On this day, we celebrate the birth of a person who changed the world. He came on this Earth during the era of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire (whose territories are from Iraq to Britain at its peak in ca. 117 A.D.) was filled with imperialism and oppression against the Hebrew people. Yet, he was a person who gave free health care to people in miracles, condemned materialism by sending greedy people out of the Temple, and said the revolutionary words that, "the kingdom of God is within you." He was scorned by hypocritical the Sadducees and Pharisees who desired the status quo. His allies and followers were the apostles who preached his Gospel of peace, justice, and reconciliation with God. He did revolutionary actions like healing someone on the Sabbath, preventing the stoning of a woman, and discussing theological matters with rabbis when he was a teenager. Many of the apostles would be killed like Peter, Matthew, and others, but their courage are always remembered by us. The man who changed the word is Jesus Christ or his Hebrew name is Yeshua.
Jesus Christ is both compassionate and militant to condemn injustice. His life signaled a new epoch in human history. Back then, the 2nd Temple was in existence, and Jewish people were in constant conflict with the Roman Empire over rituals and sovereignty. Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God. He was falsely accused, crucified, and rose from the dead 3 days later. It has been over 2,000 years since he was born on the Earth. Far right extremists and neo-liberal moderates are ever clear in their intention to desire no bold change to help humanity. Even when millions of Americans face evictions from their homes because of a lack of pandemic relief, you still have some moderates plus far right people saying that doing a minuscule amount is enough. That is a disgrace. Today, we have many challenges today (like health care disparities, racism, police brutality, poverty, food insecurity, and other issues). Yet, we are people born beyond just with DNA, molecules, and synapses. We have a mind and soul which should be inspired to fight for what is right along with fighting for justice.
We have another breaking news of armed fascists storming another capitol in Oregon. Many of our great grandparents were American soldiers who fought the Nazis in WWII. I have relatives on both sides of my family who were WWII veterans. Today, we still have to defeat fascism in America. These armed extremists were led by Joey Gibson and Chandler Pappas of the Patriot Prayer group. They wanted to stop a 800 million dollar bill to help landlords, tenants, and extend an eviction moratorium. Some of these people have body armor and had semi-automatic rifles. They sprayed mace at the police. They also shattered windows in the Oregon capitol. In contrast to these terrorists, thousands of anti-police brutality protests in America have been peaceful. Many of the fascists shouted racist and fascist chants.
Some sad news today is that hip hop pioneer recently passed away. His name is John "Ecstasy" Fletcher. He was only 56 years old. He was a member of the trailblazing group of Whodini. Whodini sold out concerts during the 1980's. He or John Fletcher was a legendary hip hop artist. Hip hop is about the flow, bars, moving the crowd, and charisma too. The essence of hip hop is about making your audience understand and feel what you're saying. He was a man who was underappreciated by some, but his contributions will always be acknowledged by us. Whodini came from Brooklyn, NYC. Jermaine Dupri got his start in the business with help from Whodini. Dupri, Questlove, Q-Tip, LL Cool J, and others gave their condolences to him. Fletcher broke down barriers, had fashion, and loved hip hop everyday.
Rest in Power Brother John Fletcher.
It's a bizarre time in the world. We have Trump wanting $2000 checks for Americans, but his motives are insincere. He is doing this out of spite not out of an intention to help Americans. The reason is that many Republican Senators desire to not steal the election for him. The truth is that Americans deserve $2,000, but the issue that many Republicans in Congress now refuse to allow that to happen. Democrats want it, and powerful Democrats have mentioned this desire on their Twitter accounts. The relief bill is worth 900 billion dollars. We have the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression with millions of Americans unemployed. We have witnessed a record amount of people at food pantries in Harlem, in Texas, in Virginia, in California, in Florida, in Chicago, in the rural areas, and in other places nationwide. The infections from the virus continue to reach record highs in America along with a variant strain found in the UK. This tragedy has increased, because we have an economic system that cares more for profit than human lives. It is a vicious economic system that must be changed radically.
By Timothy