Haile Selassie articulated His clear vision for how people needed to change their mentality in order for the world to ever achieve “the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality”, and, importantly, for the African continent to finally know peace. Among the ways people’s mentality needed to change, H.I.M. identified & instructed:
• the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes
• the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned
• there are no longer first class and second class citizens of any nation
His Majesty was a strong proponent of lasting peace in the world and spoke of it frequently in hopes that it would be attained. According to His Majesty, clinging to ideologies rooted in racial prejudice/racism would prevent peace from emerging and becoming the lasting order across Africa and the world. Whether embracing the ideology of "Black supremacy" or "White supremacy", the supremacist makes the choice to regard an genetically insignificant but unchangeable physical human characteristic (the shade of a person’s skin) as far more significant “than the color of his eyes”.
That His Majesty JAH RastafarI refused to countenance racism and racial discrimination in any form, or provocative actions/speech that would serve to foment racial tensions, is abundantly evident from His Teachings. In effect, H.I.M. declared over a half century ago, to those who heard and respected H.I.M., an end to the mentality of “black versus white”.
“We reaffirm today, in the name of principle and right, our opposition to prejudice, WHEREVER AND IN WHATEVER FORM IT MAY BE FOUND, and particularly do we rededicate ourselves to the eradication of racial discrimination from this continent. We can never rest content with our achievements so long as men, in any part of Africa, assert on racial grounds their superiority over the least of our brothers. Racial discrimination constitutes a negation of the spiritual and psychological equality which we have fought to achieve and a denial of the personality and dignity which we have struggled to establish for ourselves as Africans.” – Haile Selassie I, May 1963
Racism, clannishness, tribalism, black nationalism-- these mentalities clearly find no quarter among the moral values of H.I.M. who sought to emulate Christ in His Own Life.
“When Jesus Christ was born from Virgin Mary, from that time on He lived an exemplary life, a life which men everywhere must emulate. This life and the faith which He has taught us assures us of salvation, assures us also of harmony and good life upon earth. Because of the exemplary character of the life of Jesus Christ it is necessary that all men do their maximum in their human efforts to see to it that they approximate as much as they can the good example that has been set by Him." – Haile Selassie I
Haile Selassie I repudiated the kind of racial discrimination and separatism you advocate, Zion Mountain. You can display the His Majesty's Holy Name like a cheap banner and carry it in front of you like one of Babylon's brand name (e.g., “RastafarI™” ), but you are openly expressing contempt and disdain for the moral values and Teachings of His Majesty.
We must heed His Majesty's injunctions and stop letting Babylon’s divisive racial labels (i.e., “black and white”) dominate the discourse.
|
|
