vice president further complicated things because whoever would get the nod to replace him would be tipped to succeed Mugabe since Mugabe himself would pick the next veep. Knowing the seething ambition of his followers, Mugabe took his time before appointing a new vice president. Commence chaos! Secret meetings were called, fliers denouncing perceived opponents were flying everywhere even at the ZANU (PF) congress late last year. So intense was the internal battle, finance minister Chris Kuruneri was arrested (in April ’04. He’s still being held); an espionage plot involving indigenization proponent and Mugabe’s nephew Phillip Chiyangwa was uncovered; and Mugabe threatened his underperforming followers that he’d have no place for them in his cabinet if they could not win in today’s elections. And then there was Jonathan Moyo. Educated in the US and accused by the Ford Foundation of stealing their money through devious operations in South Africa and Namibia when he was meant to be doing research for them, Moyo has been the biggest newsmaker in Zimbabwe. Just five years ago, the vapid tongued scholar turned politician accused Mugabe of self aggrandizement. That was before Mugabe appointed him first into the upper echelons of ZANU (PF) and then into cabinet as a junior unelected information minister. Using high sounding language and sensuous imagery, Moyo catapulted himself to the fore of Zimbabwean politics. He closed newspapers, repeatedly denigrated the opposition, produced an unending bevy of propaganda, promulgated authoritarian laws, and single handedly edited all of the government run publications. Read more here. But even Moyo found himself overpowered when he delved into the controversy surrounding the vacant vice presidential spot. In what will forever be known as the infamous “Tsholotsho Declaration,” he unwittingly nailed himself to the cross by getting in the way of Mugabe’s intentions. It is alleged Moyo courted several provincial leaders in ZANU (PF) and had them flown to Dingane School in Tsholotsho district where he was officiating at a prize giving ceremony. After the ceremony, the acrimonious Moyo held a meeting with the politicians he had called asking them to back the candidate he saw as fit to be appointed vice president. Boy did things turn sour when Mugabe caught wind of the meeting! Not only did he go ahead and appoint Zimbabwe’s first female vice president shattering the Moyo’s hopes. The aging leader embarked on one of his most vicious cleansing tirade in the history of the party. In a matter of weeks all but just a few of those who attended the Tsholotsho meeting had been sacked from ZANU (PF). Seeing his plans unravel and spited by the fact that he’d been disallowed to represent ZANU (PF) in Tsholotsho today, the eccentric Moyo registered himself as an independent effectively ousting himself from ZANU (PF). Now Moyo intends to publish a book divulging prized insider information about his days working for Mugabe. With all that drama and perennial diatribes denouncing the US and UK from the Zimbabwe government, the nation trudged toward this day and now here we are. I am excited, I really am hopeful for my country. And my hope springs not necessarily from the unlikely success of the MDC in these elections. Let’s be real for a moment, ZANU (PF) does control most peoples lives, they delimited constituencies again merging them in opposition stronghold while splitting them in the pro ZANU rural areas, ghost voters on the voters roll yadi yada… In spite of this I’m happy because a new day is dawning for Zimbabwe. How so you ask. Let me tell you. This election campaign season has already been hailed as the most peaceful in our young nation’s history. Many reports have been published from both sides of the fence lauding the fact that people have been able to openly support the party of their choice unlike years past. Despite disenfranchisement Zimbabweans in the diaspora made their opinions known in mock elections held in the UK and South Africa. The MDC predictably dominated in the imitation poll. Millions of our countrymen are are reported have come out to vote further validating my claim that indeed a new day is here. The continued evolution of democracy in Zimbabwe is yet another reason why I excitedly report that it is a new day for Zimbabwe. Just two weeks ago it emerged that independent candidates are thinking about forming a coalition. Publisher Trevor Ncube and world acclaimed journalist Geoffrey Nyarota egged on speculation about the emergence of a viable “third force” in Zimbabwean politics in this article and this one too. I don’t care much for the name calling that has been hurled at these two men mainly by self proclaimed but inexperienced pundits. What has stood out to me in all of this are the unmistakable signs of an emerging democracy. People in Zimbabwe are beginning to get what a politics is about. The power and potential of their voice is something that ordinary Zimbabweans are realizing more and more each day. Even though it is as yet unconfirmed, this rumor of a third horse in our democracy is certainly good news. A cursory glance at say the US democracy will reveal that even after almost 229 years of independence, a viable third option still remains elusive to American voters. Thinking that we might be sitting on the verge of a new political party in Zimbabwe makes me ecstatic. Democracy is on the march in Zimbabwe. I’m not naïve to hardships suffered by my family and friends in Zimbabwe today. I know they are enduring untold suffering at the hands of a regime whose days are now for sure numbered. It’s a new day for Zimbabwe! Do you know that this is the very last parliamentary election we’ll have with Mugabe as executive president? Do you know what that means? It means regardless of the outcome of these here elections, the end of the Mugabe era is in sight for Zimbabwe. Good and bad as he’s been for our nation, we like the handwriting on wall in the book of Daniel can echo, “Your days are numbered.” Gone are the days of endless wondering when all this could end. Forget the sorrow and hopelessness from fear that this might never end. The end is nigh! The ides or March are indeed upon the long embattled leader. So even if the MDC doesn’t emerge victorious from these elections I will not be sad. I will recall that they are participating in only their third elections since they became a party. I’m at a loss to find any other opposition party anywhere in the world that had as forceful an emergence as the MDC made back in 2000. In their very first go around they almost got 50% of the parliamentary seats. And in 2002 even though he lost, Tsvangirai fronting the two year old party, entered the annals of history as he became the closest contender to contest the presidential elections in Zimbabwe. Certainly the MDC has grown by leaps and bounds. The incidents antagonistic to the progress of democracy should not bog down our realization that the dawn of democracy is upon us. Don’t be confused by romantic raves about trivial minutia, the verdict is in: Democracy is on the march in Zimbabwe. The new day is here for us! KVC ### On Terri Schiavo,life, God and all points in between. I’m deeply perturbed by all the coverage the Terri Schiavo case has received in the media recently. It has been extremely difficult for me to neglect the glaring oversight in all the pontificating the pundits have been volleying. Over the past three days, I’ve been waiting for someone, anyone, to draw the only sensible conclusion that can be made of this supposed controversy. To my dismay, the sagacious opinionates have failed in their ability to elevate their observations beyond the myopicism of uneducated people. What we’ve heard is a whole lot of political and legal jargon mired in between furious allegations of being extreme this or the other. Many in the blogosphere have slammed the conservative right for taking advantage of Terri Schiavo and her family for their own political mileage. Put in really stark terms the critics charge, “The far right has made Terri Schiavo the ‘Lacy Peterson’ distraction from their gaping mistakes (i.e. the budget deficit, social security, bankruptcy bill etc.)” How else do you explain the exo-legislative judicial forays undertaken by both the Florida and national legislators in the past couple of weeks? Legal experts have voiced their displeasure with the encroachment by the government in a “private family affair” (depending on how you define all the terms in that phrase) and the disregard for due judicial process in articles like this one. Meanwhile ethicists and altruists call out the hypocrisy blatantly apparent through the whole episode; legislators are willing lose sleep over one person who’s been comatose for over a decade, yet they can’t be moved enough to considering a bill for thousands in abject poverty, without health insurance only minutes from the hallways of Capitol Hill, and millions of Sudanese killed in the Dafur genocide and beyond in broad daylight! It is reported that President Bush was woken up at 1:11 am to sign the bill into law. I can’t help but wonder if he’s ever woken at this ungodly hour for the hundreds that are sleeping homeless on our streets, or to console the families of the brave souls lost in War against Terror. Hmmmm, wonder what makes this case that important…. Led by Terri’s parents, those in favor of the extraordinary measures taken to preserve Terri’s life argue that keeping her alive is the only hope for any medical miracle. Ending her life would wipe that hope away in one foul swoop and that’s the impetus behind their efforts. They also add that Terri’s husband Michael who has a child with a girlfriend only has his selfish interests at heart. They allege that since he’s the benefactor of Terri’s estate, he stands to rake thousands of dollars recently awarded to Terri in a recent lawsuit. To press this point they wonder why he hasn’t previously agitated for the ending of her life in years past. He counters that she told him that if she ever ended up like she is right now, she wanted to die. Michael lambasts the politicians for interfering with a private family affair instead of concerning themselves with issues of national prominence. The issue here is not light; it’s a stark matter that strikes a discordant note in our self-sufficient idealism. At the heart of the Terri Schiavo controversy is the distant echo that life is bigger than any one person’s intentions, political agendas, and all moral debates. That is a truth no one is willing to concede. The real question in this matter is who decides when to end a life. Biblical and common sense dictate that you cannot end a life you did not author. God is the only one who decides when to end a life. As much as you and I have no control over where and when our lives began, none of us has a right to determine when another individual’s life must end. Say what you want, the only person who has a right to end a life can only be the force that started that life. We like Job’s friends are disillusioned in our response to tragedy by a false sense of entitlement (which is at the core of sin). As Job wisely did, let me encourage you, dear friend, to lift your countenance and focus on what matters, for “It is God who gives and it is God who takes away.” If you shouldn’t start what you can’t finish, you shouldn’t finish what you didn’t start as well to put it in the Englishman’s words. KVC ### Technology: My view of its role in development. If you know anything about me or have followed my writings here for a while, you know I have thrust myself into the “quest for growth.” Pursuit of the magical ingredient behind the booming economies of the west and near east has become the impetus propelling the branch of economics known as development economics. Yours truly has been has found himself swirling in the ideas of such big thinkers as these. And, as any good protégé, I have done some of my own thinking too. Today some of my ideas were validated. I wholeheartedly believe that technology holds the hope for the billions living in abject poverty in the nations of the world. But my view of how it does that is, let me say, a little more ambitious and optimistic than the views of some of my peers who care about this kind stuff. A common view is that technology can certainly improve the quality of life but, implementing technology is such a mammoth task, it’s not the best route to bettering the quality of life. I beg to differ. Most scholars thinking about development are westerners. “Why is that important,” you ask. I’ll tell you why. This seemingly innocuous fact changes their view of progress of development, in particular the role of technology in development. To westerners, technology while innovative, is really dependent on history, it’s not new. It evolves; improvements are based on previous versions. This idea is best articulated by economist Joseph Schumpeter’s “Creative Destruction” theory. The convenience of technology comes at a cost—at least in the west—people have to innovate and put up with unrefined inventions for a long time. So what you ask. Again, I’ll tell you what: this means it takes time, a lot of time, before new ideas revolutionize how we do life. There is a great deal of time and capital wasted between the inception of a great contraption and the time when said invention improves the quality of life for the masses. Take the computer for example. There are numerous dates suggested for when this now indispensable external brain came into being. Here are some of the dates suggested. For arguments sake let’s go by the story that the computer was invented by Professor Douglas Hartree in 1935 at the University of Manchester. If this is true, do you realize that it took a full 60 years before the computer changed the way we do life? “And what’s your point,” I hear you whisper. Tarry, I’ll tell you what my point is! For underdeveloped countries like my beloved Zimbabwe, the road to technology is not so long drawn out. We don’t have to wait 60 years, for the computer to change the way we shop, bank, or communicate. It already does that now. For us, the transition between inception and impact of new technologies is almost non existant. The reason for this is obvious, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel; consequently, we benefit from what’s already there. A new study by Forrester Research on global use of mobile phones (a.k.a. cell phones) came out today. Read about it here, here and here. They found that cell phone use is growing fastest in Africa, the poorest continent in the world! Good for us. But you know what’s even better; the same study also found that developing countries that had more than 10 cell phones per 100 people had .59% higher GDP growth than comparable countries! This is a classic case of how a technology (we didn’t invent) is remarkably changing lives. What this means is that developing countries don’t have to wait out the tedious process of setting up analog telecommunications infrastructure to enjoy the benefits of being able exchange information quickly over the phone (economists you now what this means for capitalism…fungibility!). This same study also found that mobile phone coverage extends over more than 5 billion people (that’s more than 80% of the world’s population!) even though there are only 1.5 billion people with access to mobile phone technology. This study is validating because it offers anecdotal evidence of the enormous role technology can play in the development. Notice, it is the technology impacting development, not vice versa. Let’s focus on not only developing specific technologies for the poor, let’s work on helping them access current technology too! KVC ###
The archaic colonial aspirations of the British press. What to do, what to do. On another day which we (in the USA) were subjected to yet another frivolous barrage about this or that trifling in the life of now ex-con Martha S, it was refreshing to note that the BBC found other important issues happening around the globe to appraise us on. Or at least so I thought. I’m not going to waste time addressing Martha, I already did that here. The municipal council in Pretoria, SA’s capitol city, has decided to rename the city “Tshwane.” The council’s justification is simple, the new name which means “We are the same,” is not only irenic, but reunites the metropolis with the name given it by ancient African settlers in the region. Clearly this name change is a long overdue and welcome conciliatory gesture in this nation, a decade after the end of apartheid rule. But the BBC in a rare display of that classic British bigotry and ignorant pride found reason to question the legitimacy of this move confirming that centuries after end of imperialism they still patently practice imperial journalism. See the real story here is not in questioning whether it is right to change rename places because we know that this is just a minute step towards righting many wrongs done to Africans generations ago. Besides, no one questioned the legitimacy of the British and their European kin when they changed the names of places or carved up national boundaries in Africa from Berlin in 1887. The real story is in the by line, “what does this mean for the British and their old glory?” If Africans, we who are native to the land rename important places in our countries to honor our heritage (and give some of these places their original names back), we do so at the cost of the British and other colonial powers. This is where the real pain is It’s no new news that the British Empire long since receded, but it’s been a long time since definitive action of this caliber has been taken to confront perpetual colonial influence in Africa. When was the last time you heard of an African capitol changing names? But nominal reclamation of Africa has been going on ever since the wave of independence swept across Africa in the sixties. We in Zimbabwe recently renamed some of our city streets, government buildings and schools. We have yet to officially rename the Victoria Falls, "Mose Oa Tunya,"--the smoke that thunders as our people originally called them. Casting the renaming of Pretoria as an independent incident based on a rash decision is calculated to reintroduce tension against the progress we’re making at reclaiming our continent. Of this, the BBC cannot shift culpability. Even in SA itself, several cities and various locations have already been renamed. Read about it here. Why didn’t the BBC see it fit to open dialogue about whether it is smart to change names then? What reason do they proffer to explain their new concern for the Africans under the wrath of AIDS now when they cared about us only enough to colonize and emaciate us two hundred years ago? I don’t buy the tainted “objectivity” the BBC’s employs in reporting about former colonies of the British Commonwealth. We Africans will continue to take back what's ours. KVC ### Rewarding foolishness with foolishness There’s an old English adage that goes, “Don’t fight fire with fire.” By inference common sense dictates that the right way to fight a fire is with something other than fire, like say, water. The subject of this week’s opinion piece is an infuriating incident of the failure by a whole group of intellectual elites to grasp this idea of how to fight a fire. Background. The past five years have been a dark dark age for media in Zimbabwe. Journalism there has reeled under an avalanche of intense repression emanating from government’s information and publicity ministry. Jonathan Moyo, Zimbabwe’s most despised minister has been at the center of this blitzkrieg. He has wielded and employed every dirty trick in the harassment book and then invented some of his own. From intimidating and arresting journalists, bombing and curtailing the operations of several Zimbabwean newspapers, to crafting and foisting a decrepit propaganda on the people of Zimbabwe, he has done it all. His blistering vitriol and ad homonym diatribes targeted at any and all who’ve so much as dared to raise a voice in antagonism of any of his vicious pursuits of his grandiose plans to control and dominate the views of ordinary Zimbabweans have become the staple in state controlled media. In a short time this once reputed scholar turned vagabond has cleared the realm of media and information of any views that diverge from his, securing for himself a patented command to change the public agenda at will or whim. Words cannot begin to capture and recapitulate the evil this vapid serpent has done our young nation using words. If you thought the Iraqi information minister was delirious for the infamous, “The infidels are burning at the gates of Baghdad,” you need encounter some of the ridiculous things done by Moyo and his stooges in the government’s information department. But like the English go on say, what goes around comes around; Moyo’s kingdom has fallen. Just over a week ago, he was dismissed from the cabinet and ruling party for standing as independent in the parliamentary elections that are coming at the end of this month. All it took was an impersonal fax from the president’s office and Moyo was stripped of his powers. Moyo’s fall from fame has been so disgraceful, he doesn’t even have a roof to put over his family’s heads anymore. Unfortunately there are some in the independent media still under the affliction of days gone by. They still fear and revere this vile man and continue to beam their brilliant spotlights full beam on him and his repugnant outbursts. While the state media has already turned on it’s former master, independent news publications are hung up on an era long past. The very same people who were perpetual victims of Moyo’s despondent craftiness are trying desperately to salvage and sustain Jonathan’s fast fading glory. I can’t help but wonder why. This past week it was revealed that 41 independent journalists are going to stand trial for violating a law that Moyo single-handedly drafted; three foreign journalists were hounded out of Zimbabwe by Moyo’s goons; and ironically, two of Zimbabwe independent newspapers accorded Moyo acres of space. Even when his time is long gone, Moyo can count on the retrogressives that control the independent press to further his cause effectively sustaining his political viability. It’s a shame. I know the media is supposed to be a voice for the voiceless, but there are some who are better off voiceless! The independent media in Zimbabwe must cast their eyes on things ahead and not behind. Bygones are, as the English like to say “bygones”. Forget Moyo, leave him to roam the political wildernes in soltitude. You cannot payback one man’s folly with more foolishness. KVC ###
Update
Since it’s been almost a month since you last heard from me—at least on this site, thought it might be a good idea to upraise you about what’s going on with me. February has been a slow uneventful month. The lack of new “Opinion” postings is evidence of the fact that I haven’t been doing a lot of thinking, at least not the kind that gets me writing on this website. I started off the new year reading Barack Obama’s Dreams of My Father. This great book, by the newest African-American senator from the great state of Illinois chronicles his journey towards self discovery in such a compelling fashion, it inevitably will speak to many peoples lives regardless of who they are. If you’re looking for an authentic biography, I humbly posit this book as an option. My college roommate and now good friend Justin, who is responsible for starting many trends and idiosyncrasies in my life, got me started on some philosophy. I’m currently reading For self-examination, judge for yourself by Soren Kierkegaard. I find myself not only forced into a closer introspection of my Christian walk, but also thoroughly enamored by the literary genius of this philosopher. My response thus is “wow.” Try this book if you like me are reluctant to read philosophy because it is both dry and too abstract. After Bren and I got engaged, and as rumor has spread far and wide, it has been a lot fun reconnecting with a lot of my friends through the flurry of emails that we’ve received. So Outside of reading, the subject I am currently hearing about most mainly from my beloved, is the wedding. There are so many things I’m supposed to be doing or have done by now, I’ve been in trouble for the past couple weeks. I’m trying to be good, I promise you. It’s just so hard from me think so far ahead. Consequently, my actions suffer. I am however thankful for this season in my life. Unlike Regina, who can at will whip up tantalizing details from an ordinary day at work, all I can offer you from my work experience is a general overview of the last few weeks. I love my job, no doubt about that, but it’s a draining job. I mean emotionally taxing. It’s hard because I make very significant contacts with a lot of people but can’t really follow through on those contacts. I have the honor of spending about an hour with high school students and their families that are thinking of coming to Bethel. In that hour we talk about a lot of significant stuff including what they think their purpose in life is and financial matters. Both they and I are vulnerable during this process, and as you well know, that creates opportunity for us to bond. What I really hate is that I can’t follow up with all them as much as I would like to mainly because there are so many of them. The other sad thing is that a good number of them end up going elsewhere for college for whatever reason they have (mainly money), and when they do that I personally feel rejected. And I can’t just be professional and all laissez faire because I want to be authentic with everyone. So that’s my work dilemma right now. Email me if you have good ideas about what I should do. As you struggle through life this week be encouraged by this phrase which my pastor used in reference to our spiritual battle with Satan, “Good day bad day, same day. Sometimes it works that way.” KVC ###
Sonjad I am dedicating this piece to the honor and remembrance of the life of Sonya Erikson, a friend of mine whose life was tragically taken from us in an accident today Why did it have to be you Sonya All you did was try to make your next appointment Why did it have to be you Sonya Your countenance knew no disappointment Why did it have to be you Sonya Life’s essence saturated your being Why did it have to be you Sonya The first time I saw you, you got to know me When I smiled, you broke into laughter And when I said I was happy, you showed me joy Where I walked in through a door You came bounding through, for you weren’t coy Incessantly restless when we made your life a bore That was you Just two days ago I saw you in the skyway, talking on your phone I passed on, didn’t want to disturb you, I’d see you another time But that was my last chance, and I passed it by Your zest for life shone throughout your body right to your skin tone For you, breathing was enough even when you didn’t have a dime Cause you always knew life was God’s grace Meant to bless, not for you to stress That’s the lesson I was learning from you It’s the reason I kept yearning to be like you And it’s the reason why, I know, God let his light shine on your face So in the dirges of our sorrow We can’t help but hope for tomorrow When again we’ll behold your smile Knowing we’ll be together forever, not just for a while You couldn’t have prepared us any better Sonya You had so much energy none of us could have caught ya For you lived every moment to its fullest To you every new opportunity was the coolest Go on to the heavens May they too be overcome by the joy and energy you brought to our lives ###
My reason for watching movies
After breaking a three-and-a-half year self imposed exile from movie theaters last night, I found myself wondering what it is that drives me to watch a movie. To find my answer I had to go back to summer job. During the course of our mundane chores at work last summer I asked my then new supervisor, “What kind of movies do you enjoy most Eric?” His response, “I enjoy good movies,…movies that change my life,” confounded me then has stuck with me over the last six months.
What was it Eric was talking about when he said movies could change his life? Is Hollywood capable of producing movies that speak so profoundly to our lives, they’d alter the course of my life? These questions and many others have circled in my mind forming the crux of any reviews/opinion of movies I watched.
The result of my quest for answers to these questions has changed my experience of movie watching. More than just enjoy the plot and it’s portrayal from a distance, I have come now to desperately seek a connection between the plot, a character, or maybe even a line, that resonates on some level with the reality in my life. Having found the connection, I savor vicariously, the experience of being in that movie. I thrust my emotions, my intellect, and my spirituality into the experience of the movie creating a bond between the movie and myself that runs deeper than just a casual movie experience. Further than just entering the movie and trying to decipher what the piece of the movie I have found a connection with says about me, I've let it speak to me about life.
There’s nothing outstanding about my experience with the art of movie watching. But I think I have stumbled upon the centerpiece of our fascination not only with movies, but with other representations of life carried books, music, and art. I watch movies, read books and indulge in all these things because deep within my core is a dire need to figure out what life really is about. Movies, books, art, music, poetry and such are to me different genres—varying forms if you will—through which the story of life is recounted and recast. Each of them shedding light on some aspect of life, each of them harboring a unique ability to influence and shape, to touch and stimulate, the lives of all who encounter them. This story is what I believe so entices my hunger and insatiable appetite for more.
When I sit down to watch a movie, the expectation that drives me is the unique opportunity to look at life from the outside. Story allows me the chance to look at my own life from an estranged perspective. Story is ultimately as close to real life as a simulation get. The better the story the closer to reality it is, and consequently the more powerful it speaks to a life. The power of story stems from the fact that it makes the experience of life familiar. Story allows us to witness others experience life outside from of our experience of life. This is empowering because viewing other people’s experiences with life allows us the opportunity to evaluate life independent and sometimes, ahead of our own forays into it.
What got me started on this diatribe you ask? Hotel Rwanda, the pseudo-documentary about a Hutu hotel manager who harbored and saved hundreds of Tutsi lives during the heart-wrenching Rwanda genocide that’s what got me started. This movie is no fluff served up just for entertainment. It blatantly presents, as quoted at the top of this page and at the beginning of Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones, “human nature.” This movie clearly and succinctly demonstrates yours and my own culpability for the continued injustices in our world today. It charges quite frankly that you and I don’t care; every night we go from watching murder, rape, theft and much more on the news to eating dinner. We don’t care, we just eat and pray…sometimes.
What is it that allows this disconnection from fellow men which allows us to think we’re better than other people. You know, stripped of the money and mammon you and I have, we’re no better than anyone else on this planet; that’s the bottom line. There’s nothing you and I are made of/with that other humans don’t have in their composition. We’re all people, all equals all the time. Hotel Rwanda, states this case well. The redemption in this is in the point that humanity really is one community.
This movie is a great paradigm of the function of movies, and more importantly story in our lives. I recommend Hotel Rwanda particularly for my African brothers and sisters, and equally importantly for you.
May you stumble upon and be improved by the power of story. KVC ### Philosophical Conversation Regarding the Last Postin... The following is an excerpt of a conversation I had with one of our favorite and most faithful readers, regarding the previous posting. The conversation was done on IM and is copied verbatim so I humbly beg your pardon for the wanton grammatical flaws and abundant colloquialisms. The reader is Regina, and I assume the name "The K" in this conversation. Now our philosophical discussion. Regina says: ### New Year We start off the New Year looking at matters economic and legal. As you well know, the problem of scarcity (of resources and other things), an economic problem has been exacerbated by the Tsunami. The transoceanic fury of these storms has seen devastation in both Northeastern Africa and in South Asia. So many lives have been lost and will continue to be lost over the next few months; I can’t bring myself to enumerating here. My heart, my prayers and tears go out to all the people who’ve been killed, lost homes, and essentially their lives. Events like this confirm for me the existence of God, because there is no insurance I have that by being in the only superpower remaining in the world, I’m protected. The idea of scarcity—having more wants than we have resources, is at the heart of latest book I’ve been reading. I’m one chapter removed from finishing off The other path: the economic answer to terrorism by (you guessed it,) Hernando De Soto. In the book, De Soto describes terrorism as a problem caused by scarcity and unequal distribution of resources, or at least perceived inequities and mal-distribution of the bounty of life. He doesn’t waste much time developing that tenant of the book, his concern is how it can be righted. The veteran development economist assesses underdevelopment not as an issue of poverty, but as a problem of exclusion. The industrialized countries dominated by the west have a penchant for retaining sole control of the world market. While they dole out trillions of dollars in aid, the sincerity of western nations pursuant to the development of third world countries has come to question many times. The machinery of these industrialized nations is so powerful that they found ways bypass world organizations like the UN with even missing a beat. Meanwhile the underdeveloped world is left clamoring for what little aid they are given and hoping that someday the powerful nations of today will come back and treat them like equals. Right now, the West has all the answers, because they have all the money, well most of it. You might retort, “But what of the altruism of these stronger nations.” My response to that is simply: look at Southeast Asia today. While aid is flowing from the hearts, hands, homes and funds of many in the west (the Gallup Poll estimates that close to 50 % of all Americans have given towards Tsunami relief,” it is becoming apparent to me that it takes a lot more than just benevolent offerings to improve a life. If we are going to be serious about changing the state of the nations, indeed the state of the world, we need to face the reality of the failure of funding things and projects and start dealing with life. At the core of every act of giving is a relationship defining message about power. The giver essentially tells the receiver that they do not have what it takes to supply their own needs. And because they, the giver can decide when and where to give, they assume a very patent position in this relationship. That’s the reality of giving. Relax I’m not saying you’re a bad person, it happens like that every single time. Now I know that all of you my dear friends don’t see things this way, that’s why this is my site and why I’m posting this, it is my opinion! I also know this Godly truth that the preamble to the US constitution has appropriated, “All men [and women] are created equal.” When it comes down to it, what equity does the recipient of your good graces have with you? Do they deserve a life like yours? What about the car, the place of abode, education, money, family, food, and choices you have? Do they really deserve all this or are these people on some distant and far off planet where they couldn’t use what we earthians have. It’s a Friday night as a write this and many of you are headed out somewhere to watch a movie or “go out,” how about same aged kids in Somalia, in the dilapidated neighborhoods in Minneapolis, Kansas and New York, don’t want a turn at that too. I know you didn’t choose to born in the situation you’re in. It’s just how life is right? WRONG! I believe at it’s core life is about community, we need each other but not in that sense. I don’t want the alms your palms can give if I can’t balm in the calm of your house. Giving changes things, it doesn’t change lives. It takes another live to change a life. True sharing involves giving even of our lives. You and I must engage in significant giving by giving more than just our gifts. Paul says it best when says, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well…” in 1 Thessalonians 2:8. Then Paul’s giving ceased to be a giving of giving to “them.” It became a giving of a sharing of life, a giving of self. I know for a fact most if not all times I give someone something, it’s something I’m not attached to. On the contrary Paul models a giving which shares the most valuable asset you and I have: life. I am convinced the only way that we are going to change lives for good (no pun intended), is sharing our lives. Because giving our lives along with our gifts equates us with those are receiving our gifts because they too give us their life.
The discussion about laws and economics and how it ties in with all of this will be yours to mull over on another day. Let's stop giving only, and start giving and sharing your life. KVC ###
The principle of preserving prodigals: inside an economist's mind on Christmas Eve 12/24/04
One of the most oft retold stories from the Bible is that touching tale of a father’s love for his prodigal son. At first glance, and maybe for some of you—first retelling, the story appears to have little or no Christmas or economic implications. I’ve found an incredible thread that ties this story, to that of our Savior’s birth, our economic world, and quite possibly, the future of world peace. I call this thread the “Principle of preserving the prodigals.”
The essence of the story of the prodigal son is the restoration of a desolate and delinquent son to his former glory, prince hood. After returning home to offer himself a servant to his father because he had plundered his inheritance, the son is given wealth and status by his father to re-establish the quality of his life.
Similarly, the Christmas story details the coming of God the Son, “Him who had no sin,” so that we might become righteous. God-man comes to a world that like the prodigal has walked away from the promise of future glory opting for immediate gratification (which ironically is now the spirit most commonly associated with Christmas), to restore it to its former glory. A note about former glory: today’s protestant theology appears to have a prime on the concept of original sin. The salvation story we often tell begins in Genesis 3 with the fall. But the story of the prodigal son and that of Jesus’ birth on earth reach further back into History (His-story), to the restoration of mankind’s “Original Glory.” But I digress.
In the book I’m currently reading, “The other path; the economic answer to terrorism,” by Hernando De Soto, this “restoration of the prodigals” is advanced as the answer to today’s global woes concerning peace and stability. Using elaborate and eloquent anecdotes drawn from decades of research in Peru, De Soto illustrates how those who are outside “the glass jar”—the “have nots,” will do anything and everything their power to be included in the mainstream economy. Their livid discontentment, a blinding hunger for more than just sustenance, is the impetus behind all sorts of malarkey, including terrorism and as such is the sole mission before the church.
We must make bringing in those who are not privileged enough to share in what we have, be it mammon or spiritual, the prime goal of our existence. To put it simplistically, the source of peace—absence of conflict that is—is abundance, but more realistically availability. If we can endorse whatever status we enjoy as ideal, we must make it a point to upgrade, to restore fellow men that don’t have what we have to that ideal level. While doing this, our efforts must be equally targeted at advancing mankind both spiritually and materially; the spiritual and the material are not as disjointed as we like to think. It’s not enough spread only the gospel while remaining close handed with our material prosperity. Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians writes about how he “shared his life” in addition to the message of the cross with them. This is the exhortation before us the materially abounding Christians.
So on this silent night, this Christian economist is concerned about the man on the street braving the cold in either moderate Winston-Salem, North Carolina, or bitterly frigid Minneapolis and wondering; “How do we put to practice the principle of persevering the prodigals?” KVC
### 12/13/04 I’ve tried but I have failed. Like salmon swimming upstream, I’ve spent the last two months invested in what has become an annual drama of antagonism with the rest of society. The quest is simple: my guilt is that of attempting to remain oblivious to everyone else’s exuberance at Christmas. It is with just reason too that I fight to escape this contagion every year. I don’t want to get caught up in the mammon obsessed carnality that dominates at each year end as a pseudo-reverence of God’s love for us. But like I said, I’ve failed, because the battle escalated into an intangible, a realm in which I have no control. That’s right ladies and gentlemen; I was forced, coerced into giving cognizance to the Christmas spirit by powers greater than I. Over the last 24 hours I’ve heard two very divergent views about the Spiritual significance of Christmas and with that my full attentions have turned to Christmas. You don’t have to say it, I know the value of Christmas lies in the fact that God sent Jesus to redeem a lost and dying world—the greatest gift of all time. The question the two positions attempt to answer has to do with how God’s present was packaged. Sunday I sat through a sermon whose thesis was the idea that in an incomparable act of humility, Christ abandoned the glory of deity, becoming an ordinary man to “woo” us to God’s grace. The idea behind the sermon was that the importance of God’s gift to humanity at Christmas is that grace is not foisted upon us; rather it is modeled for us and that attracts us to God. The speaker went to great lengths to dispel the idea that Christ’s incarnation was all about power and glory, saying it was all about meekness and humility. To this end the said speaker pointed out how Jesus at times told those He’d healed not to mention it to anyone, and also to the fact the that Jesus didn’t heal all who were sick nor “fix” all the problems of the earth during His time here. To the contrary, Jesus oft left those who followed Him wondering, “Is this all He’s going to do? What more can He do?” The thing this position beautifully points out is the idea that it shouldn’t take miracles to make you and I believers because if those who were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ miraculous deeds still wondered and longed for more signs, what will it take for you and I to be come believers? That aside, I thought this position ultimately trivializes incarnate deity’s coming to earth dubbing it a “a powerless foray to save mankind by the most high by luring us through meekness and coyness, to God’s amazing grace.” I don’t like that idea. While that was still festering within me, I attended a Christmas lunch for work during which the devotional (from Max Lucado’s Cosmic Christmas) painted a totally different picture of that well endeared nativity story. As the title of the book suggests, it casts Jesus’ birth as a cosmic victory by God over Satan. Lucado narrates the intricacies of the Christmas birth from a celestial vantage point employing eschatological scriptures which are rarely used in reference to Christmas, and highlighting a rarely mentioned spiritual symbolism in Christmas. The climax of the story from this angelic perspective is not the birth in itself, but rather the realization of the sacrificial love God puts on display by sending Jesus to atone for all our sins. “That is the gift,” fighter angel Michael describes to Lucifer in response to Lucifer’s diabolic inquisition about what “gift” God was sending to earth. As the dialogue continues, it becomes apparent that Jesus’ birth in one swipe erases humanity’s culpability and spells eternal doom for Satan because Christ has come to, “snatch back the keys of hades/death.” This struck me not only as powerful but as a closer description of the reality Christmas. For, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” I’m not picking either one of these perspectives over the other. I have presented my perceptions of these interpretations of what Christmas means so that you too can decipher a spiritual significance in Christmas that suits you. Most importantly though, my hope is that you and I alike might see a more compelling and complex reality beyond the material profligacy that abounds during this season. My prayer is that over the next three weeks, the spiritual battle for your soul and mine might become more apparent and that as that happens, we discover a new appreciation for what our Savior did for us during that first Christmas. In the spirit of the season. KVC The “U” and “I” in Community To which would you rather belong, a team or a community? Which of the two demands more sacrifice, more loyalty? Is team or community better for all those involved? The subtle endorsement in our society today favors the team approach. Think of all the different uses you hear for the word “team.” “There’s no ‘I’ in team,” the Romania spring missions team, president’s leadership team, the (insert the department you work in here) team, taking one for the team...and so forth. All these casual references intimate that the “team approach” is above reproach. I beg to differ. At the heart of this approach is the disgusting assumption that we’re in competition with each other. Doing better than or beating out other people is the goal of the team approach. So regardless of how we’re really doing in life, we’re constantly looking over our shoulders to see who’s closing in our performance. Proponents of this approach stress emphatically that it engenders unity between people as it affixes our attention on attaining the goal above all else. The incredible fallacy of this proposition is the very reason why I disagree so sharply with the team approach, and subsequently why you’re reading this entry. Think about it for a moment, how can we promote unity by stressing a blatant disregard of the individual and the uniqueness therein? How can there be a team if there’s no “I” in team? Stripping the ambitions, abilities, and aspirations from individuals for the sake of unity does not promote unity. What it does is to encourage lagaar mindedness and/or groupthink, but never unity. The proverbial sports team illustrates my point well. Imagine you’re on a team whose solo goal is to win a championship. Subsequently all the time and resources available to everyone on that team is directed at the goal. The only thing that matters to that team is the championship and all the necessary routes of getting to it. Nothing else can be as important, not even the very people who work hard to deliver that championship to the team. So the men-made goal (championship) supersedes men in importance. That’s very frightening; unfortunately this team ideal is rampant in our capitalist society today. People everywhere, myself included, are constantly latching onto some cause so they can fit into some team. Any deviance from this mind set is quashed by the anti-individualism retort. But here’s my biggest conniption with this idea of team, it does nothing for humanity. Because, as illustrated above, the team approach elevates the goal of the team to pinnacle importance above the value of the people on the team, team does nothing for the people. At the same time the team exploits those individuals who are part of it with minimal endorsement; it does little or nothing for those outside it. Due to the fact that the idea of victory is pivotal to the team approach, teams are either going against other people or merely excluding them. If you ever tried out for a sports team, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The dejection and rejection is so repugnant, you almost believe that you’re not good enough. Therein lies the problem with the team approach: because goals and not the uniqueness of each human being on the team are the most important things to a team, peoples importance and value to the team is predicated upon what and how they can further the team’s pursuit of those goals. That is at odds with the biblical idea that you and I have insurmountable value simply by being creations of God the most high. Psalms 139 tells both you and me that we’re fearfully and wonderfully made. There’s a fear and an intrinsic wonder that accompanies your being that should never be taken for granted. The team approach is in direct opposition to this, remember, “there’s no ‘I’ in team.” The community paradigm is a much better model of operation. From the very roots of the word—common unity—there is a deep regard for the value of each being. You can’t have common interests if you don’t individual interests. Notice, it’s about unity itself not unity around something else. Whatever community you can think of exists for the reason of unity. This allows the community approach to be more inclusive than the team approach: anyone, regardless of how or what they can do for cause is open to join the community because it exists for the unity of the interests of all individuals. Implicit in this is the idea that each individual and the premium they place on the goal is important. The community idea, because it draws from those things that you and I have as human beings, lends itself accessible to all people regardless of ability, race/gender or creed. I humbly implore you to elevate your thinking above the groupthink of goals to focus on what we all have in common as people and to use those things to promote a coming together of our human family. For the “U” and “I” in community. KVC ###
A political event of historic proportions and deserving of our observance transpired over the weekend across the pond. Let me clarify; Zimbabwe (that rogue state) confirmed and all but appointed its’ first female vice president. Veteran politician, Joyce Mujuru, is now set to take over after Mugabe the sitting president, retires from public politics in four years. This is a bright day for the history and future of the role of women—third world African women—to be particular in society. For years these our mothers and sisters have been confined to margins of society, always subject to the whims and wishes of others, never in charge of their own destiny. Historically and traditionally, the African woman is a second rate citizen. She has never been allowed much influence and power, certainly not an outlet of her desires and wishes. She’s only been allowed ascendancy to leadership, be it in the home or in society, in the absence of men. When any male figure is around, even her own son, the woman must subject herself to his influence. But that’s the ancient traditional pattern. Things changed with the advent of imperialism. Men and boys where seized either as slaves or laborers on farms and mines run by the imperialists. This removed them from the home and nullified the legitimacy of their domestic authority. Since men only returned to their families at the end of the month, the mundane chores with regards to the maintenance of the family became the responsibility of women. And they did a darn good job. This allowed them a lot more power and influence over subsequent generations, which allowed them an expanded role in society when that generation came of age. It’s no surprise therefore when a female figure, Mbuya Nehanda, is as mystical and influential as her male counterpart in igniting the fight against colonialism a hundred years after the colonialists arrived. Thus women entered modern politics on the African continent. Like the men, women vigorously supported the armed struggle against imperialism. The list of womens' contributions to the war is endless: cooking meals, running messages, killing, healing, singing, boosting morale, and often without consent, providing conjugal services to the liberation fighters. Again it was no surprise when many women forayed into post colonial politics in Africa. They too felt liberated. Citing the disparities between male and female in the home, the government implemented several policies to address these imbalances. If you mention “affirmative action” in Zimbabwe, people assume you’re talking about women’s right because that where our affirmative action policies took us. The results of these efforts have not been trivial either; the girl child has made it into higher education pursuing masculine trades, victim friendly courts and facilities have been available for victims of rape, marital law has been constitutionally amended to secure the wellbeing of women in marriages, and the list goes on. So really it’s no surprise, that just 24 years after independence, Zimbabwe is ready for and has her first female vice president. The female politician, professional and breadwinner is due much praise. Facing constant bashing from fearful men that their main agenda is to renege on their traditional roles while usurping men’s power, these women demonstrate remarkable resolve. During the day they are professionals, being the best they can at what they do, after that they return home to a domestic environment that’s oblivious to their significant contributions during the day. Tragically, the same parallels cannot be drawn on this side of the Atlantic. Most women are confined to the home as child bearers and raisers. When they do go out and get jobs, women generally earn only earn 70 per cent of their male counterparts and have to fight the glass ceilings established by reactionary bastions of male influence. The political front can’t be defended either: 228 years after American independence, there still has never been a female vice president! See for yourself here if you don’t believe me. The US government correctly criticizes Zimbabwe’s current regime for the sins against humanity as they do other countries. I wonder if, as in the case of the wellbeing of women, this might be an instance where the self acclaimed “patron of democracy” might take a lesson or two from other countries. For the advance of all humanity. KVC ###
12/2/04 December 1 is World AIDS Day. It came and went, and many of us never missed a beat or even remembered that there was such a thing as the commemoration of this hitherto insurmountable epidemic. The chasm of reality that keeps us unperturbed by the unrelenting blaze of a disease that has infected up to 44.3 million of us, kept us from consecrating even a thought because of a fantasy that you and I have that we’re untouchable by AIDS. Speaking as an up close observer who’s watched three generations of part of my family decimated by this horrible disease, and on behalf of those of us around the world who live in the now mundane reality of the tyranny of AIDS, I implore you never to rest on your laurels. AIDS can and will destroy us if we think distance and affluence secure us from its harsh reality. AIDS is a global catastrophe. People from all corners of the world have suffered the wrath of its implosion. Sub-Saharan Africa has for decades been the center of the fast-brewing and lethal storm, accounting for up to a third of the whole world’s cases. Now Russia, India, Thailand and several other Asian countries are experiencing unprecedented levels of new infections. Europe and the Americas are not exempt from this global meltdown either. They too have their own horror stories to add to the melancholic chorus. But AIDS is also a holistic tragedy. It degrades its victims’ entire existence till it obliterates that very existence. The impact of AIDS is felt far beyond limits of the body and the health delivery system. AIDS has endless social, spiritual, economic and psychological consequences. None of us can elude sticky web all these factors combine to form. This all-offensive nature of the AIDS plague dictates that we employ our full faculties in mitigating its’ rampage. The cures we concoct cannot be defined by their chemical and physical potency alone. Whatever the remedies we think up, they must address all the infirmities of humanity, not just the physical. This brings me to the point of this entry: we need to think outside the bun. Unlike all other medical conditions, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has effects that transcend the medical and scientific realm. AIDS attacks the body, mind and soul of our very being, and we need to expand scope of the arsenal we employ against the disease beyond just healing the body. It is imperative that we encourage and employ thinking about fighting AIDS spiritually, economically, scientifically, rhetorically and beyond. We need to find ways to engage and captivate the mind, body and soul together if our stance against this modern day holocaust is to curb its spread. Yours truly has invested his meager efforts at thinking about AIDS outside the realm of science and medicine in this paper. You and I can fight AIDS using whatever skills and professional occupations God has gifted us with. Like Taco Bell encourages us, “Think outside the bun.” KVC ###
Trilogy: my three reads of the year. I apologize for the short hiatus this column has been on. I’m recouping from a terrible bout of the flu. Alright, back to business. As of last weekend, I finished going through a trilogy. Notice, I called it a trilogy not the trilogy. I turned the last page on the last of three books that have taken me almost the entire year to get through. As best I can, I’m going to surmise what the books were about for my economically minded peers, and off course, for the sake of good memory. The theme of these readings was figuring out global economic disparities. In other words, why has capitalism flourished in the west and yet failed elsewhere? Off course there are a few exceptions my reference to the west (Malaysia, China, Singapore e.t.c). This is a pertinent concern for yours truly because Zimbabwe is a third world country, and is located in the poorest region of the world—sub Saharan Africa. The first book was The Elusive Quest for Growth by Bill Easterly. Easterly, a renowned development economist approaches the question of economic growth from a reductionist perspective. His concern is finding out what basic factors are essential for cooking up development? Some of the main ones he deals with are; population, education, savings, and debt relief. For each of these he details examples where the factors are present and have either contributed to growth or have not contributed to it. After a very meticulous elimination process, Easterly concludes that it is the incentives that are most important in order to precipitate growth. Leaders must figure out ways to line up the incentives so that people are drawn to the idea of growth. I found this book a very compelling read. The central argument is well articulated; it changed my views on some of the conditions I viewed as absolutes for growth. The second book I read was the most fascinating of the three. The Mystery of Capital by celebrated Peruvian economist Hernando De Soto attacks the question of growth from a totally different perspective. De Soto posits that in the countries where capitalism has succeeded it’s because they have managed to involve and envelope the informal sector. The basis of this argument is that capitalism thrives on versatility of capital and information about assets (fungibility). Using examples from research he did in his own backyard, De Soto demonstrates how exclusion by the mainstream economy has been undoing of the poor in the informal sector. He points to US history to detail how the legal system must constantly change to cater for marginal citizens. De Soto says that a legal system gains its legitimacy from those in society who follow its regulations. Pointing to the developing world, he finds that laws have remained hostile to the poor. So these laws have become meaningless to the majority of society. It is near impossible to own and legally register businesses, transfer land and a whole host of other activities which are mundane for the smooth running of the capitalist system in most developing countries. The path to growth, according to this economist, is to look at the informal market and its participants not as enemies of the formal market system, but as valuable players whose contributions are necessary for growth. I was so fascinated by De Soto’s perspective, I went out and bought his latest offing which I’ve since delved into. Globalization and its discontents by last year’s economics Nobel Prize laureate, Joseph Stiglitz was the third book I read. Bluntly put, this book is a well researched and chronicled “poop on the IMF” party. Stiglitz begins by explaining how globalization has necessitated global institutes that look out for the wellbeing of the entire global community. As such he says, such institutions cannot be dominated by the interests of only one side of the table, dialogue must be fair and fairly representative of the world. His main argument is that the IMF foists wrong policies on the rest world while it protects the interests of its major constituents (US Treasury). Among his many disagreements with the IMF is the institution’s resiliency in wanting radical establishment of the free market system. Stiglitz is a proponent of the gradual introduction capitalism because, “Capitalism requires a transformation of society.” It’s more than just having the right institutions and infrastructure, the whole structure of society endures critical change when capitalism comes about. Like De Soto, Stiglitz notes that most proponents of capitalism don’t have much regard for the informal system. Another of his discontents with the IMF in addition to the idea that they constantly seem to be pushing the wrong policies, is the lack of parity and transparency on the IMF’s part. In negotiations with countries seeking help, the IMF dictates requirement instead of helping. Stiglitz also notes that at the same time the IMF advocates for transparency from governments it helps, it is not a very transparent entity itself. In fact, the IMF will go so far as to squelch any voices of dissent that it can. As posed at the beginning of this entry; what is it that ensures economic growth? That is the question. These three ideas have me thinking about a whole host of things. Do you have any ideas as to how we can stimulate other economies in the world to grow? I look forward to getting through my next set of readings! KVC 11/24-25/04 No, it’s not like you think it happened. It is Thanksgiving, but I didn’t load up on the big bird and all it’s accompaniments at home in the Twin Cities. There is no tundra up there right now. This entry is being written from Kansas City, where the snow and winter are when you can’t find them in Minnesota! Get this; this is the first time in ten years that we in Minnesota do not have snow on the ground at Thanksgiving! So I thought if I travel a little ways south, I might find me some of the good white fluff (cause you know, it gets colder as you travel south….not!). So I left sunny but cold no-snow Minnesota for Kansas. They tell me average temperatures go up two to five degrees per one hundred miles traveled south. My journey was almost 500 miles, so it should almost be 25 degrees warmer right? Wrong! For the first time in a hundred years they got snow in Kansas at Thanksgiving. But this wasn’t an ordinary out-of-place and at-the-wrong-time snowstorm. It was six inches of heavy melting precipitation that fell steadily on the eve of this grateful holiday. Trees were shattered right down the middle of the trunk, homes near damaged, and school was canceled. As you can guess I was shocked beyond belief as drove into the city limits, with salt saturated mist fogging my windshield. I tell you, it’s not right. The tundra belongs elsewhere, not here. People here don’t now what to do with themselves with all this snow everywhere. Then there’s Bailey. Most times people selfishly lament about the havoc the change in weather is wreaking on their wellbeing while overlooking the very real consequences variances in weather spell out for some of our best friends. Imagine once that each time the snow fell you would have no place to relieve yourself of the unbearable pressures of ingestion and digestion because there was something about the snow that made your bathroom disappear. People this is not phony; this was the predicament that Sharon’s (Brenda’s sister) dog Bailey (a.k.a. Bailmaster, Bill, Bails etc) found herself in this Thanksgiving. With six inches of snow covering the normally ubiquitous grass which is an endless bathroom and hard to appreciate in dogland, I tell you Bails had it rough—near impossible—this turkey day. There was no grass; no natural place for the poor dog to answer nature’s call to fling wide those floodgates which we all know can drive a grown man insane when the appropriate pressures build. Finally, when all resourcefulness had failed and all options had been explored (including holding it), Bails gave up and did what people do when nature wins over convenience; that is bolt for the door and hope no one’s watching. It might have been an unusual experience,that hardly matters, a dog’s gotta do what a dog’s gotta do. In the end dog was thankful for the warmer weather which ensures that her bathroom is always there when she needs it. And you thought the only animals Thanksgiving affected are the estimated 5 million turkeys slaughtered for our redress. This serves a lesson to both men and beast: appreciate the mundane; you never know when it could cease to be a part of your life. Some romantic coined this phrase which we now gladly appropriate for matters non romantic, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” Happy Thanksgiving y’all! KVC ###
Comfort, convictor and conductor Question: If the redemptive purpose of Jesus’ life on earth was accomplished in three-and-a-half days, why was He interned here for 33 ½ years? If the one way ticket into heaven only costs a confession of one’s sin (as we protestant evangelicals like to believe), why wasn’t I immediately morphed into heaven the instant I became a believer? Why are you still on earth (assuming you’re a Christian) if Christianity is exclusively about the blissful ever after? The very fact that most of us would differ from the first clauses in each of the above questions, but find ourselves confounded by the second part of each question is indicative of contemporary Christianity’s desolation of our true purpose. Engulfed by a secular culture which is defined by an obsession with self akin only to idolatry, we Christians have hijacked the sacred purposes of God’s kingdom here on earth and pointed almost everything to our own glory if not to satisfy our feeble desires. Instead of deviating from the carnal idea that everything is about self, present day Christians have gained the unenviable repute of making Christianity more about itself than about this world. Make no mistake friend; these spiritual matters are very grim, it’s about life and death. People are dying and going to hell while you and I regale in the glory of our desecration of the house of the Lord thinking it’s all is well. Jesus, speaking of the Holy Spirit in John 16:8-9 said; When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; (NIV) I don’t think there is an attribute of God as misunderstood, abused and misused by our generation as the very deity of God in the figure of the Holy Spirit. Our church has caricaturized mainly two features of the Holy Spirit because they fit so well with our self serving theology. These are empowerer and counselor. Off course, we intelligent Christians throw around verses like Acts 1:8 and John 14:16 to hold up this lame idea. Think of how many times you’ve heard the Holy Spirit talked about as the empowerer and comforter. We love to epitomize the “signs and wonders” that accompanied the apostles as chronicled in the gospels and that the Spirit will comfort and counsel us “till the end of time.” Have you ever wondered by what merit or for what reason God so lavished us with the Spirit? Can you recall even one incidence where you’ve heard a purpose or reason of Holy Spirit’s power and comfort discussed? Like the questions I opened this entry with, I’ve seldom heard this question posed, much less answered, “Why are we given so much by and through the Holy spirit?” I’ve learned sadly over the last few weeks, that the Holy Spirit is not in my life or in the church just for my fulfillment or for the churches’. As with everything else that’s happens in our lives, the Master had and has reasons for the mysteriously empowering presence of Holy Spirit in our lives. We’ve just missed that purpose. What’s worse is that we’ve gone on to create our own agenda for the Spirit to fulfill. It’s called “Bring me glory” or (BMG). This BMG mentality is the impetus of the market ideology that is rampant in the American church. We need more Spirit power so we can attract more people to our churches, ministries and organizations so that we can be considered successful, only passing on the glory to God after we’ve received our reckoning. And the cycle begins again. The same mentality pervades many Pentecostal and televangelistic ministries. More Spirit more signs, more people more fame more recognition, and then eventually more glory to God. I don’t intend to meaninglessly bash the Christian movement, maybe our purpose—eventually giving God the glory—is noble. I just have come to know that Biblically speaking it is not how God intends it to be. Back to John 16:8. “…He will convict…” See that, the mandate behind the Spirit’s presence in our lives is to convict the world regarding sin. And for those of us who are bigheaded and think we can fara da sei (go it alone), notice Jesus says the Spirit had to do it’s convicting job because, “men didn’t believe him.” You think if Christ couldn’t convict them then, you and I can now? As for the Spirit empowering Christians and enabling us to perform miraculous deeds, notice how the idea of signs and miracles is closely associated in scripture with descriptions of how many came to know the Lord or how it is supposed allow us to lead more to Christ (Mark 16:15-18; Luke 10:19-20; Acts 1:8; Matt 28:18-19). The Spirit of God is not some utility we summon to deliver to us the people and the praise that should be turning to God. The Spirit is there to convict us (and the world) of our sin; to comfort us in the hope of saving blood of Jesus; and to conduct us in this lifesaving mission. A famous man said, “Ignorance of purpose always leads to misuse and abuse.” Matthew 12:31 urges us not to blaspheme against the Spirit. Do not let your ignorance lead you to grieving the Spirit remember the purpose why it is here (Ephisians 5:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19). KVC ###
Bren, Mel or Shells; what’s your after-sleep number? Had a fascinating discussion with Brenda (my girlfriend) and her roommates (Melissa & Shelly) today that took me beyond the sleep number. The subject of our esteemed conversation was our different modus operandi in the hours of the morning right after we wake up. This discussion led me to the conclusion that there are three different echelons that people function on right after waking up, hence the topic of this entry. First there’s the Brenda or lets call it one (not a bad idea since we’re talking numbers). Waking up for ones is painfully slow process. First is the snooze button which they utilize daily usually to take in up to 15 minutes of “borrowed” sleep. On good days, a scalding shower follows closely after the customary half-asleep observance of nature’s call. This usually infuses their otherwise oblivious morning existence with just enough energy to recall that they neither shut off the alarm, closed the bathroom door behind themselves, nor flushed the lavatory after observing the said nature call. But that’s all the shower is good for to ones because after that it’s right back to normal which is, the bad days. The bad days which, since their incidence is more frequent than the good days, are typical to the one morning experience. We’ll pick it up right before the point of deviance, which as we just saw, is the shower. After relieving their bowels of all kinds of pressure (and other things), ones enter a trance. This state, which lasts up to an hour in length, is pretty much a glorified hangover. Like the over indulged revelers on the morning after, ones have no idea where they are or how they got there during this stage of their morning. The only difference is that ones don’t have the headaches. If you’ve unexpectedly encountered a roommate or family member in this clueless disposition, usually in a strange place (in the hallway or in front of the TV at 5:30 a.m.), it’s because they are enduring this particular phase of their morning. The trance reluctantly relinquishes its’ grip on these our dearly beloved and they slowly make their way into the day, oh say, three hours after their debut. In her own words my girlfriend calls this getting by in the morning on “MBU” (Minimum Brain Use). Before the advent of the sleep number craze people like her were simply not known as “morning people.” Thanks in part to Robert Walker’s 1987 invention (i.e. sleep number bed), and to yours truly this ubiquitous people group now has a numerical identity. Kudos to the ones, keep on trucking we’re all in this together. We’ll skip over the twos for reasons that will be apparent shortly and go directly to the threes (or the Shelly’s). Yours truly falls in this class so pardon the personal inferences. Morning can’t come any sooner for us. To my compatriots and I, there can only be two parts to a 24 hour period; day time and night time. As with our days and nights, we’re either going full throttle or out cold. It us who, impervious to the reality of normal sleep patterns, slam doors, drop silverware, or blast the radio while the rest of you try to salvage the fleeting moments of what has been too short a slumber. Forgive us. We charge the kitchen all chirpy and bright eyed, annoying the rest of you (ones and twos) by the futility of our relentless attempts to strike up meaningful conversation. We only understand that humans can either be fully awake, or fully asleep but not in between (like the twos), or both (like the ones). It follows therefore, that we dispose of the oft unnecessary morning indulgences (of prepping oneself for the day) with an air of continuance. We view life like a flat conveyor belt beginning at birth, going through many phases, until at last, it must stop at the grave. The shift between night and day, is to us, a mundane change which we attack with a graduated zeal that smacks of our long term focus. That’s us, the goal getters of the morning dew! The twos or the Melissas are those who go through mornings hovering somewhere in between the ones or the threes. Some days they are picture protégés of the ones, and others well, let’s say they have a bounce to their daybreak like the threes. Many things affect which side the twos land on when wake up. A fight with a close one the night before, a dreaded job, a reviled drive to the dreaded job, bad mood and so forth may all be good reasons for twos to have morning like ones. On the other hand, 8-10 hours of sleep, an exciting job (or life event), good weather or anything else that might put the two in good spirits is certain to push twos towards the three experience. This innate pragmatism of the two morning experience makes it the most empowering, least predictive and dynamic, earns our salute. The world truly waits on you, oh twos to see what the morning brings. You’re the reason why spouses in long lasting marriages can beam, “After all these years, I don’t know what to expect each morning.” There you have it, the first After Sleep Number manual. Tomorrow when you trudge through morning and discover what your after-sleep number is, sit back and enjoy the ride. It’s who you are in the morning for crying out loud! KVC ###
Crime pays if you’re Martha S. Anyone raised in a society with any semblance of moral fibers has heard the age old adage, “Crime doesn’t pay.” If you missed it growing up, don’t worry you can catch your installment of this fib on any one of the crime television shows. I digress. Here’s what I want to say; that principle is not true, at least not if you’re as creative, resilient or is it as rich as Martha Stewart. The long and usually harsh arm of the law has and continues to be unusually kind to this icon of domestic resourcefulness. Unlike all the other criminals, Martha is enjoying a comfortable ride on the wrong side of the law. Where millions of men and women (usually minorities) are subject to public humiliation and expedited processing of their one way passes to the big house, Martha has received custom treatment consistent with her eclectic inventions. See for yourself here In the world most of us live, conviction of a crime precedes immediate incarceration (or some other punitive measure). The same is not true in the realm that Martha is in. I don’t know about you, but there aren’t many convicts who enjoy a leave to appeal as glorious as Martha did. We return once again to the world you and I live where appeals against a conviction are taken up with the accused behind bars. I don’t know much about law, but I do know that not every reprobate who gets convicted on July 25 has up to October 8 to start serving their sentence. This is what Martha Stewart got in her surreal world; two whole months which allowed her the luxury of asking officials to start doing her time. A word about the Martha’s sentence. Martha Stewart was indicted in June 2003 on charges of obstructing justice and securities fraud. It’s noteworthy to recall that at this time Ms. Stewart was on the board of the New York Stock Exchange, a premium bourse in global finance. For crimes she committed and all the bad publicity she brought the NYSE during the zenith of the corporate scandals that rocked the US economy last year Martha got the minimum sentence. The judge gave Martha the smallest prison sentence allowed buy federal sentencing guidelines for her crime. But that’s not all; she will have to cough up $30,000 in finds, endure a five month home confinement, and spend two years on probation. Oh, did I mention the logic behind punitive sentences? They are meant first to pay back society for crimes committed, and mostly importantly serve as deterrents to prevent would be criminals from carry out other malicious behavior. Assuming the five months Martha will spend behind bars matches the crime she committed I wonder what the $30,000 is for? One could speculate that it like the prison sentence is due penalty for the crime too. Well and good. But even better yet, one could also blissfully assume that this amount is equal to the profits generated by Stewart’s deviousness. All I have to do is point to the windfalls taken by Ken Lay and his cronies at Enron to show that when corporate scoundrels steal, they take hundreds of millions of dollars. To even begin to imagine that the puny $30,000 Martha paid (probably from petty cash) will repay what she’s gained from her mischievous activities is so ridiculous it’s not even funny. As for the home confinement and probation, what more could Martha wish for, after enduring a beating to her image and five months behind bars? Think of all the ideas that she’s conjuring up with limited supplies she has in prison. The home confinement will perfectly allow her to test some of her prison bred innovations before she makes profits from selling them to us. And the probation officers, do you really think they have what it takes to get all up in Martha’s business like they do for less endowed criminals? The case of Martha Stewart and how it has played out is not only a mockery of our trust in the legal system, it’s giving her exactly what she wanted out of this whole deal: Respite from her busy schedule (we call that jail time), a nominal fine (hardly a dent to money she pocketed), a chance to stay at home to come up with new ideas to sell the American public, and someone to bolster her confidence by keeping her informed that she’s adhering to the law (the probation officer). We economists hold this truth above all others in our discipline; people respond to incentives. There clearly is no incentive for Martha not to obstruct the course of justice and stop stealing. In fact, there’s more incentive going the other way. Crime pays if you’re Martha Stewart. Did I mention that web reports that Martha is getting away with making crab apple jelly in prison (something any other inmate who suffer severely for) is the reason behind this article? KVC ###
It’s not sport anymore: it’s all business. Last night those of us in the USA who have an interest in sports witnessed one of the worst experiences a sports fan can ever imagine. A marquee basketball contest between the world champion Detriot Pisions and Indiana Pacers in the Palace at Auburn Hills was abandoned because of what turned out to be one of the worst brawls in professional sports in decades. It all started in the final minute of the game when Piston’s center Ben Wallace attempted a lay-up with his side trailing the visiting Pacers by 15. After a hard foul on Wallace by Ron Artest (whose sanity has been worse than questionable in the last few weeks), the former turned and shoved Artest in the chest. Unlike the Artest we have come to know, he didn’t retaliate, instead he went over to sprawled himself across the scorer’s table to rest with the courtside announcer’s headphones comfortably strapped around his head (insanity?). All hell--and I mean hell--broke loose when Artest was pelted on the chest by a half empty plastic beverage container. He immediately charged the stands and began assaulting a fan (I don’t know if this was the guilty bottle thrower) with clenched fists. When other civilians came to the aide of their fellow spectator, Stephen Jackson an Indiana Pacer, flew into the stands swinging, felling anyone who was in the path of his toned arms. The scene quickly degenerated into a full fledged fist and kick fiesta similar to the catfights that erupt between childish parents who failed as athletes at little league games. For more details about the fight check out the ESPN and NBA sites. The image I have etched into my mind from the television coverage I saw is of a boy between 5-7 years old crying as he planted himself into the arms of a bystander. Trauma. The question of liability for this unnecessary torment of innocent civilians who wanted to take in a basketball on a Friday night is what dominated the discourse between opinionated sports pundits on late night cable sports shows. They all seemed caught up in a game of he said she said, blaming the unruly fans, the unprofessional athletes or both for the nasty fight. So intent is the mainstream media’s obsession with assessing the blame on the parties everyone knows were culpable (i.e. players and fans), there have been no fresh reports about the incident. What purpose does the media serve if instead of reporting the truth and investigating it, they waist time debating the culpability of people we already know were in the wrong? I say this because even in newspaper reports and editorials the morning after fight, no one was prudent enough put responsibility where it belongs: the NBA. Yes Ben Wallace was wrong in shoving Ron Artest, yes the fan who hit Artest with the beverage was wrong (and so was every other fan that contributed to the avalanche of debris that rained onto the court), and yes Artest was barbaric in his fight and flight response to the unruly fans. But to end the blame game there is nothing short of myopic and incomplete journalism. Ever since a few smart guys realized that the American public is enthralled by sports and that there is money to be made in providing people entertainment this way, sports—professional sports that it is, are no longer just sports; they are business. Just like retailers in the business world entice the public into believing we need the products they make and sell, the NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, and NFL have convinced us to buy their shows under the guise of some sort of regional loyalty. Fronting teams named after territorial legends and/or famous cities, pseudo-leagues and an endless plethora of championship competitions, these companies have us by the hook, line, sinker and rod. The NBA is not a basketball league; it is a profit driven corporate entity. The only difference is that, unlike other players in the retail industry, the leagues don’t protect their clientele. This rich boys club some of whom watched the drama from enclosed suites at the Palace in Auburn Hills should solely take the blame for the financial, physical, and emotional damage from the unfortunate evening. They short changed themselves and more importantly us when they established their leagues; they didn’t invest enough into security. And don’t think I mean that they don’t spend enough on protecting their players; I’m talking about the security of their fans, or more correctly the clientele. Like anyone else who grew up in a family that owned a business, I was recruited as an apprentice to my dad at a very young age in his photography business. I reluctantly learned early in my career at his studio the cardinal rule of business which the sports magnates seem to have forgotten: The customer is always king. Last night proves it. Their customers (people like you and I) have always been insufficiently protected by these businesses-cum-sports. (Need I point out the violent attack on a fan by a bullpen pitcher during an MLB game on September 15 and similar attacks to illustrate this?) But we’ve been paying the full prize for games the whole time. The show they have been selling us for years is a shoddy show, this fight proves that. ### |