Happy Kwanzaa – Now Give Us All Your Money, Greedy Capitalst Pigs! (Kwanaa Series continued)
Ujamaa (cooperative economics) and Nia (purpose)
My series on Kwanzaa and why I think it is antithetical to American values continues with the fourth and fifth principles of Kwanzaa, Ujamaa and Nia. You can read Parts 1-4 of this series here, here, here and here.
It is no secret that Kwanzaa has its basis in Marxism. These third and fourth principles of this modern “holiday” speak to that fact loud and clear. Ujamaa is the principle of “cooperative economics” and Nia is the principle of “purpose”. Although these principles are celebrated on two different Kwanzaa days, they fit together quite snugly in the Kwanzaa basket. Kwanzaa founder Ron Everett (Maulana Ron Karenga) explains it best in his 2011 annual Kwanzaa newsletter: Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) reaf- firms the ethics of the harvest, shared work and shared wealth. It thus is opposed to in- equitable distribution of wealth, and re- source monopoly and plunder by the rich and powerful. And it teaches us to privilege the poor and vulnerable, and uphold the right of all peoples to live lives of freedom, dignity, well-being and ongoing develop- ment. Ujamaa also urges us to give rightful recognition and support to the small farmers and farm workers of the world for the vital role they play in feeding and sustaining peo- ple and the planet, especially in the context of the globalization of agriculture and its destructive effects on the lives and lands of the people.
The principle of Nia (Purpose) teaches us to embrace and respond creatively to the collective vocation of restoring to our peo- ple the position and possibilities of great achievements thru doing good in the world.
For the sacred teaching of our ancestors in the Husia say that “the wise are known by their wisdom and the great are known by their good deeds.” And in the Odu Ifa, they tell us that we “humans are divinely chosen to bring good in the world” and that this is the fundamental mission and meaning in human life.
Classic Marxist humanism right down the comfortable use of the word “collective” (which, as an avid Trekkie also reminds me of the distinguished Captain Picard and his awful experience at the hands of the Borg Collective; sorry, had to nerd out there for a second) and the idea that our purpose in life is help by redistribution rather than starting in our homes by bettering ourselves and our families. We’ve seen the policies of redistribution put into place around the world and it has led to tyranny and poverty every single time. Greece handed their entire country over to redistribution and they are now witnessing the collapse of their own society. The African nations Karenga holds in such high esteem over our own traitor-nation of America have been practicing redistribution for decades. Americans have been transferring their wealth to Africans for many, many years via the United Nations, food programs and other foreign aid. Thus far our billions and billions in American aid has been liberally redistributed in Africa…to African dictators who murder and abuse their own citizens; they let the people starve while they distribute much needed aid money to their personal associates, private bank accounts and lavish lifestyles. Redistribution is just a fancy way of saying “stealing”, and Kwanzaa is based on the idea of redistribution – a policy that is proven to create criminals and despots around the world.
Kwanzaa is not the peaceful, mult-cultural “holiday” our schools lead our children to believe it is. It is a direct attack on American values, capitalism and freedom. It is born of the man who created a militant organization in the ‘60s known as US, as in “us against them”… need anything more be said about that. As we wind down our Kwanzaa exploration with the final day falling on New Year’s, I will be sure to talk more about the founder’s criminal record and shady history. Just as Karenga and his followers feel it is necessary for Black people to understand their history in order to “rights the wrongs of the past”, I feel it is equally important to understand the history of a manufactured holiday whose founding father is a criminal and a racist.
