02.08.17 3:30 am
WARNING: The Surgeon General has determined that digesting the following words could affect your mind in a way that causes you to think, feel, and act, differently. Proceed with extreme caution!
Why is it that some of the most clear thoughts come to one as they awaken in the middle of the night. It’s as if you are alone, unhindered by the noises of a busy world and your mind is free to think and remember all the times in the past when the wise ones of the ages spoke to you in person, or through their written words. Everything makes so damn much sense. So as I sit and listen to the popping noise of my fingers hitting the lap top computer; I imagine all those lights from the past and those still present who were put here by some divine force to guide humanity in a direction that will perpetuate the regeneration of human life on this ball in the sky. I imagine them standing around me, mentoring my actions to a place beautiful and unknown.
I was told once by the poet U.N. Known, that there are rules of engagement, so to speak, when you attempt to write something that others may consider reading. The first went something like, always write as though you are on your death bed and these are the last words that anyone will ever see from you. Your last testament as they say. The second, never forget that just because you read a few books and you were fortunate to enough to be involved throughout your life with some of the most brilliant minds of your time, that this doesn’t make you the final authority on any subject. A true writer is a humble and compassionate soul that recognizes that in the blink of an eye she/he could be sitting next to the homeless person that you pass everyday on your way to the grocery store. Third, Keep in mind that your perceptions about life are always limited to some degree and that you could be wrong in the way you are describing what you “think” you see. Never be afraid to trust another set of eyes, especially those of one who has nothing to lose by telling the truth. Some of the most profound words ever spoken and seldom heard came from people who were destitute and seemed to be on their last breath. They are the ones who hold no fear of what others think of them or what is to come because soon all of that will not matter anymore and they will be gone from this world. I have heard people call these sort visionaries or prophets.
The word ‘prophet’ has been considerably beat up over the last millennium or so to where some believe the word to identify a person who could tell the future. This is a slight distortion from the original meaning. Within the Hebrew tradition the term comes from the word “nabi” which means something closer to one ‘who speaks for another’. I define the word in another way that indicates someone who is telling you, “stop doing what you are doing or bad things will continue to happen.” The reference in the ancient writings from various traditions often included one who would speak for those who had been forgotten by the rest of society, the marginalized. Using this criterion there are many contemporary prophets who are shouting about the regrettable state of affairs of the marginalized and it would do one well to listen to their words. When I tell people about the misuse of the word prophet I often remember a character in a story recited by Homer many tears and many years ago. Her name was Cassandra who was given the gift of prophesy by a god in exchange for sexual favors. When she denied the god, Apollo, his desires he took revenge by assuring that none of her prophecies would be believed. This unbelieving is of course a common occurrence among prophets even to this day.
One case in point is the story of Dianna Ortiz, a Catholic nun who was working as a missionary in Guatemala aiding women and teaching Mayan grade school children. On November 2nd, 1989 she was abducted by Guatemalan military units funded and trained by the representatives of the US government. They took her to a secret prison in Guatemala City where she was tortured and repeatedly raped during questioning for the next 24 hours. She eventually escaped but before she did she was told by the American consultant who was in charge during her torture session that it was by her own fault that she was captured and tortured for not heeding the written anonymous threats that were sent to her.
After she was back in the United States Sr. Ortiz told her story. According to her testimony given in September 2005 at the Call for Justice conference in Washington D. C. she stated that at first, “I was labeled a liar, a crazy women” by many people who did not believe her. This unbelieving, plus her insistence to speak for others whom she knew had suffered the same fate and did not survive, many of whom were women and children, are the ear markings of a contemporary prophet. Her courage to speak for others when so many were willing to kill her to maintain her silence moves beyond the description of a beautiful human being of integrity.
There is one other item of importance that I would like to mention about Sr. Ortiz. When she was interviewed by John Pilger in 2007, she remarked:
“I’ve heard people say that what happened in Abu Ghraib (US prison in Iraq from 2003-2004) is an isolated incident and… I have to just shake my head and say, ‘Are we on the same planet? Aren’t you aware of our (the United States) history? Isn’t history taught in the classrooms about the role of the US Government in human rights violations?’” To watch this interview click Here.
It is blatantly obvious that these types of histories are shielded from the view of many Americans. Accurate history is available, but you have to go find it.
Continue below to learn more about the US Government’s involvement in torture programs.
Please be advised. Some of the images in the following video’s depict graphic violence and may not be appropriate for some viewing audiences.
To watch the Dianna Ortiz interview with John Pilger click here.
To watch a history of the US Governments involvement in the torture and deaths of religious and others click here.
To watch a history of US torture centers in Iraq click here.
To view and read about ten infamous US operated torture centers click here.
To watch an interview with the former UK Ambassador to Uzbekistan on the US use of the torture center there click here.
