Class act

I was taught early in life (by my father of course, I didn't learn much in school), that we are here to provide and protect those who are weaker than us and challenge the stronger who may want to prey. The natural instinct of the powerful is to take advantage of the weak; after all, the first class cabin in the plane is a subtle reminder to those in the economy that even within the same environment, there is class distinction.

Couched in subjective definition are our characters and traits depending sometimes on our perspectives. Let's start from the elementary; bullying is a major part of the school curriculum activities here in the United States. It has become so etched in the system that some states make budgetary provision for it's eradication or reduction-whichever comes first. Sadly, this act of the perceived stronger lording it over the weaker using threats, coercion and intimidation in schools is a stark reflection of the realities in the bigger society.  

The causes are as rampant as the bullies themselves and they are easily set off by inane issues like colour of your skin, superior intelligence  (you must be dumb, inferior or both to be a bully anyway) differences of social class, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, appearance, behavior, body language, personality, reputation, lineage, strength, size, or ability. The truth is that. in the absence of intellectual engagement, violence ensues. To complete the bullish cycle, there must be the bystanders who watch hopelessly as the bully rolls their victims.

In the comity of Nations, there are bullish nations that profit immensely from weaker nations.So,the United Nations assembled  some 193 willing countries that is ironically set up to promote international cooperation and maintain international peace to fit in as a bystander . And overseeing the highest level of administration are the five most industrialized nations who together are granted the special status of Permanent Member States at the Security Council, along with a special voting power known as the "right to veto" or “bully” on any substantive resolution.

Interestingly and under the pretext of humanitarian activities, the same permanent member countries that are at the security council are also the most indebted nations of the world, on papers! Though in reality, the chasm between extreme affluence of the first countries and the abject poverty of the third world is engulfing. And that is why migration seems to be one way. Again, it is bullying up by a notch up but using different strategies.

From Machaivellism to narcissm to psychopathy to religion, no strategy is spared when it comes to the stronger nations interfering with the internal workings of the weaker countries to gain advantage. It is worth noting that none of the  nations that introduced us to their religions- Christianity and Islam- believed nor practiced it with the same piety as us any longer. It is bullying.

Though,some have argued that bullying can teach life lessons and instill strength in the victims. Helene Guldberg, a child development academic, sparked controversy when she argued that being a target of bullying can teach a child "how to manage disputes and boost their ability to interact with others", and that teachers should not intervene, but leave children to respond. Whether this is achievable at a higher level remains largely debateable.

And so while the weaker nations pray for better future, the bullying nations continue to prey by simply working to improve on the future we are someday hoping to achieve.This is ….I don't know!

Jerusalem

If all you knew about Christian and Muslim is the narrative in the book of Genesis about how Abraham -the father of faith knew his house help;and she begat an Ishmael before Madam eventually bore Isaac, then you're in good company. I also didn't get to know that Israel and Egypt were earthly nations until my days in secondary schools. I honestly thought these countries were nations that we-the sinless- will eventually see at the hereafter.

So, you can imagine my chagrin when I discovered that Egypt is in North Africa and that the Egyptians play football(Soccer)! And that Israel didn't exactly become a nation until 1948 because In 1947, the newly formed United Nations accepted the idea to partition Palestine into a zone for the Jews (Israel) and a zone for the Arabs (Palestine). With this United Nations proposal, the British withdrew from the region on May 14th 1948. ... To the Jews, Israel was officially born. To me, river Niger is a natural boundary within the contraption called Nigeria.

You honestly do not expect me to zip centuries years old history into paragraphs, but the fact of  the matter is that the recent recognition of Jerusalem by Trump as the new capital of Israel has been perceived by stakeholders in that region as travesty of justice and capable of threatening the fabric of the peace process not only in that region but in the world.

Israel is bordered by modern countries like Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt- nations that made  Amelekite and Jebusite looked friendly in comparison! And, quite contrary to the Bibilical injunction,Israel has never loved or been loved by any of her neighbors. As a matter of fact, Israel has at one point or the other in her chequered history, fought with all her neighbours. They had to fight for settlement first; and then, survival.

The little patch of land they are presently located  is called occupied territory because the Palestinian also occupied the south of Jerusalem. And the contention over Jerusalem that is famed to be one of the oldest cities in the world is not because oil has been discovered there, nay. This less than 0.35 square miles walled Old City has an exceptionally high concentration of holy sites and monuments and is sacred to the world’s Jews, Muslims and Christians. The combination of these three monotheistic religions represents a cauldron of potentially spicy broth a sane person must not stir.Already, the social media is buzzing with the characterization of this diplomatic gaffe as spiritual connotations of end time. Nothing is farther from the truth.

From account of what I read, Lord Lugard and the wife were British representatives in Nigeria who like Trump decided to lump three different  races  into one corporate entity for the common good of the West and named it Nigeria without regards to our obvious and varying differences in faith and culture. We may not have holy sites or monuments worth killing ourselves over, but the crude oil is enough reason for this western imperialist agenda.

Just before we hasten to take side in the days of rage ahead the relocation of the ark from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, we must quit making excuses for our failure as a sitting puppet of the West and sit down on the table of brotherhood to restructure,having in mind that the land is of God and its fullness thereof.