Colonialism and multiculturalism.

I was having lunch with a friend the other day when the subject of Colonialism and then Apartheid came up.
Always difficult subjects, there has been a tendency over the last ten or more years to decry Colonialism as somewhat despotic and the cause of much of the inability of a continent like Africa to function properly. Simmering below the surface lies the issue of racism and therefore the underplaying assumption that the people who took up service in the name of Colonial conquest were both racist and oppressors. 

From early times tribes have undertaken marauding expeditions into surrounding territory and in the case of the Mongul sweeping out of Asia and across Europe. Their goal seemed little more than a, conquest,  "because we can" philosophy, although I doubt one should call it a philosophy since the bloody triumph they obtained seemed to be for little more than than treasure and blood lust. Alternatively the Ottomans built their empire by convincing the tribes they defeated that being under the umbrella of the Muslim faith they were better off, more secure and had a stake in remaining part of the collective whole.

The British were never ideologically wedded to conquest, there's was a pragmatic need to expand their trade. It was driven by the need to supply the market in Europe through the acquisition of raw materials and, secondly to have a foothold in various countries to expand that market. 
They brought with them a piece of their own culture and much as we decry certain culturally strong practices in this country and the exclusivity these cultural practices bring, then we must acknowledge that in the far flung corners of the Empire, the cultural exclusivity, the architectural exclusivity, the formality of the administrative structure, the legal structure, the roads and the hierarchical structure of the British were all imported to a foreign land. 
The very fact that this led to a two tear structure in the society at large also led to the eventual downfall of the relationship between her majesty employees and the indigenous population.

If there had been a extending, welcoming hand given to the local population much as in the Ottoman Empire then the fall of Colonialism would not have been so sudden. 

It is often overlooked how quickly the British withdrew from the position of holding the reigns of power, to packing their bags and leaving on the next boat. 
If in hindsight, the hand-over had taken at least a generation, then the result would have enhanced the security of so much that had been done but the insistence of creating a 'nation state' with their own rulers was paramount. The was no administrative middle class to hold the structure together and the power, without the con-straining counter of a strong legal system backed up by an enforcement system, based of the law, was missing and the chaos that ensued in many countries was blamed on colonialism. 

The modern concern for human rights which to some, means freedom, irrespective of the consequences, placed the blame on the power and the subjugation of the people. The ideological format that all people are born free and therefore any controlling force, irrespective of its intentions, or the good it bestows, are inherently wrong.

Apartheid was, in one sense an internal form of colonisation in that it insisted on identifying its boundaries of culture and lifestyle by proclaiming that other cultures could not be assimilated. There are obvious links to the class infiltrated culture in this country, where barriers are imposed between people based on perceived class hierarchy which jealously excludes a large section of the indigenous society.

Anti-Apartheid became a clarion call to all those people who, as we have mentioned above, have, as their ideological foundation the basic right of equality for all men and women as their aim.
The fact that in the modern world, separation based on a whole raft of concerns is pandemic throughout the world, be it the Caste system in India or the religious mania practised by many religious groups, each seeks to differentiate by classification.
Apartheid and the creators of the "word" (but not, I hasten to add, the practice), the Afrikaner, were guilty.  We are all guilty, guilty of defining people within the tribe or outside the tribe, excluding those who were not of the ilk. The Afrikaners  belief that what he stood for and what his history had taught him, needed protecting and  must exclude all others.
From Jew to Muslim, from Chinese to Japanese, the exclusivity of the nation or sect has been upheld and lauded but in the Afrikaner, it went too far. It evoked a sense of shame in the white man and his prejudicial dealings towards the non-white races throughout the world. 

The Americans today as I write, are engaging in another bout of self incrimination in the town of Ferguson, the history of slavery bubbles below the surface and the inherited prejudice corrals people into their different pens.

Apartheid tried to do the same . 
Writ large it defined people, in law, as belonging to this tribe or that culture largely based on colour and tried to pen the differences into a political ideology that had, at its base the survival of what they, the Afrikaner cherished. 


In our Multi Cultural Britain we are trying another experiment. Based on the same ideology that all people are born equal ( a difficult proposition ). We have to ignore our specific individual histories our traits our culture and meld ourselves into the human melting pot from which will emerge a new enlightened human being, better able to cope with this Global (economic) World. 

Orwell couldn't have scripted it better. 

I would like to bet that other than the propagators of the scheme, who themselves have safely drawn back into their estates or the people who,  having arrived to take part in this experiment from overseas are the least likely to want to give up their identity, let alone their religious beliefs which seem to be the very thing producing 'another' barrier to integration. 
Only the indigenous natives will have to find succour in the knowledge that "what went around, comes around" !
Unlike the Afrikaner, we have been taught to have little value in our culture or in our history since the 'manufactures' of this malleable society have spent time and money disassembling the values of our past and our history and severely demonise those who would question their experiment !!!

Comfortable surroundings.

Sitting in a comfortable armchair in a pub out in the countryside one is struck by the conviviality and relaxed atmosphere. The beer is excellent, the quite background folk song type music, the extensive menu of food or at least a menu that is quite sophisticated. The dark slate floor the scattered furniture a mixture of this and that signifying that the landlord is not of the chain mentality. It's pleasantly warm with an open wood fire burning merrily away the sparks disappearing up the chimney lend a fascination we all have for an open fire and the intrigue of the flames as they catch and burst into their short life as the wood is burnt away. Fire has always captivated man from his earliest beginnings in the cave, the shadows that were felt to be spirits dancing on the wall, captured in the earliest paintings.
 The TV is dormant thank god, no evil spirits feeding us with false illusions we are spared modern day intrusion.
 A couple over there are in animated conversation perhaps an unresolved dispute from the weekend or perhaps the build up to one not yet contemplated. These shadow disputes like the shadows from the fire plague us throughout our lives, unexplained they arise out of nowhere, unrequited they are part of the human identity.
 The sun is shining which is what brought me out in the first place and whilst I tip tap away having my own conversation with you, untroubled by any fear of an unfavourable response,even if I am misunderstood there's no harm done, no innuendo, no reason for conflict. Peaceful seclusion, with the opportunity to blast the world through the magic of the internet.

Following convention

Tolstoy describes on the field of battle how Prince Andrew Bolkonski having been hit by a bullet is knocked to the ground. In his semi conscious state he sees the sky and rejoices at its pleasurable importance amongst the carnage.
How intent we are in our drive to fulfil the obligations we make for ourselves, forgetting the world around us and the tiny importance we play in the moment. We inflate our importance we consume our thoughts with the trivia of our actions and then we wonder when life draws to a close and our importance is taken up by others, how we suffer. If we were to arrive at the conclusion that life has no meaning other than the one we wish to place on it then we would be much more careful when we first make our choice.
Of course we really don't know anything other than the actual moment we live in. The past is past and the future unknown, only the moment we are dealing with is real. If that is the case why do we follow 'convention' since each moment is personal and unknowable to anyone else.
If what we are doing is being done because our mind had a moments presentment to do such a thing why cloud the mind with the absurdity of 'joined up thought', since in reality there are theoretically no joined up moments, only the one you are living in now.
Presumption makes fools of us all but without the assumption that there will be a tomorrow where do we stand as we reflect on how much we miss by not understanding our own impermanence. 

Of course there is the presentment that in old age, things we take for granted become difficult if not impossible. Cutting ones toenails, climbing up to reach for something, running after and catching that proverbial bus ! The things we take for granted. Perhaps it's the inevitability of our growing weakness which speeds up our grasping for each moment, to fulfil it with what ever, knowing it may well be our last.

Yoga

I have just watched a program tracing the origins of Yoga, from its Indian Hindu base to the Americanisation of this meditative exercise regime. Dropping the term Yoga and merchandising the concept, taking care to patent the small differences to obtain intellectual copyright this is the essence of capitalism.
How far from the Science of the Soul, an inward contemplative exercise performed by assuming a series of physically difficult poses to enhance the contemplative aspect of centred thinking. The program, another excellent exploitative piece of journalism by AlJazeera took us on a journey visiting the different Yoga centres which have sprung up throughout the world, each favouring the local culture whilst keeping a traditional flavour.
 Only in America, the land of the brave and the eternal dollar has so much commercialisation been manufactured to fit the business model. The sleek, young entrepreneur in the States are busy carving out their individual business's, modifying here and there to create exclusivity and then, marketing that special exclusivity and its supposed unique outcomes which a gullible public are constantly queuing for.
The stretching and body-tying poses are part of a collective attempt to off set the inherent ravages of modern living. Physically and mentally Yoga stretches people in ways that normal exercise would not do and for the modern, time intensive way of life this oasis of contemplative repose is very powerful for the psyche

 
The modern exponent is a far cry from the hairy wild looking guru of India. With the accoutrement of the Lycra one piece suits these lithe, slim creatures are on show. The very word Yoga has a mystic ring and the club ( Lycra ) shirt lends kudos to the participant in a way that few other activities would.
There have been issues around the use of Hindu chants and the semi religious nature of the proper Yoga tradition particularly in that (god forsaken) American Midwest bible country where the Christians object to any suggestion that a foreign faith has a place on American soil. They insist in chanting verses out of the bible as they stretch into their Lotus position but it all sounds pretty incongruous compared to the unintelligible and un-knowable Hindu equivalent.
It's an industry with its heart in the right place and seeing that it has many benefits, especially for the heart I think we should let sleeping dogs lie.

Vive la Difference

Words are thrown across the table like a Ping pong ball in a match, trying to thwart the opponent and find some way to prevent a return. Unlike the table tennis match there are no rules and no umpire to guide the verbal joust and no one to decide the winner.
Of course it's the concept of a winner that is the problem since there is often no winner because each person challenging the other is working from a different agenda. As the words begin to flow there should be a hold to ask what are you wishing to attain and why.

A different agenda makes all the difference, it substantially effects the way each person plunges deeper into ever more angry retort and innuendo and often issues are dragged up that are not relevant but are used to undermine the person on the other side.
Certain television shows develop this animosity for the public to gawk at, two people tearing themselves to pieces in a frustration of trying to obtain a hearing and hopefully some sort of understanding, egged on by the shows host ridiculing one or other of the participants. These shows have high ratings revealing the base instincts people have when faced with a gladiatorial conflict. Baying for blood describes the process. One sees it in the fight game where someone is having their head knocked off their shoulders and the crowd yell for more. In the Coliseum in Romans times they were always setting their citizens against each other or, against wild animals in mortal combat with barely a chance of survival. The crowd loved it, the more gore the better.
I find it abhorrent but millions differ from me. Should I find this strange, should I become frustrated by my apparent lack of connectivity with my fellow man or should I rejoice that mankind is diverse and Vive la difference.

Great role models

One of the best and I mean the best formats of informative, intuitive TV media broadcasting has been the insightful  build up of the goings on behind the scenes of Formula One. The personalities, the drivers the owners the controllers of the sport has been extremely interesting especially given the status of these people, made up of course by the very same media machine.

When Jenson Button and Louis Hamilton were partners in the same team they simply bubbled with fun and exuded that rare ingredient, great skill, operating in an environment that was very exclusive.  Their media fed high spirited jousts, off the track were great to watch and one bonded with them through the simple good nature which they so obviously felt towards each other. The contrast of the Mark Webber, and Sebastian Vettel contest with the obvious, bad blood between the drivers which lent a Machiavellian story of intrigue in their respective garages and the disrespect to management orders by Vettel simply added so much chatter to the race its self. The impassive poker faced Kimi  Raikkonen, the dark swarthy good looking but temperamental  Fernando Alonso, these are the players with their homes in Monaco and the obligatory yacht in the harbour, it all fascinates us as we push our plastic boat with a toe in the bath.  Jenson has oceans of charisma and exudes a friendly blokeyness that endears him to us all. His interview with David Coulthard taking him through his career was for me a perfect piece of television, it exemplified the nature of this man, a real role model in every way. 
I think the show is fuelled by the confidence, the high testosterone, the sheer glamour of everything performing at the top end, both the technical nature of the cars, the enormous engineering achievement in every detail and of course there is the nationalistic element, a Brit and a German going head to head.

Ka mate (It is death) Ka ora (It is life)

Boy oh boy I would love to be there.
What an occasion My emotions are close to tears as they always are listening to the marvellous singing of the Welsh anthem, from a crowd who singly and certainly collectively know, not only the words but know their part in the tradition they play in their support of their team. And then, if this was not enough, came the Haka.

The Haka seems to vary depending on the occasion and this one was one of the best I have seen. 
Standing in two rows the All Black players await the call to arms. Ka mate, Ka mate (It is death, It is death) Ka ora, Ka ora (It is life, It is life). A deep throated challenge from the team, crouching down on one knee, they hurl their taunting call toward the opposing team who stand a few yards away impassively waiting.  Ka mate, Ka mate, the sinew bursting to the surface, the tension palpable, Ka ora, Ka ora, deep throated, the masculinity and the testosterone is paramount as the tension rises. A deep throated growl from these huge specimens of manhood as they  rise to a standing position faces twisted mimicking the representation of their ancestral spirits, tongue splayed to the side they continue to taunt the opposition. Today it is theatre but when Cook stepped ashore it was for real.
The game. Wales played well and held a slender lead until the last quarter but as always it's the last quarter, just when the opposition are feeling the strain that the All Blacks kick in the extra gear and pull away to a comfortable win. We are used to it by now and might even be persuaded  to switch channels and watch "Come Dancing", thereby missing the anguish.