Questioning the Narrative
On the day before the U.S. Thanksgiving, it feels timely to “question the narrative.” What was and continues to be the case for immigrants often works at the expense of earlier inhabitants . . . so politically incorrect as it may be, asking what should be — instead of what is — seems appropriate and timely.
As many of you realize, my Moon is in Sagittarius in the ninth house . . . and I have always loved everything foreign . . . “everything” from travel to languages, ethnic music to anthropology, and comparative religion to wisdom.
In grade school, we were taught factoids about Columbus “discovering” the “New World”; but, unless I was asleep at the time, “religious freedom” made no mention of the Inquisition much less the greed and genocide that followed freedom for some people at the expense of others. Lest this seems like a rehash of the obvious, we can easily see the relevance when looking at the world on Thanksgiving Day 2023.
What has been going on in Ukraine and more recently Gaza? Is this not history repeating itself? Is there any justification at all for the violence and crimes? Are we never going to be civilized enough to live with our brothers and sisters of all faiths and ethnicities?
While volumes could be written about wars, fanaticism, civilization, and perhaps the implications for the future of life on Earth, it is holiday season and people are spending time with their families and loved ones. It has been a while since I posted anything on music so I would like to share two short excerpts, yes, indulging my own love of opera, but also speaking to the block of history that has spanned the last half millennium or so of our history.
First, we have a scene from Don Carlo, a truly magnificent opera by my favorite composer. This, of course, speaks to the Inquisition and the sway over true principles of the faith. The opera has ennobling passages as well.
Next, I would like to share an aria by the Egyptian sopranao Fatma Said. She has appeared only recently on my radar, and she is very talented, versatile, and beloved by people of her culture.
When the media chooses to host fanatics, it is easy to forget that Western civilization would be almost devoid of merit were it not for the influences of scholars from the Middle East: architecture, astronomy, poetry, medicine, and music . . . to name a few.
Wishing all of you a peaceful and safe day of thanks . . . and hoping the entire world will commit to win-win solutions for all the issues we face today.
Copyright by Dr. Ingrid Naiman 2023 || All Rights Reserved
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In 1492 Columbus and his crew, lost, battered and stricken with dysentery, were helped ashore by a people he described as “neither black nor white—fairly tall and well proportioned.” Believing he had landed in the East Indies, he called them INDIANS. In fact, they were part of a great population that had made its home on this continent for centuries.
To the inhabitants of this land were not one people. There customs differed. Their language differed. Some tilled the Earth; others hunted and picked the abundance of the land around them. They lived in different kinds of housing and governed themselves according to different rules.
But they shared in common a belief that the Earth is a Spiritual presence that must be honored, not mastered. Unfortunately, western Europeans who came to these shores had a contrary belief. To them, the entire American continent was a beautiful but savage land that it was not only their right, but their duty, to tame and use as they saw fit.
As the twentieth century draws to a close, Western “civilization” is confronting the inevitable results of this Euro-American philosophy of Dominance. We have gotten out of balance with Mother Earth, and the very future of planet Earth depends on our capacity to restore Nature’s Health and Balance.