Editorial
How European Mythology Relates to Africa and the Caribbean
And in fact, while we think we are embarrassingly at a loss, maybe this illusion is not necessarily the truth. Besides, in regaling us with these tales of mythology, it was important to note that men were always being made more portentous than they actually were. This was a deliberate attempt to inspire on the one hand but also the make people work harder.
Like Ryan says, sometimes subtle messages are spread by western media and academics who make parochial comparisons between the West and the Third World. He continues by suggesting that they paint sad and pitiful pictures while pilfering and plundering the regions just like China is doing today.
These are very seductive and cogent arguments or accusations to make against the relevant parties. And yes – we could find all kinds of counterarguments. But we will not do that here. We will heed the lessons from the adventures and tasks under taken by Thor and his traveling companies. Surely, if humanity is blessed with a collegiality, then the lessons in Norse [or even Greek or Roman] mythology must apply to the Africans and their kin in the Caribbean. There’s nothing facetious about this line of reasoning.
Towards the setting of this argument, it could be said that as Europe and America struggle against the East in maintaining their respective legacies and also battling economic hardship, it might be interesting to see how their abilities in shaping the meta narrative of Africa influence Africa’s growth.
Of course, this will be made even more difficult when Africa finally becomes that destination for virgin and rewarding investment attributes so that the benefits that are seen in the West are finally experienced by scores of black people all over the world.
And finally, to make connections between the recently concluded Olympics and the black world, Ryan says that in terms of athletics, the black people do run fast and the world is taking notice [Mr. Bolt won golds – and a Ugandan won the gold in the long distance marathon]. Lastly, Africa is on the rise while Europe is fading. And for countries who have been independent for 50-60 years, that is quite an impressive feat because, as babies, they went from crawling to running overnight albeit with shaky starts and stumbles.
Dennis Matanda
Editor – editor@thehabarinetwork
Please send your comments to: Ryan Elcock | [email protected]
