Friday, May 31, 2013

VIA [NetworkAztlan_News] The Need for Poetry: Marti´s Philosophy

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Gracias Cort ~ I will blog this and share with others.
Concentration on the coordination of communications!
Venceremos! We Will Win! Educate to Liberate!
Peter S. Lopez AKA @Peta_de_Aztlan
Sacramento, California

c/s


From: Cort Greene <cort.greene@gmail.com>
To: Venezuela_Today <Venezuela_Today@yahoogroups.com>; csny <CubaSolidarityNY@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2013 7:57 AM
Subject: [NetworkAztlan_News] The Need for Poetry: Marti´s Philosophy

 
Point of Information and little known facts: Jose Marti spent time in New York City while working on behalf and towards the Cuban revolution against Spanish imperialism, he also traveled many times to Tampa, Jacksonville and to Key West which were a hotbeds for sending arms, money and to recruit people to fight for the Cuban revolution.

In Ybor City, the Latin section of Tampa on November 26 and 27, 1891, he delivered two speeches there—Con Todos Y Para Todos ("With All and For All"), and Los Pinos Nueyog ("The New Growth")—which outlined the goals of the United Cuban Revolutionary Party. Both speeches were reproduced in newspapers and journals in the United States and Cuba and inflamed Cuban desire for independence. In 1893 Martí delivered the speech that many feel led directly to war. More than 10,000 Cubans jammed into a small outdoor area in front of the V.M. Ybor Cigar Factory, punctuating Martí's speech with cries of "Cuba Libre!" (Free Cuba!) Following that rousing evening, workers from all the factories pledged to give one day's pay a week to the revolutionary fund.

Sadly the US co-opted that phase of the Cuban revolution, where have we seen this before?

Cort


The Need for Poetry: Marti´s Philosophy
Autor: Carmen Súarez León | Fuente: CUBARTE | 30 de Mayo 2013
It is of no use to turn to Marti´s texts in search of systematic and theoretical approaches to dealing with an issue. He did not have time for such methodical exercises of thought, although he spent his life writing books, some of which did assume this type of thought. The truth is he did not have vocation either. He was a total poet, someone who could synthesize and integrate, and he acted in life in the same way.
The surprising and solid dialectic of his thought leads us, when we research the meaning of a concept included in one of his texts, to find that the ideas move beyond one single meaning and level and they adapt according to the level at which they are being examined. That is what happens with the concept of culture. The proposal for the central role of culture in his programme of transformation for the republics of Latin America is summarised, as we know, in his essay entitled "Our America": "...in America the imported book has been conquered by the natural man. Natural men have conquered learned and artificial men. The native half-breed has conquered the exotic Creole. The struggle is not between civilization and barbarity, but between false erudition and Nature."
That "natural man", as José Martí called authentic man, in harmony with the circumstances and conditions of life, was then the true subject of culture in Latin America, the only one capable of building a harmonious relationship with nature, which is the same as saying that he could make truly human history and culture with his actions.
From this general concept of "civilisation", a word frequently used last century, one can glean a coherent idea of his thoughts on art, or what we call today, artistic culture, as a result of his reflections on culture as a way of man´s interrelating with nature, in which one can identify different sociocultural expressions.
Among Martí´s ideas on the subject of art, there are four that I would highlight as central and active:
l. The inseparable and interactive nature between artistic culture and life;
2. The need for artistic culture as a balancing force and affirmation of the subjectivity of the individual;
3. The need for artistic culture as a force for integration and conservation of the nation;
4. A call to disseminate knowledge and culture.
In 1882, on publishing Ismaelillo, a poetry anthology, José Martí repeatedly stated his fear that he would classed as a "poet of verse" instead of a "poet of actions", in that way classifying his own life´s journey as an artistic construct. From that we can deduce that for Martí man was required to produce or create his actions with the beauty and coherence with which one writes a poem or paints. And this was the height of the condition of creator, in which ethics and aesthetics were inseparably intertwined.
Furthermore, Martí confers the status of art to the creation of organic life itself, seeing in inherited culture, creative actions which could be attributed to nature itself. On describing the book "The Law of Heredity", by W.K. Brooks, in 1884, Martí says: "Life is a slow grouping together and a wonderful unfolding. Life is an extraordinary work of art."
Presupposing a deep connection between life and art, Martí confirms the far-reaching need for poetry —understood as art or art culture in general—, when, with reference to a talk by Thomas Huxley, he wrote in 1882:
Beauty is a relief: a beautiful song is a good action: he who welcomes art and others into his heart has company throughout this bitter life: a good song is a welcome friend. And verses do not fade! They last longer than the empires in which they were sung, and than the fortresses that defended the empires. Troy is in ruins, not the Iliad.
And from this standpoint that affirms the importance of art for the individual, we can move to Martí´s categorical statement that says: "Oh, divine art! Art like the seasoning of food, preserves nations!" in an analysis in 1880 on "Art in the United States", no less, in which he also writes that "imagination is on watch so that nations are not corrupted", reflecting a clear idea of the social function of art as something able to shape national culture and to strengthen the preservation of traditions on which people´s sense of identity is founded.
From this philosophy on artistic culture inevitably derived the call to disseminate culture in general, as a body of knowledge and human achievement interacting with nature, so that man is in step with his times.
Martí expressed the conviction that one of the ways to achieve this level of general knowledge and even knowledge of science —knowledge that he considered essential and at the forefront in the modern world—, would be through learning about art culture: "Art brings the eye to life, makes it bigger and stimulates it, and it ennobles, makes things easier to perceive, and is called for by all cultures," is one fragment of his writings.
So that when Martí states that "Being educated is the only way of being free," he is basing his assertion on a solid conception of culture as a liberating force and generator of humanism. Martí did not aspire to simply achieving a general state of illustration, and much less to ensuring an impossible standardisation of education and culture. He wanted much more, nothing less than a transformation of the spirit that emanates from the real social emancipation of man.
Artistic culture was one of the most powerful allies of the transformation programme of this man of Our America.
Translation: Jackie Margaret Camon (Cubarte)
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

COMMEMORATE THE 95TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF BERT CORONA

COMMEMORATE THE 95TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF BERT CORONA
Join the Mexican American Political Association and the Hermandad Mexicana in commemorating the 95th birthday of Humberto “Bert” Corona on May 29, 2013.  Bert Corona was a legendary leader in the Mexican American, Chicano, Mexicano, and Latino communities throughout the United States, but also widely known and respected in Mexico among union and social movements, political parties, and even government officials.  He was an activist and leader for 60 years in multiple social movements – labor, immigrant rights, peace, political/electoral representation and civil rights, and the academic institutionalization of Chicano Studies Departments in colleges and universities where he taught and/or lectured as a professor.   He is considered the father and political architect of the immigrant rights movement during the 1960s and 1970s with the founding of the Center for Autonomous Social Action (CASA) – General Brotherhood of Workers along with his companion of many years, Soledad “Chole” Alatorre.  In 1975 he co-founded with Chole and Socorro Alatorre, the Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, which had been originally founded in 1951 by Felipe Usquiano in the city of San Diego, California with other labor leaders of the Laborer’s  International Union and the International Brotherhood of Carpenters.  

Corona and Alatorre built CASA, and subsequently, the Hermandad Mexicana into a broad membership grassroots community-based organization as a fighting force against immigration raids and deportations and in favor of fair and humane immigration reform.  Their efforts ultimately culminated in the passage of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), which legalized 2.7 million undocumented persons.  More importantly, their practical teaching methods demonstrated that immigrants could successfully be organized into labor unions, community action organizations, electoral campaigns, lobbying visits to members of Congress and the state legislature, and build mass movements in the streets as an important form of political action.  This they did against all counsel and advice from supposed political experts, foundation funders, legislators and traditional party leaders, union officials, and even left organizations who declared that the undocumented could not be organized.

The slogan, “No Human Being is Illegal,” had its origin in the speeches and instruction of Bert Corona who did not compromise with the terminology used by the media in describing immigrants, including left and center-left media journalists, newspaper columnists, television and radio commentators and disc jockeys, and academia.  He clearly understood the value and power of words, depictions, and characterizations of a people and never surrendered any terrain on that score, not even in liberal irreverence or spoofing by so-called friends of immigrants at the expense of immigrants.

Much more could be shared regarding the multiple contributions over the lifespan of Bert Corona, as a follower of Pancho Villa and Ricardo Flores Magon; organizer and union local president under the International Longshore Union President Harry Bridges; companion to Soledad Alatorre, Luisa Moreno, Congressman Edward Roybal, Eduardo Quevedo, Herman Gallegos, and Ernesto Galarza; friend and mentor to Cesar Chavez (as Chavez himself expressed); collaborator with Reies Tijerina, Corky Gonzales, Jose Angel Gutierrez; national co-coordinator to Senator Robert Kennedy’s presidential campaign , and teacher and friend to so many.

We invite you to read more about Bert Corona’s life, travels, experiences, and stories in “Memories of Chicano History: The Life and Narrative of Bert Corona,” co-authored by Mario T. Garcia, and published by University of California Press in 1994.  

Celebrate the commemoration of Bert Corona’s birth by clicking to the photo gallery link below or go to www.hermandadmexicana.org or www.mapa.org.

Team Hermandad: Taina, Xel’ha, Sergio, and Nativo.




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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

FYI: [NetworkAztlan_News] Discrimination Against Indigenous Peoples-Migrant Workers in Maricopa County, AZ



From: Tupac Enrique Acosta <chantlaca@tonatierra.org>
To: Tonatierra Email <tonal@tonatierra.org>; Network Aztlan News <NetworkAztlan_News@yahoogroups.com>; NetworkAztlan_Action@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2013 9:42 PM
Subject: [NetworkAztlan_News] Discrimination Against Indigenous Peoples-Migrant Workers in Maricopa County, AZ

 

Discrimination Against Indigenous Peoples-Migrant Workers in Maricopa County, AZ

Comités de Defensa del Barrio (CDB)
Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: May 27, 2013

Contact: Rafael Reyes (480) 518-5500 Email: rreyes13@cox.net

Discrimination Against Indigenous Peoples-Migrant Workers in Maricopa County, AZ


The decision of Judge Murray Snow regarding practices of racial profiling by the Office of the Maricopa County Sheriff  against "Latinos" is another step in the long march to defend the civil rights of all peoples.  In the national context of U.S. society, this struggle began with the dismantling of the systemic discriminatory racial profiling which favored "WHITE" European Americans with ethnic preferences in electoral, educational, economic, cultural, and legal systems.  The struggle for equality continues, and includes many chapters, but the narrative always begins with the universal recognition of the fundamental principles of human dignity and compassion.

In the context of international law and as Indigenous Peoples, we recognize that human rights are inherent.  The United States is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  These two facts are legal realities that must be considered in order to comprehensively assess the Human Rights context of the judge Snow's recent decision beyond the domestic frame in defense of "Latino" constituencies.

As migrant workers of Abya Yala,  [the Americas] Original Peoples with the inherent right of our own cultural identity as Nican Tlacah, we do not identify as "Latino."

On September 13, 2007, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  The United States was one of four governments that opposed the declaration, including the anglophile states of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand who as derivatives represent immigrant sovereignties that are residual republics of the colonies of the British Empire.

In light of Judge Snow's decision and the case of the US Department of Justice investigation of the issues of racial profiling and discrimination on the part of the Office of the Maricopa County Sheriff; in view of the fact that in both cases there has been NO MENTION of the systematic practices of racial profiling against Indigenous Peoples in particular in terms of violations of Civil Rights, Human Rights and Indigenous Rights in the general review of police operations in Maricopa County, we now DEMAND RESTITUTION of the RIGHT of LAW, in terms recognition, respect and protection of our individual and collective rights as Migrant Workers of Indigenous Peoples without discrimination and criminalization in all parts of our continent of Abya Yala.


"Stopping Mexicans to make Sure they are legal is not racist. If you have dark skin, you have dark skin! Unfortunately, That is the look of the Mexican illegal."

Files of Maricopa County Sheriff J. Arpaio
quoted on page 28 of U.S. District Court Case 2:07-cv-02513-GMS
Document 494 12/23/11
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Links:
February 7, 2012
Memorandum to the US Justice Department
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 November 8, 2012
Comités de Defensa del Barrio
Commision de Derechos Humanos
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FYI [HELP-Matrix Blog] Pope Francis and Liberation Theology ~By Samuel Gregg

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Venceremos! We Will Win! Educate to Liberate!
Peter S. Lopez AKA @Peta_de_Aztlan
Sacramento, California

c/s

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Blogger <no-reply@blogger.com>
To: peter.lopez51@yahoo.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2013 11:37 AM
Subject: [HELP-Matrix Blog] Pope Francis and Liberation Theology ~By Samuel Gregg

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/349432/pope-francis-and-liberation-theology

http://www.nationalreview.com/node/349432  ~via @NRO ~Posted 5/28/2013
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By Samuel Gregg
May 28, 2013 9:48 AM

So is Pope Francis a closet liberation theologian, or someone with strong sympathies for the school of thought? It's a question that's been raised many times since Jorge Mario Bergoglio's election to the papacy in March. Most recently, the New York Times weighed in on the subject. While discussing the tone adopted by Bergoglio since becoming pope, the NYT article claimed that Francis has "an affinity for liberation theology." "Francis's speeches," the article argues, "draw clearly on the themes of liberation theology." It also suggested that "Francis studied with an Argentine Jesuit priest who was a proponent of liberation theology."

I'm afraid, however, that if one looks at Francis's pre-pontifical writings, a rather different picture emerges. Certainly Bergoglio is a man who has always been concerned about those in genuine material need. But orthodox Christianity didn't need to wait for liberation theology in order to articulate deep concern for the materially poor and to remind those with power and resources that they have concrete obligations to the less fortunate. From the very beginning, it was a message that pervaded the Gospels and the Church's subsequent life.

Indeed, in a preface to a 2005 book written by one of Latin America's most thoughtful Catholic figures, Guzmán Carriquiry Lecour, Una apuesta por America Latina (A Commitment to Latin America), for example, Bergoglio had this to say about liberation theology:

After the collapse of "real socialism," these currents of thought were plunged into confusion. Incapable of either radical reformulation or new creativity, they survived by inertia, even if there are still some today who, anachronistically, would like to propose it again.
That's not to suggest that Bergoglio is a fan of contemporary capitalism. Plainly, he's not. And to the extent Francis's words about the financial crisis can be read as a condemnation of crony capitalism, his critique is more than justified. But not many people would describe the words above as endorsing the thought of as outspoken a liberationist such as Leonardo Boff.
Interestingly, Bergoglio chose the same preface to go after "progresismo adolescente" (adolescent progressivism) and "laicismo militante" (militant secularism) which, he argued, often enlist state power to attempt to destroy the "sabiduría católica" (Catholic wisdom) of many people in developing nations.

On these grounds, I suspect he's not a fan of Western governments lecturing people in developing countries, especially with regard to sexual morality and sanctity-of-life questions. Such governments don't hesitate to use foreign aid (an increasingly discredited way of helping those in need, but I digress) as a means to try to force, neo-colonial style, these nations to become as hedonistic and anti-life as, say, modern-day Belgium.

But getting back to liberation theology, does Bergoglio reject holus-bolus everything about liberation theology? In the interview-book El Jesuita, Bergoglio says liberation theology had its pros and cons: the "pro" being its expression of what's called the "preferential option for the poor," the "con" being its "ideological deviations." Well, that's very close to the assessment expressed in the two "Instructions on Liberation Theology" published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1984 and 1986.

And who is the Argentine Jesuit that our NYT friends have in mind? In all probability (because there's really no other candidate), the reference is to Juan Carlos Scannone, S.J., who taught Bergoglio Greek and literature in the seminary.

The difficulty with the Times' claim, however, is that Scannone isn't much of a liberation theologian. In fact Scannone has written papers emphasizing where his thought differs from the liberationists. In a 2011 interview, for example, Scannone himself said: "Myself, I've never had anything to do with Marxism." Scannone specifies that the primary difference between his thought and that of the liberationists is, to use his words, his theology "has neither used Marxist methodology for analyzing reality nor categories taken from Marxism."

Instead, Scannone is best known in Argentina for developing what's called a teología del pueblo (theology of the people) — something, he says, that is viewed positively by Rome and which Bergoglio has praised on numerous occasions. It's a theology that takes seriously the popular spirituality and often deeply traditional piety of ordinary people — the kind of thing that's often the subject of much condescending commentary by your average German progressive theologian but which was also regarded by liberationists such as the late Juan Luis Segundo as a mass phenomenon incapable of fostering revolutionary change, making it an obstacle to "progress."

But the teología del pueblo, Scannone specifies, also draws considerable inspiration from Paul VI's 1975 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi. In that sense, Scannone argues, the theology of the people represents "a journey of return between Latin America and Rome." Here it's worth noting that Evangelii Nuntiandi firmly rejected — over and over and over again — politicized concepts of Christian liberation and underscored that the Church "refuses to replace the proclamation of the kingdom by the proclamation of forms of human liberation."

Practically speaking, the teología del pueblo that's alive and well in Argentina tends to be translated into bottom-up and locally based approaches to poverty. It also rejects calls for class struggle and Sandinista-style revolution. And while adherents of teología del pueblo in Argentina certainly insist on a great deal of government intervention, they also firmly reject top-down paternalism — something no doubt reinforced by the populist and statist policies pursued by the Krichners that have wreaked havoc upon Argentina's economy over the past ten years.

But if you want to get a sense of where Francis may take the Catholic Church regarding social and economic issues, you needn't waste your energy toiling through texts like Boff's Church: Charism and Power. Instead, pick up a copy of the concluding document of the Fifth General Conference of the Consejo Episcopal Latino Americano held at Aparecida in 2007.

Alongside Honduras's Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, the text's other major drafter was one Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio. It's the document that Bergoglio gave to Cristina Krichner when she found herself (much to la Senora Presidente's obvious discomfort) in Rome visiting the very same man who she and her late husband had done their level-best to ignore while he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, but who now finds himself seated on Peter's Chair.

Somehow I doubt that Cristina has read it. But if she did, she — and others — would soon discover how little it says about liberation theology, and how much it speaks about Jesus Christ.

– Samuel Gregg is research director at the Acton Institute. He has authored many books, including The Modern Papacy and, most recently, Becoming Europe: Economic Decline, Culture, and How America can Avoid a European Future.
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Posted By Blogger to HELP-Matrix Blog at 5/28/2013 11:37:00 AM