Month: July 2020

Review of Maya Angelou’s book Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993, Bantam books, Random House)

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This is a thin book about Ms. Angelou’s musings about herself, her life, and her interactions with other people throughout her life.

She was not a gentle woman but a courageous woman who did not let anyone treat her badly from what she writes in this book.  Some of the sections are Faith, Taking Time for Yourself, Death and Grieving, Style, etc.

One section that stood out for me is how she lost a white “friend” just by asking him to repeat something he said to her a few times until he understood what he said in the section “Our Boys”:  “You know the black soldiers are having a horrific time over there, and our boys are having a tough time, too”.   The man was president of the National Council of Christians and Jews at that time and had been in Germany trying to “ameliorate the conditions for the American soldiers”.  He never returned her calls after that.

Ms. Angelou: “The incident saddened and burdened me.   The man, his family and friends were lessened by not getting to know me and my family and friends.   And it also meant that I, my family, and friends were lessened by not getting to know him.   Because we never had a chance to talk, to teach each other, and learn from each other.   Racism had diminished all the lives it had touched.  Diversity makes for a rich tapestry.”

Maya Angelou (/ˈændʒəloʊ/ (listen);[1][2] born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees.[3] Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961. (Wikipedia)

It reminds me about some things Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said:

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

“There comes a time when silence is betrayal.”

“I have heard numerous religious leaders of the South call upon their worshippers to comply with a segregation decision because it is the law, but I have longed to hear white ministers say, ‘follow this decree because integration is morally right and the Negro is your brother’”.   Excerpt from “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, April 16, 1963.  BRC-News:  Black Radical Congress-General News/Alerts/Announcements   (Full letter https://stanford.edu/group/docs/Birmingham.html)

I liked Maya Angelou’s book, “Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now”.   It gave me some insight into her personality and life.  My favorite poem of hers is “Phenomenal Woman”.

Written by Rosa L. Griffin

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely (A Quote)

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[Reprinted from March 8, 2018]

This was a best-known quote of the 19th century British politician, historian, and moralist Lord John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton 1834-1902, in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887.  But, he was borrowing from other speakers or writers who earlier said it differently. 

A king was the one with the most wealth and power.  This person thinks that all in their “kingdom” are pawns to do with as they please and they’ve done it so long that they believe their own hype.    They rule by threats, coercion, bargaining, murder, and compensating.   “…this option to impose on without any regard whatsoever for due process, becomes, in the hands of most, a license to harm, if not destroy the careers and lives of others.  Leadership incompetence” 1

“Absolute monarchies are those in which all power is given to, or as is more often the case, taken by, the monarch.   Examples were Roman emperors who thought they were gods and Napoleon Bonaparte who declared himself emperor”.2

There’s no room for absolute power in a democracy of checks and balances.  As seen recently, if you act only to build your own wealth, it will eventually come back to bite you in the behind.

As in the movie, The Man Who Would Be King (1975), based on Rudyard Kipling’s 1888 original story, two con men (Carnehan and Dravot, “British adventurers in British India”) sought their fortune in a foreign country, Afghanistan.   They were fellow freemasons to the journalist that they convinced to help them with their research.  They started out by helping people who were warring against each other and came up with satisfactory solutions.   But, then they went a few steps too far by becoming kings themselves over people whose customs they didn’t understand.  

Since the holy men who lorded over all the local tribes declared Dravot (Sean Connery) a descendant of Alexander the Great because of the freemason symbol he wore around his neck, he basically was thought to be a God until he told the holy men that he was going to marry a local girl and father children.  The local girl was instructed to bite Dravot on the face causing him to bleed.  Seeing Dravot bleed, the holy men knew he was not a God, and executed him.  

Two years later Carnehan (Michael Caine) returned to the journalist.   They had paid for their deceit.  Carnehan had been tortured, crippled, and released.   But, he showed the journalist (Christopher Plummer) the skeletal head of Dravot that was still wearing his golden crown.   Both actors did a wonderful job, especially Sean Connery explaining that he felt this Godship was his calling, and he intended to mend his ways.   Had they left with the spoils before they were outed, as Carnehan wanted to do, they would have been wealthy men.   But, Dravot believed his own hype. 3

And, now we have another example of absolute power in the case of the Saudi Arabian American journalist executed in the Saudi consulate in Turkey recently.    He was the same journalist who accompanied President 45’s business dealers to Saudi Arabia on past trips.  And, don’t forget the arms deal President 45 had already made with the Saudis.

Sources:

1.  Dr. Robert Aziz, Huffington Post, https://m.huffpost.com

2.  Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely (A Quote), https://www.phrases.org.uk

3.  Wikipedia, Rudyard Kipling, The Phantom ‘Rickshaw and other Eerie Tales’

Submitted by Rosa L. Griffin