South African anti-apartheid activist Mamphela Ramphele speaks at East London Airport in Eastern Cape, South Africa, after arriving to attend the funeral of former South African President Nelson Mandela on Saturday, December 14, 2013.
Dai Kurokawa / AP
The story will probably be Joe Biden’s speech at his inauguration on January 20, either because of his inventory of america’s problems and the difficult solution he asked for: unity. For a unity style, Biden can simply resort to the African concept of Ubuntu as a way to heal the many damaged relationships in the United States.
In an essay for an e-book called “The New Possible,” South African physician and anti-apartheid activist Mamphela Ramphele explains how Ubuntu can unite communities and Americans at the same time.
“The principles of Ubuntu are the original wisdom of all our non-unusual Array ancestors. . . that the only way they can not only survive, but also thrive, is by painting in combination to unite with others in a way that says, ‘I am, because you are. ‘”
“The principles of Ubuntu are the original wisdom of all our non-unusual ancestors because remember: all human beings originate here in Africa,” Ramphele says. “It is this wisdom that our ancestors began to perceive, that the only way to survive, but also to prosper, is to paint in combination to identify relationships with others in a way that says, “I am, because you are. “But also, they have developed a very deep veneration for nature. not only the relationships and interdependence between human beings, but also between human beings and the total life of nature”.
“When I say, “I am, because you are, ” I say, “I will do all that I know you want to prosper so that you can do the same to me. “
She adds: ‘When I say’ I am, because you are ‘, I tell you’ I will do everything I know you want to thrive so that you can do the same with me’, because life insurance for all species in an ecosystem contributes usefully to the well-being of other living species. “
Ramphele learned Ubuntu principles from her elders while developing in a rural village in South Africa in Limpopo province, a domain she describes as “absolutely idyllic. “
“We were at the foot of the Soutpansberg Mountains and we had a giant and prolonged circle of relatives,” he says. “They taught you the values of Ubuntu, not saying, “You’ll have to; don’t do that, ” however, they tell you, “No, my expensive son, a user doesn’t do that. “So, not living according to Ubuntu values is defining yourself outdoors as the circle of human relatives. do anything big, they say, “That’s what a user does. “Thus, we have been affirmed in this way of life, this philosophy of life that encompasses everything. “
Related: Mamphela Ramphele, anti-apartheid activist, launches new policy ”Agang”
Affirmation is a key concept in Ubuntu. Rampehel defines it as “respect for others because they are human” . . . And that respect manifests itself in treating others the way you need to be treated,” he explains.
Many neuroscientists now that humiliation is the worst trauma that can be suffered to some other user, ramphele says, because “unfortunately, one of the consequences is that the humiliated user loses respect for himself, loses respect for life. And because he’s humiliated,” they don’t attack the attacker, they have a tendency to attack those closest to them, and they have a tendency to attack other people who look like them. And, of course, there’s a lot of self-harm, that happens, whether it’s through drugs or another bureaucracy of self-destruction. [. . . ] [A] dermall is exactly aimed at countering any suggestion of treating others in a way that humiliates them.
Moreover, humiliation is transmitted from one generation to the next, Ramphele says. She believes that the trauma of humiliation inflicted on ancestors through slavery and other abuse “is a component of our genetic structure” [and] awakens through any traumatic event. »
“It’s as if reminiscence is in our blood, in our genes. And when we come across a traumatic experience, we react as if we were the ones who were just enslaved or simply tortured. “
“It’s like reminiscence is in our blood, in our genes,” he says. “And when we came across a traumatic experience, we reacted as if we were the ones who had just been enslaved or simply tortured. This pain lasts from generation to generation”. generation unless, on my continent or in my country, it is ritualized in the healing procedure.
Ubuntu principles exist in many cultures and languages, even under its name, Ramphele adds.
“You don’t have to call it [Ubuntu], however, what you want to do is recognize that at the bottom of you is this inextricable connection. “
“You don’t have to call it [Ubuntu], however, what you want to do is recognize that at the bottom of you is this inextricable connection,” he says. “The defining moments in your history in the United States . . . they were when they gave you together, whether walking in Washington, or even sometimes unhappy, where you bury your heroes, but also when you celebrate the appointment of a new president, that’s when the highest positive power is in your country. informed of that. “
“I believe that COVID [-19] has opened our eyes to [the fact that] we cannot be cured, we can only be intelligent if the ecosystem in which we are located, adding the human community, goes well,” Ramphele continues. “We know that humans and their immune systems are more productive when they feel enjoyed [and] assertive, even in the poverty of curtains. “
“Now we have the opportunity to reinvent a world where we ourselves are components of nature,” he says. “We did not save nature. Nature will save itself. We will have to save ourselves from this existential crisis by fundamentally converting the way we live. ” , our relationships with each other and our relationships with the rest of life. And that’s the opportunity we have. “
This article is about an interview with Steve Curwood broadcast on PRX’s Living on Earth.
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