Dr Bhoe Tewarie
It is not easy to find inspiration in this topsy-turvy, confusing world. But I find the march of the Buddhist monks from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington DC very inspirational. They started their walk on October 26, 2024, and ended it on February 10th. They walked northwards across the colder states, and a major storm, which brought snow, ice and cold, did not deter them.
It is a stark contrast to the shameful sacrilege of the Epstein files, which even with only a partial release and names of prominent participants redacted, have sent shockwaves across the world, in a world in which the shocking things the rich and powerful are capable of doing no longer shock.
When Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness, and penned the words “the horror, the horror,” he sought to illustrate that the heart of darkness was not the Congo, but in the hearts of those with an imperial mindset who justified the conquest of others with the illusion of uplifting heathen savages.
The march of the monks built momentum in each town they passed through and ended with a big bang in Washington DC. They will march a symbolic six miles to their monastery in Fort Worth when they return to Texas. The mainstream media has not given coverage to the march, nor has it reflected on its possible meaning so far, but social media has been active in following it and sharing stories of human and spiritual connection.
Regarding the Epstein files, which the mainstream media has been doggedly pursuing, what is remarkable is the inability of the American system to deal with evidence of evil and malevolence, and its inability to find its way to the dispensation of justice because of the level and intensity of intertwined corruption and block and tackle politics in Washington DC. In his campaign for the presidency on the first occasion, Donald Trump said he would drain the swamp of corruption in Washington DC. Now, the world finds that the swamp extends much further, to other realms of the powerful. And even some MAGA observers feel Trump has been central to the swamp all along.
Notwithstanding, while the Epstein files have created a crisis in the UK, Trump and a range of officials identified in the report seem unbothered. This raises serious issues about how a democracy functions, about standards of expected behaviour and the unwritten rules of social and political tolerance in US society. Further, the link with President Putin on the one hand, and with insider trading of information, business opportunities and the flow of money across borders and across accounts, made possible by the desire of powerful men to exploit young women without conscience or shame, aided and abetted by a criminal human trafficking ring which glued everything together, is abhorrent in the extreme.
The Epstein files have, in one blow, revealed just how truly corrupt and depraved world leadership in a variety of spheres actually is; and just how plundered ordinary people are everywhere they live. It has also revealed just how deeply savage the male view of women can be, aided and abetted by complicit women who also crave power, money, influence and adoration. It is all pretty horrifying and very disturbing.
And then came the controversy of Bad Bunny, an unapologetic Puerto Rican, performing at the Super Bowl straight from his triumph at the Grammy awards, whose manifest theme for the night was resistance to anti-immigrant aggression manifested by ICE occupation of several sanctuary cities over time, exacerbated by provocation and murders of two protesters during their unwelcome occupation of Minneapolis.
And what was the controversy over Bad Bunny performing? Well, he sings only in Spanish and took a consistently hard line of opposition to President Trump’s immigration policy and aggressive anti-immigrant actions. Inevitably, his performance attracted high viewership on television and social media.
What did Bad Bunny do? He communicated. What did he communicate? 1) that Spanish was the first language of a plurality (40-45%) of people in the Western Hemisphere; 2) that there was a shared culture among Latin American and Caribbean peoples that represented a whole, alternative way of living; 3) that the hemisphere was not just about the United States but all the countries of the Americas who aspired to shared prosperity, easy movement of people, and recognition of cultural and linguistic diversity - an inspired pushback to the America first ideology.
As the currents flow, over the months, we shall all see what kind of shock will be most powerful and where and when the major political explosion will take place.
