AGORA

AGORA
Marketplace of Ideas

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Evolutionary Logic

         Recently, a gentleman conceded that black men might be physically superior, but when it came to cognitive intelligence, white men were evidently superior. I usually do not like to get entangled into pointless racial ambiguities; nevertheless, this is a little different. I want to explore this statement purely from a logical or analytical perspective.
            Starting with the caveman, white, blue, or black, we know with a degree of certainty that he couldn’t fly to the moon and nor could he do any space exploration. On the other hand, today’s forthwith man has everything but wings to explore the universe. Therefore, we can safely infer that there is no genetic predisposition to a man’s cognitive capabilities. If it were so, the caveman would have been able to decode the human genome himself. Instead, it took a few millennia for us to get to the cutting edge of innovation and creativity; this suggests that man and his brain have evolved over time. The more inventive we have gotten, the more complex our thought process has become. Subsequent generations are usually more evolved than their predecessors; however, this is possible because the older generations create the blueprints for the next leaps into the future. This is not rocket science, but I feel like it’s necessary to drive this argument home.
Now let’s put the black man under the microscope. Like the caveman, I do not believe that there are any genetic predispositions that explain any physical superiority of African American men. For centuries, the only practical use the world had for them was physically inclined. Hence, it is not surprising that generations of them were born into a life of hardship. Evolutionary logic tells us that such a life would eventually give birth to a physically able people. In addition, Darwin argued that the environment alters the genetic make-up of certain animals, which as a result gives birth to a new species, slightly different for the original ones. If such logic is true, we must therefore conclude that slavery contributed to the physical alteration of black men like the environment to the woodpecker or the giraffe. Since the civil right movement is still in its infancy, fairness and equity are still elusive to the minority. Hence, black men have yet to acquire the developmental maturities deemed necessary to build robust knowledge structures. Afforded equal access to education and social conditioning, I have no doubt that the colored cognition will become increasingly sharper. It will take some time for the colored brain to further develop and his psychographics remapped.
            I must admit that this school of thought did not originate with me. It is from care ethics, a feminist argument that is based on the Aristotelian notion of virtue ethics. Some feminists argued that since women were only allowed to be in the home and were denied any formal training, they have yet to develop their full cognitive potentiality. White men, on the contrary, have been developing his cognition for millennia since he was the only one who could acquire formal education. Almost all-historical scholarly literature have always emphasized rich white men’s developmental abilities. Everyone else was deemed inferior and incapable of acquiring any skills. Nevertheless, we now know that this was yet another ploy to claim superiority, thus maintaining an advantage. Evidently, this feminist argument is right because we are witnessing a revolution. Women have exploded on every level. Not too long ago, women were said to be incapable of doing any real thinking, yet look how close Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin came to ruling the world. Denying a people the right to education is the worse form of imprisonment there is. Since time does not stop for anyone, people have to move at the speed of life. Therefore, a people will always be cognitively underdeveloped when its developmental maturity is held captive.
            Granted, by arguing this point, I understand that some may feel that I’m blaming slavery for African American’s social economic problems, or even conceding that they’re cognitively incompetent. Far from blaming slavery, I think this argument credits it for the mental and physical strength that are so often attributed to black people. It is evolution at work, but most importantly, this argument put all races on equal footing arguing that given equitable opportunities everyone will inevitably evolve.
            The horizon is loaded with exciting promises. Rather than focusing on superiority and inferiority, we must frame the argument in terms of fairness and equity. We must ensure that our contemporaries get proper and equitable conditioning. Eventually, the truth will be known. There will no longer be a privileged few that actually makes it; the ratio will be more proportionally distributed. Only then, will we be able to change that inherent fallacy which claims that some people are inferior while others aren’t.


Rapadoo

Monday, May 10, 2010

Avoidance


         Avoidance is that big green sign on the freeway of anger that reads “conflict next exit.” It’s best to seize the opportunity and deal with it as soon as you notice it. If you drive past your exit, you too are avoiding, but worse, you will be in accumulation territory. That is, you will have layers of conflicts waiting for you whenever you decide to finally exit. By then, It may become overwhelming and even give up. 

Rapadoo

Friday, May 7, 2010

Bamboo Morality

Some people assume that there are universal rules to morality, and I can understand that logic. Like ourselves, we expect our neighbors to operate within bound principles. Also, there is a level of comfort in knowing that people will conduct themselves in an orderly fashion. We need that comfort to establish trust and for our own peace of mind. However, like reality, morality depends on practicalities of actualities. Some cultures may have value systems that are fundamentally distinct from other; hence, universality may not feasible on that level. However, moral uniformity should be conceivable within any given culture regardless of what it may be.
         When associated with power, morality takes on different meanings. For instance, a CEOs moral standard may be framed in terms of profitability and obligations to shareholders. A teacher may have a totally different perception of morality, and a father's morality may take on different shapes outside his home.
 This means that understanding morality will be elusive in the absence of real context. Human tendencies to bamboo to incentives dictate the flexibility of their moral compass. Once power price-tagged its boundaries, there is no need for confinement within any bound principles. Through these lenses, ethics are subject to exploration. Do it once and get away with it will likely expend the horizons of possibilities. Afforded the power to do as one pleases, it is almost certain that one will be unethical or immoral. Although incentives cannot break morality entirely, they can bend it until its no longer considered an obstacle. When exposed to similar circumstances, these bamboo effects will be routinized move the goal post.
Without power morality tends to be submissive: not because of ethical obligations, but fear of consequences. Limited by their impotence or inability to bamboo obstacles, individuals are compelled to operate within set boundaries. A boundary will only feel like a brick wall if you’re not a bulldozer or have wings. However, success as it relates to the overall objectives of individuals will determine the boundaries within which they operate. Evidently, the more successful they are, the more power individuals will think they possess while increasing their emphasis on the bottom line. Consequently, this false sense of power will make morality seem flexible, like a bamboo.


Rapadoo

Monday, May 3, 2010

Post-Modern Colonialism

Naturally, China’s rampant influence in age-old continent, Africa, was met with a barrage of suspicions by the Western world. With its ‘no political strings’ approach, China has made it where the humanitarian West has yet to go. It would be unrealistic to think that a democratic enlightment would come as a result because China has been indifferent to Human Rights of it’s own citizens and any democratic Ideology. In his 2005 article, ‘China’s Rising Role in Africa,” Princeton Lyman quoted China’s deputy foreign minister, Zhou Wenzhong, saying, “Business is business.  We try to separate politics from business…. You [the West] have tried to impose a market economy and multiparty democracy on these countries, which are not ready for it.  We are also against embargoes, which you have tried to use against us.” From this perspective, the intentions of the Chinese seemed clear. They were there for the scarce resources that were poorly managed by corrupted governments. Meanwhile, judicial and democratic reforms remained elusive to the real owners of the land in spite of the evident improvements in the outdated infrastructure of the continent.
Like a magic wand, the economic superpower waved its checkbook and turned water into wine. These initiatives have overshadowed whatever little progress the West made to discourage totalitarianism and to ultimately instill democratic values.  What started in the 1960s as the Tanzania and Zambia railway project has snowballed into a full Chinese infiltration. In fact, China’s stroll around Africa has gotten isolated regimes lined up for a slice of no conditionality heaven one after the other. In the case of Zimbabwe, this slice of heaven meant a sanction and embargo proof environment that empowered a government with little regard for the rights of its people.
Perhaps, Western powers like the US, Russia, and others have every reason to be suspicious. Given China’s economic growth of just over a few decades, the Chinese may have proven that their communist ideals can be successful. Hence, throwing money at totalitarian regimes may have been a strategic geopolitical move, the latest front in the proxy war conundrum. Superpowers no longer need a military presence to maintain colonies; with enough cash to throw around and lucrative arm deals, corrupted governments will oppress and starved their citizens while allowing unlimited access to their country’s natural resources. Most importantly, the Chinese may have planted some seeds of communism in the psyche of African politics. Dictators with enough capital can gain serious influence at the United Nations and can easily dismiss Western ideologies without any serious fear of retaliation. With enormous Chinese contracts and weaponry, there is little incentive for African leaders to promote western philosophical ideals.


Rapadoo

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Feathered Ink

We dip this feather
Deep into the bloodstream of consciousness
Touching cells of society's emotions
Exploring the genome of human essence
Amber joy, carmine anger, carnation love
Giving aspirations, inspiration, elation
Unpredictability's mood is exposed

We dip this feather
Further into the ink holder of imagination
Searching inventories of the fairy lady
Soaring high on clouds of invincibility
Golden romance, white twilight, black dreams
Creating perfection, fascination, admiration
Abstract thinking flirts with reality

We dip this feather
Through the veins of nature's wisdom
Far into the mysterious realm of intellection
Reaching the psyche of ageless ideologies
Azure morale, caramel values, lavender ethics
Bringing modesty, integrity, agility
Lucidity of relativity meets logic

We dip this feather
Into the immense ocean of surrealism
Beyond limits of the metaphysical world
Compelling unconsciousness into enlightment
Vermilion spirituality, grayish individualism
Promoting inner peace, self-growth, appreciation
Introspection unmasks hidden facades

Rap