1.We live on a globalized Eaarth seriously infected with the propaganda and political power of transnational corporations and neoliberal capitalism … and indoctrinated with greed and a clutter of meaningless stuff, … AND a lack of solidarity and an ethic of reciprocity & adherence to the Precautionary Principle. There is an imbalance of inter- and intra-specific* power like never before (*Obviously the species on which I am primarily focusing is the dominant one, Homo sapiens).
I am white, male, heterosexual, fairly healthy, was raised in an “accepted” religious persausion in a family of considerable power & wealth compared to many in the world, and was fortunate to have socialistic educational opportunities many in the world (including in the U.S.) haven’t been fortunate to have been provided.. This has opened up opportunities others haven’t been lucky to have in many parts of the world, including in Burundi, Haiti, Angola, Mexico, & Brasil, AND including in the U.S.
However, conversely, I could have been born with more skin pigmentation, female, physically and seriously mentally challenged, poor, powerless, disenfranchised … in any of the countries listed and others, i.e., not have been so lucky. (Because of luck, colonization, exploitation of others, immoral & unethical extraction from the natural resource base, and terrible military power, … the U.S. does have much more than its share of power over resources on this Eaarth. Therefore, because of this tremendous immoral and unethical power, and despite very problematic inequity within its population, even the poorest in the U.S. have some opportunities for resources others on Eaarth do not have.)
2. My wife and I discussed continuing to live in Brasil after having lived there for two (2) years and continuing to visit this wonderful country afterwards. (We fell in love with the Land of Brasil, its culture, and its people!) Moreover, there are places and situations in which I would love to live in other countries which I have visited and know to some extent, i.e., Mexico, Honduras, Portugal, Spain, Poland, the Ukraine, Nicaragua, Bolivia, etc. (This is even though Brasil was de facto governed by a right-wing fascist military dictatorship [through a coup backed by the U.S.] in the years we lived there and despite the fact that in Nicaragua Ortega’s socialist government has become more and more corrupt.)
3. It both amuses and saddens me when folk–who have visited a place a few times (oftentimes on a business trip, tourism, and in the military) and don’t even speak the language–feel they know that place, culture, and its peoples, etc., especially countries like China, Russia, Brasil, India, Angola, France, or the U.S, … I speak Portuguese fairly well and have traveled over much of Brasil, have a diverstiy of friends in various aspects and places in the socio-political/economic structure of Brasil but still need several lifetimes of experiences, study, and learning to begin know this country larger than the continental U.S…. this largest of South American counties of amazing sociological and ecological diversity.
4. Despite our love for Brasil and other places, cultures, and peoples, … my wife and I did decide to make our lives in south central Texas because of early (in our lives) foundational structures of family, friends, culture, and sense of place which were strong and difficult to uproot … and that we loved and love. … This does not mean that we couldn’t have had a good life in many other places and countries in the world, INCLUDING what Trump callously, erroneously, and shamefully called s-hole countries.
pbm
7 S’s / VV->^^
