Every time I hear or read Nelson Mandela’s name, I think of
the 1984 song by The Specials, “Free
Nelson Mandela.” Attached is
the YouTube video – check it out.
A little known gem.
‘Conjuncture’ – a perfect word to describe how the
intersection of various developments paved the path to collapse of empires (p.
1091).
Eyes of the colonies were opening to the injustices they had
been enduring for far too long, although the decolonization process was a slow
and full of growing pains. This
was no easy task.
I like that Gandhi “sought the moral transformation of
individuals” rather than calling for a social revolution (p. 1095). That idea is a nice turnaround on the
revolution theme. Also seeing
women as suited for non-violent protests seemed a pleasant way of utilizing
female resources.
Did not know that Pakistan was created to accommodate the
Muslim population in India. Also,
maybe I knew this but forgot that East Pakistan became Bangladesh, which
inspired the popular song, Bangla Desh
by George Harrison to raise awareness of their plight.
Well, the African National Congress (ANC) gave their fight
everything they had with four decades of peaceful and moderate protests, only
to not make a dent by 1948 “when the Afrikaner-led National Party came to power
on a platform of apartheid” (p. 1100).
Four decades is an awfully long time to work at something, only to make
no progress.
It is hard to digest that apartheid only ended in South
Africa 21 years ago! I clearly
remember Nelson Mandela’s release from prison.
Another wow!
The third world countries “accounted for about 90% of the fourfold
increase in human numbers that the world experienced during the 20th
century” (p. 1103).
Seemingly, democracy supersedes authoritarian governments in
a multitude of ways where the latter has failed: correcting disastrous economic situations, improving
standards of living, providing jobs for the up-and-coming young folks, and
eliminating corruption.
East Asia chose a different route: “they chose to specialize in particular products for an
export market” (p. 1111) – I am sure this meant CARS! Because even more than the Italians, of which I am a member,
Americans love their CARS!
OH! Here we
go! The photo on page 1114! Steely Dan had a pop song called “The
Fez” which I am sure had to do with the abandonment of the traditional Turkish headdress
known as the fez! Sweet vintage
tune – check it out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCdKBHdPz30
Another pop song from the 1970s was My Sharona, which got morphed into Ayatollah at some point in time, or maybe I just surpassed my limit of vino for the evening.
Another pop song from the 1970s was My Sharona, which got morphed into Ayatollah at some point in time, or maybe I just surpassed my limit of vino for the evening.
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