This article has been chosen as a Making Sense of These Times
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Revealing what is in the minds of nice people who hate us – posted on a list by someone from Colombia, who sees it firsthand. "The education, instead of showing the rest of the world as a place to learn, is a place to conquer. Seems that the empire is never wrong. Seems bigger, that's for sure, and intrinsically it means that if it is bigger it's always right...instead of a global army system that protect the 'civilized world' there should be a Global Education System that teach every young generation, no matter color or frontier, how to live in harmony with others, with nature."
-Suzanne-
October 7, 2001
Columbian Student Speaks His Mind
Felipe Toro
[When I emailed Felipe to ask his permission to post his comments here, he said I could, as long as I included the following statement from him:
" I have to say that yesterday I read again what I wrote and seems to me quite
hard and direct. I don't want to offend anybody here, and I'm not an anti- American at all. Many of my good friends and family live in the States and
what I'm trying here is to compile an objective and general feeling I have
heard from many different nations and people. If you are going to post it,
please include this note, too."]
For me as a normal student and as a normal citizen of a global world (this
is the way I was educated in the last 8 years), I can say coming from a
developing country like Colombia, after living in USA and living for more
than a year in a transition country as Hungary, creating a network with
young leaders from 41 different countries, now finding myself living in
Germany....seems that USA (without offense, trying to be objective)
but seems as a general perception, from Africa, to India, from Peru to Papua
New Guinea...they see the US as an aggressive leader, seem that is blind, no
respect for others cultures. What matter here is that the economical growth
can overcome, even culture and tradition. Everybody around the world
in a sense are fed up of being "Americanized," as Queen said. The show
must go on. No questions allowed, no alternatives, no conversations.
The empire is huge, but the basis of it, its society, is quite empty, weak,
no more value than the economical dimension, more dimensions? not that
important. Seems that USA is a system that soon will collapse, the society
reflects sickness, the young generations have no values at all. The society
doesn't care how the system grows, and who is affected by their strong
influence, what matter is money, the rest is forgotten.
The education, instead of showing the rest of the world as a place to learn,
is a place to conquer. Seems that the empire is never wrong. Seems bigger,
that's for sure, and intrinsically it means that if it is bigger it's always
right.
Maybe what other person here is asking? the why they don't act in the other
way [note from Suzanne – I am posted right before this post, asking for action "in the other way."] we are talking here, why they don't see this position, seems that the whole
society follows, and fewer are really asking for alternatives.
Of what has not been said, at least if I read correctly, the show of the
media, and the American way to face such a tragedy. As the leaders of the
world mass media, the whole systems seems to be identified with it
perfectly, the show is what matters, Afghanistan? A risk? What could they
have developed in a country in which electricity seems to be a luxury, these
terrorist don't have anything to loose, suicide means glory, and there is no
technology that represent a real threat.
The whole show must be justified for the media, for the society, that like
the system this way, that is demanding more and more, increasing ratings,
increasing what seems to be the final justice. Terrorist will never die,
maybe they didn't have more choices in live. This was the environment they
were chosen to grow up by chance. I'm not justifying them, but I don't
believe that killing them will represent that the next generations will obey
and will fit the American system, which in fact, is not the only "modern"
system for living.
I hope that this initiative could help us to see out of the box of the empire,
to see that in the world, more than 30000 people died in a hurricane in
Guatemala 3 years ago, or every day in Colombia, at least 300 or more are
dead. Thousands of children die, and more need basic education. It is not
only the people there in WTC that suffered, and their families. We had had
always war, and millions have died, millions have still suffered, and are
now suffering. It seems again that we have not learn, how to educate our
generations to live better, not the generations of certain country, the
generation of the world, in poor and in reach countries, instead of a global
army system that protect the "civilized world" there should be a Global
Education System that teach every young generation, no matter color or
frontier, how to live in harmony with others, with nature.
It could also be that some of the humans are walking mentally in the future,
and maybe the whole society behind, is still 100 years undeveloped.
It seems that we have not learn, from the mistakes, we haven't learn how to
step out of the box and look further to the past and to the future.
Felipe Toro (felipe.toro@gmx.net)
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