finalanalyedu2

Final Analysis
Mashhood Rizvi

"Never in history has violence been initiated by the oppressed. How could they be the initiators, if they themselves are the result of violence? How could they be the sponsors of something whose objective inauguration called forth their existence as oppressed? There would be no oppressed had there been no prior situation of violence to establish their subjugation. Violence is initiated by those who oppress, who exploit, who fail to recognize others as persons - not by those who are oppressed, exploited and unrecognized.”

Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 1972

The second edition of EDucate! is being released when we, once more, find ourselves caught in horrifying acts of global violence and terror. Once more, the nefarious basis of the global village, democracy and peace, has been unveiled. Once more, world powers have looked away from the real causes of violence and unrest. Once more, the global media has proven to be a spineless servant of the relentless powerful, blatantly refusing to fulfill its responsibility of investigating and conveying the truth to the masses. Once more, the educational institutions of the world have remained silent, failing to educate and re-position society for a 'just' solution to the soaring problems of global inequality and social injustice. Once more, a large majority of so-called intellectuals of global society have failed to delineate 'symptoms' from 'problems'. Once more, the events of 11th September (I say 'events' as innumerable horrendous, dehumanizing acts of violence and war crimes of the past 50 years are yet to be recognized as 'terrorist' acts/attacks) have warned us of the devastating consequences of 'oppression' and 'subjugation'. Once more, we have been reminded of the power of the human instinct to be 'free'.

According to the 'best selling' Oxford Dictionary, oppression is 'a prolonged harsh or cruel treatment of control'. This is precisely what most of us (the so-called ‘Third World’) have experienced since World War II - a prolonged, ever increasing misery. The gulf between the rich and the poor is unparalleled in history. This gap between the rich and poor has taken different shapes and forms. It is not only about money anymore; it's about 'power'; power to control and suppress, power to annihilate challenging and provocative learning processes - especially those which may expose the functioning of the most unjust world that human history has ever encountered. We are witnessing an age of monumental repression in which institutions (Global Media and Education Systems) are given the strategic, complex and critical task of 'thought-control'. Thought-control is crucial for illegitimate political and economic systems to pillage the Earth and humanity on a global scale, as any efforts that might challenge authority and domination must be continuously marginalized and destroyed. The appalling outcome has been the powerlessness of most of the world's population to control their own affairs and function as independent human beings consequently causing frightening escalation of grueling oppression and social control.

Yet a deep and thorough analysis of the current context must be followed by faith in and hope for change. The long history of suppressing human freedom has a series of glittering examples of resistance and the reclamation of dignity. These examples range from the battles against colonial invasion to profound provocation against the instruments of indoctrination. In our age, a number of thinkers, leaders and activists like Allama Iqbal, Tagore, Shariati, Freire, Chomsky and Said represent the morality of the human spirit and its instinct to liberate itself from forced domination. History teaches us that individual and collective consciousness forms the core of optimism and fuels the struggle to challenge the forces of legitimized evil. As Iqbal describes, "consciousness is the towering testament to the nobility of being human, which leads to an existence of disdain for materialism and to a genuine concern for others".

This is the onus that education must bear - empowering and liberating people. It is time that the educational institutions came into the picture and developed intellectual, social and educational understanding of oppression. Only by educating ourselves of the real causes of oppression can we intelligently distinguish between acts of terrorism and liberation struggles. Only by educating ourselves can we begin to scythe through the blatant lies and relentless propaganda imposed by the media. And, only by educating ourselves can we differentiate between the 'oppressor' and the 'oppressed'.

As educators and as agents of social change, we should learn from the thinkers and intellectuals who articulated the will of countless sufferers by addressing paradoxically simple issues: the inhuman categorization of people, the rights to privilege, the self-proclaimed superiority of western values, functional inequality, the quest for greed, the concentration of power and wealth, morally and environmentally abusive consumerism, and the value of each human soul. Perhaps it is for this reason that, despite the seductive power of the media and perpetual educational indoctrination - which has tried to devalue or confuse their messages - these thinkers are still able to generate an enormous response from all corners of the world. Such responses provide indisputable evidence of the reflexive human will and hope to be free, regardless of relentless assaults from the managers and instruments of thought-control.

The processes generated by raising such questions have galvanized many cultures and civilizations to respect, value and regenerate a democratic learning spirit, to understand the mechanisms of exploitation and to construct a challenge based on the principles of morality and justice. They have done so by exposing the rhetoric of systems of abuse, which have falsely projected themselves as righteous and fair. A recent effort in this direction can be found in the Iranian Revolution, which was highly demonized by the global media. Shariati's vital role as an educator motivated the Iranian people to reclaim the moral roots of their civilization, thereby creating the foundation for a longstanding struggle against tyranny. This struggle was nurtured in indigenous, voluntary and spiritually motivated spaces for dialogue and reflection. The moral anchors for this dialogue were the spirits of 'Huq' (truth), and 'Sabr' (patience and sacrifice). Such discourse provides the ground for values to be actualized in an individual, and for a society to liberate itself from the fundamental immorality of the abuse of power. In a similar vein, Edward Said emphasizes the popular role insurrection plays to challenge the ruthless oppression of Palestinians. Such uprisings of people represent the unflinching struggle of the human spirit to de-legitimize brutal occupation, regardless of massive global propaganda and thought-control.

Many would think that I am trying to legitimize violence; I think I have done exactly the opposite. We are faced with ghastly situations and acts of violence on a daily basis. Very seldom (or perhaps never) do we try and create social relationships between oppression and violence. I strongly believe that whilst considering violence, we must consider greater acts of violence and subjugation. We have continued to treat violence as a problem instead of realizing that it is actually one (of many) symptoms of a huge problem - the strangulating problem of social control. In concluding this issue of EDucate!, I vehemently urge that the struggle between justice and tyranny cannot and should not be reduced to 'rich vs. poor', 'white vs. black' or, for that matter, 'West vs. East'. This has transpired in the past and is an extreme detriment to the advancement of dialogues. Instead, the key to understanding monumental injustice is the knowledge of the 'hows'; the mechanisms that subjugate and bewilder the innate moral instincts in all of us. This critical awareness underscores the most important course of future actions: to develop reflections and capacities for communities around the world to engage in serious institutional analyses, which penetrate into the very core of our daily lives. Nurturing understandings, which unravel the deceitful claims of the elite to righteousness, is the most critical step towards launching a serious global challenge to this oppressive control. This challenge is always there but so is the promise and vision of a 'just' world.

*Articles*
Open Letters Societal Learning (Books) Societal Learning (Websites) Icon of Liberation Knowing Paulo Freire The Chomsky Archive Mass Media, Globalization and the Public Mind Rethinking Development Rethinking Education In Search of a New Paradigm of Quality Education An Illiterate's Declaration to the literacy Preacher Voice of the Voiceless Alternate Views An Interview with the Creator & Producer of Alternative Radio Other Articles Main Articles Subscribe now		Final Analysis Mashhood Rizvi "Never in history has violence been initiated by the oppressed. How could they be the initiators, if they themselves are the result of violence? How could they be the sponsors of something whose objective inauguration called forth their existence as oppressed? There would be no oppressed had there been no prior situation of violence to establish their subjugation. Violence is initiated by those who oppress, who exploit, who fail to recognize others as persons - not by those who are oppressed, exploited and unrecognized.” Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 1972 The second edition of EDucate! is being released when we, once more, find ourselves caught in horrifying acts of global violence and terror. Once more, the nefarious basis of the global village, democracy and peace, has been unveiled. Once more, world powers have looked away from the real causes of violence and unrest. Once more, the global media has proven to be a spineless servant of the relentless powerful, blatantly refusing to fulfill its responsibility of investigating and conveying the truth to the masses. Once more, the educational institutions of the world have remained silent, failing to educate and re-position society for a 'just' solution to the soaring problems of global inequality and social injustice. Once more, a large majority of so-called intellectuals of global society have failed to delineate 'symptoms' from 'problems'. Once more, the events of 11th September (I say 'events' as innumerable horrendous, dehumanizing acts of violence and war crimes of the past 50 years are yet to be recognized as 'terrorist' acts/attacks) have warned us of the devastating consequences of 'oppression' and 'subjugation'. Once more, we have been reminded of the power of the human instinct to be 'free'. According to the 'best selling' Oxford Dictionary, oppression is 'a prolonged harsh or cruel treatment of control'. This is precisely what most of us (the so-called ‘Third World’) have experienced since World War II - a prolonged, ever increasing misery. The gulf between the rich and the poor is unparalleled in history. This gap between the rich and poor has taken different shapes and forms. It is not only about money anymore; it's about 'power'; power to control and suppress, power to annihilate challenging and provocative learning processes - especially those which may expose the functioning of the most unjust world that human history has ever encountered. We are witnessing an age of monumental repression in which institutions (Global Media and Education Systems) are given the strategic, complex and critical task of 'thought-control'. Thought-control is crucial for illegitimate political and economic systems to pillage the Earth and humanity on a global scale, as any efforts that might challenge authority and domination must be continuously marginalized and destroyed. The appalling outcome has been the powerlessness of most of the world's population to control their own affairs and function as independent human beings consequently causing frightening escalation of grueling oppression and social control. Yet a deep and thorough analysis of the current context must be followed by faith in and hope for change. The long history of suppressing human freedom has a series of glittering examples of resistance and the reclamation of dignity. These examples range from the battles against colonial invasion to profound provocation against the instruments of indoctrination. In our age, a number of thinkers, leaders and activists like Allama Iqbal, Tagore, Shariati, Freire, Chomsky and Said represent the morality of the human spirit and its instinct to liberate itself from forced domination. History teaches us that individual and collective consciousness forms the core of optimism and fuels the struggle to challenge the forces of legitimized evil. As Iqbal describes, "consciousness is the towering testament to the nobility of being human, which leads to an existence of disdain for materialism and to a genuine concern for others". This is the onus that education must bear - empowering and liberating people. It is time that the educational institutions came into the picture and developed intellectual, social and educational understanding of oppression. Only by educating ourselves of the real causes of oppression can we intelligently distinguish between acts of terrorism and liberation struggles. Only by educating ourselves can we begin to scythe through the blatant lies and relentless propaganda imposed by the media. And, only by educating ourselves can we differentiate between the 'oppressor' and the 'oppressed'. As educators and as agents of social change, we should learn from the thinkers and intellectuals who articulated the will of countless sufferers by addressing paradoxically simple issues: the inhuman categorization of people, the rights to privilege, the self-proclaimed superiority of western values, functional inequality, the quest for greed, the concentration of power and wealth, morally and environmentally abusive consumerism, and the value of each human soul. Perhaps it is for this reason that, despite the seductive power of the media and perpetual educational indoctrination - which has tried to devalue or confuse their messages - these thinkers are still able to generate an enormous response from all corners of the world. Such responses provide indisputable evidence of the reflexive human will and hope to be free, regardless of relentless assaults from the managers and instruments of thought-control. The processes generated by raising such questions have galvanized many cultures and civilizations to respect, value and regenerate a democratic learning spirit, to understand the mechanisms of exploitation and to construct a challenge based on the principles of morality and justice. They have done so by exposing the rhetoric of systems of abuse, which have falsely projected themselves as righteous and fair. A recent effort in this direction can be found in the Iranian Revolution, which was highly demonized by the global media. Shariati's vital role as an educator motivated the Iranian people to reclaim the moral roots of their civilization, thereby creating the foundation for a longstanding struggle against tyranny. This struggle was nurtured in indigenous, voluntary and spiritually motivated spaces for dialogue and reflection. The moral anchors for this dialogue were the spirits of 'Huq' (truth), and 'Sabr' (patience and sacrifice). Such discourse provides the ground for values to be actualized in an individual, and for a society to liberate itself from the fundamental immorality of the abuse of power. In a similar vein, Edward Said emphasizes the popular role insurrection plays to challenge the ruthless oppression of Palestinians. Such uprisings of people represent the unflinching struggle of the human spirit to de-legitimize brutal occupation, regardless of massive global propaganda and thought-control. Many would think that I am trying to legitimize violence; I think I have done exactly the opposite. We are faced with ghastly situations and acts of violence on a daily basis. Very seldom (or perhaps never) do we try and create social relationships between oppression and violence. I strongly believe that whilst considering violence, we must consider greater acts of violence and subjugation. We have continued to treat violence as a problem instead of realizing that it is actually one (of many) symptoms of a huge problem - the strangulating problem of social control. In concluding this issue of EDucate!, I vehemently urge that the struggle between justice and tyranny cannot and should not be reduced to 'rich vs. poor', 'white vs. black' or, for that matter, 'West vs. East'. This has transpired in the past and is an extreme detriment to the advancement of dialogues. Instead, the key to understanding monumental injustice is the knowledge of the 'hows'; the mechanisms that subjugate and bewilder the innate moral instincts in all of us. This critical awareness underscores the most important course of future actions: to develop reflections and capacities for communities around the world to engage in serious institutional analyses, which penetrate into the very core of our daily lives. Nurturing understandings, which unravel the deceitful claims of the elite to righteousness, is the most critical step towards launching a serious global challenge to this oppressive control. This challenge is always there but so is the promise and vision of a 'just' world.