Mumia Abu-Jamal 'A Matter of the Mosque'

[col. writ. 8/22/10] (c) '10 Mumia Abu-Jamal


In Manhattan, the controversy over the placement of a mosque (or Islamic house of worship) just a few mere blocks from what is now known as 'Ground Zero' -- the site of the New York plane strikes on 9/11, rages on.

Sides have been assembled, and arguments have been hurled like mental Molotov cocktails on both sides of the fray.

The argument, no matter how resolved, shows us how empty is the Constitution, which has an express provision protecting free religious practice.

What an argument for those who claim fealty to the Constitution!

For a right that can't be practiced is no right at all.

One is reminded of how the Constitution 'protected' the rights of Blacks after the Reconstruction Amendments to the Constitution were passed from 1865 to 1870. It looked fine on paper, but over a hundred years later they had no reality in the lives of millions of Blacks, who couldn't vote, couldn't sit on juries, serve in public office, or who lived in segregated housing.

The 'rights' existed on paper, but such rights being practiced offended the sensibilities of southern whites.

Sound familiar?

Americans treat the actual document (the Constitution) as Holy Writ, papers protected from the ravages of time and temperature, and held behind sophisticated security systems.

As for what is says: not so much.

--(c) '10 maj
-----------------

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

HOW IS POLITICS DONE IN PERU? Protest against neoliberalism and ecocide in Peru.

Image
Editorial from Lucha Indigena by Hugo Blanco via http://www.luchaindigena.com/
                                       HOW IS POLITICS DONE IN PERU? According to Ipsos, the Peruvian government has just a 33% approval rating.  According to Gfk, 71% of the people disapprove of what the congress is doing, while 70% disapprove of the judicial branch.           And what is the outlook for next year's elections?  58% say that the political parties do not represent the electorate's interests.  As we have said, voters have a choice for president between three super-corrupt individuals and a citizen of the USA.  And 31% are resigned to the return to power of the thieving murderer Alberto Fujimori.           We are aware that Fujimori is in prison and that the candidate is his daughter, Keiko, but we also know full well that she will pardon him and that it will be he who will govern from home or the presidential palace.  As we have indicated, she did not protest when her father had her mothe…
Read more

Fidel Castro Obituary – by Hugo Blanco

Fidel Castro Obituary – by Hugo Blanco
Fidel is dead, the symbol of the Cuban revolution, headed by him, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos and other fighters of the 26th of July Movement.
Cuba, an island 90 miles away from the most powerful capitalist country in the world was a centre for corruption, a brothel for the Yankees, a nest for the mafia. That is the Cuba that many of those who have fled to Yankeeland yearn for.

In the era of the dictator Batista and before, workers were crushed. In the country, by landowners. In the city, by capital, like in the rest of Latin America. The abuse was aided by the governments, the courts, the police, the army and the media. Misery and analphabetism were widespread.
Like Carlos Puebla sings: ‘And then came Fidel’ ‘El Comandante came to make it stop’.
He expropriated the foreign sugar and petrol companies, as well as the businesses and lands of other capitalists and landowners. The empire organised the Bay of Pigs invasion, which was crushed by the Cuba…
Read more

Elinor Ostrom's Rules for Radicals

Image
My next book will be out in the autumn, its a guide to Elinor Ostrom, first woman to win the Nobel for Economics, published by Pluto. Elinor Ostrom was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Economics. Her theorising of the commons has been celebrated as groundbreaking and opening the way for non-capitalist economic alternatives, yet, many radicals know little about her. This book redresses this, revealing the indispensability of her work for green politics, left economics and radical democracy.

Ostrom has often been viewed as a conservative or managerial thinker; but Derek Wall's analysis of her work reveals a how it is invaluable for developing a left political programme in the twenty-first century. Central to Ostrom's work was the move 'beyond panaceas'; transforming institutions to widen participation, promote diversity and favour cooperation over competition. She regularly challenged academia as individualist, narrow and elitist and promoted a radical take on ed…
Read more