Religion is a very personal matter. The most that it should extend to is a cultural matter. There are hundreds of thousands of religions throughout the world as there should be. But one person one day woke up and looked to the opposite ridge and thought that he was far much better off than the people living over the next ridge on many accounts. Maybe it was on account of their dressing, the way they farmed, the way they married and much later the way they worshiped. The last point of discrimination has been a major curse on mankind.
But unlike other major wars, the wars based on the differences of opinions were actually proxy wars over other tangible resources and less about what one person's style of worship was. Racism has and will always be aimed at appropriating labor and resources from one group to another. I know that being an African living in the American South. I have been practicing the religion of truth, power and honesty. It has kept me from a lot of traps or boxes that would cloud my view of reality. I certainly don't want to live in a perpetual eclipse between light and darkness.
It was a bit out of the ordinary that the topic of my last keynote was about Voodoom and food. It was an experiment that went rather well. The focus of my lecture was to set the record straight and shed some light on some seriously misunderstood concepts. I had in mind a phrase that I once heard on TV way back in 1990. The U.S president at that time was George Walker Bush. The U.S had just invaded Panama and its then president was captured and extradited to the U.S. While the president was giving an interview about the U.S economy, he used the world voodoo economics. I was still relatively new in the U.S and obviously didn't have a good command of the local terms. I however took offense as I got the sense that the term had not been used in a positive light. The audience laughed and the president looked least surprised from the reaction of the audience.
I relived that memory on a podium and set the record straight. I will summarize what I said by simply stating that it is unfair to have some religions holding special status regardless of how many adherents it may hold in a secular country. Religious countries are exactly that, countries based on certain regions. So if we are going to wish every religious group some warm wishes, we should do it for all. It is also worth noting that the reason that certain religions enjoy certain privileges is partly because of their decimation of other religions. Christianity and Islam have had a long history of war that has seen enough blood shed to form a river. It actually reminds me of the first river in Greek mythology to speak during the Trojan War when so many Trojan soldiers died and thereby flooding river Xanthus with blood. The river complained to the most powerful Greek soldier and expressed its displeasure with all the blood shed. And what were the Greeks and Trojans fighting over? It was a fight for justice for the most beautiful woman named Helen. Who started the war? Eris, the Greek goddess of strife and discord started the whole thing and the other gods and goodness jumped in on each side of the war. It is interesting just how things stay the same, to this day, men are fighting wars that have nothing to do with them but fighting for some more powerful beings that can't fight for themselves.
It is for that reason that I am more interested in those whose spirits are like that of the river Xanthus, who cry out to those with power to stop the bloodshed. I am therefore not one who sees value in wishing even the Voodoom adherents a great and happier worship. We have a lot of unfinished business that we have to handle that is within our realms that we have become too comfortable to sweep under the rug. I wish you a happy everyday, one filled with light and a desire to pull your own weight to make this world a better place for all, regardless of what they decide to believe or not believe. We have to act as though we all have one river and we have to keep it clean. Where one chooses to go after life on this plane is their business and not the river's or the rest of the world. Should I expect to hear Happy Voodoom from anyone from across the isle? Not too quickly, those who are on the other side wouldn’t be honest if they did so as they have too much blood on their hand that they have to atone for. You can wish me well when you are still delinquent on your moral debt. I would therefore prefer nothing if no recompense is on the table. It’s on that account that I say happy food to everyone on everyday!
As they say in my neck of the wood, we Move Regardless, and we move most majestically when we move in justice.