MOST INTERESTING ESSAYS 12/4/25: THEORY & TRUTH, MEMORY & INTELLIGENCE, PSYCHIATRY, WRITING, EGYPT IN 2019, LIVE OR DIE, GARDEN OF EDEN, SOCIAL DYSFUNCTION, DEATH ROW, RIGHT & WRONG, FRANTZ FANON, TRUTHINESS, CONSPIRACY, LIBERALITY, LIFE IS LIQUID, BECOMING god-LIKE, TIPPING POINT, VANISHING WORLD
Red Rock Canyon is one of many natural wonders in the Las Vegas Valley. Hiking, biking, and climbing are popular resident and tourist pastimes.
ROCK CLIMBERS IN RED ROCK CANYON–20 MINUTES FROM THE LAS VEGAS STRIP
Charleston Boulevard is a major east/west arterial road in Las Vegas. Travel for 20 minutes east on the Boulevard and Red Rock Canyon looms large; the vista explains the name. Like rusty pieces of sheet metal, hills are colored and striped by iron oxide bleeding red below a blue skyline. In January, it can be cold (say 30 to 40 degrees) and windy (say 30 to 40 mph) but on a good January day temperatures can be in the 60s with no wind.
Charleston Boulevard is a major east/west arterial road in Las Vegas. Travel for 20 minutes east on the Boulevard and Red Rock Canyon looms large; the vista explains the name.
Hiking the Bristlecone Loop on winter days is an oddly quiet experience, even though birds are flying in and out of parched bushes and bleached bark trees, there is little chirping. Burros track the fields and valleys with an occasional mountain goat peeking down from a ridge.
HIKING THE BRISTLECONE LOOP ON WINTER DAYS IS AN ODDLY QUIET EXPERIENCE, EVEN THOUGH BIRDS ARE FLYING IN AND OUT OF PARCHED BUSHES AND BLEACHED BARKTREES, THERE IS LITTLE CHIPING.
Well-traveled hiking Trails split the terrain leading to tiny snow melt waterfalls, clear water streams and occasional wild life. Ancient tribes left their mark on sandstone Red Rock Canyon monoliths jutting from dried grass ground. Climbers cling to mountain face crevices on their way to nowhere to satisfy some untouched need.
A VIEW OF LAS VEGAS IN THE DISTANCE FROM A HIKE UP “MUFFIN”
The Las Vegas Valley packs a lot of life styles within an hour’s drive; i.e. entertainment and dining that rivals New York; Boulder Dam, Mount Charleston, and Red Rock Canyon that offer every outdoor experience a resident or tourist can think of.
VIEW FROM MT. CHARLESTON–WHEN ITS 100 DEGREES IN LAS VEGAS, THIS 30 MINUTE DRIVE DROPS THE TEMPERATURE TO 80 DEGREES.
Sixteen days in Northern India vivified life. This sojourn into the world’s most populated Democracy is at once astonishingly beautiful and terribly disheartening. Northern India is beautiful for its millennial accomplishments and disheartening for its seemingly insurmountable social, economic, and political challenges. (This personal view is supplemented by authors, Arundhati Roy, Katherine Boo, Aravind Adiga, Raghu Karnad, and a smattering of Great Courses’ audio books on ancient cultures.)
India contains some of the greatest monuments of ancient history. Managed by Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, India has prospered, crumbled, and reappeared as one of the most powerful countries in the world. The great challenges of the past occur and recur with a resilient response by India’s people. Their ability to adapt to foreign occupation by disparate cultures is a tribute to their longevity as an independent nation.
Alai-Darwaza, built in 1311 AD. It is the first building employing wholly Islamic principles of arcuate (beams and arches) construction and geometric ornamentation. Located in Delhi, the capital of India.
One of the main attractions in the so called ‘Pink’ city of Jaipur is the World Heritage Site of Jantar Mantar astronomical observatory. This impressive collection of astronomical instruments were built by Sawai Jai Singh, a Mughal commander, dated 1728.
Sukh Mandir : Amber Fort in Jaipur (the pink city), Built by Mughal King, a refuge for sultans in 1599 AD.
The Sukh Mandir palace was kept cool in the summer by covering its arched openings with screens woven with the roots of the aromatic grass called khas. The screens were moistened periodically with water, air passing through the screens was thus cooled, and carried also the fragrance of the grass into the palace-chambers.
The Diwan-i-Aarm was the court where the Raja gave audience to his subjects.
Vehicle for entrance to the Raja’s fortress.
Taj Mahal–The dome is covered with sand to clean it to become as white as the remaining structure which has already been cleaned. The Taj Mahal was built as a tribute to the Mughal Emperor’s favorite wife.
Like a cobra preparing to strike, India seems over-matched by environmental and societal challenges.
Today, India’s adaptability seems over-matched by environmental and societal challenges. Air and water pollution is ubiquitous in Northern India. India’s primary source of energy comes from fossil fuels, particularly coal. Over 65% of India’s energy is non-renewable while electricity is supplied to only 81% of the population (based on 2013 records). Today’s Covid19 pandemic accelerates India’s environmental and societal challenges.
In a 2011 report, Hindus represent 79 percent of the population. The Ganges river is sacred to Hindus. It is a major source of water for agriculture and life in Northern India. However, the Ganges is highly polluted. In today’s news, (May 11, 2021) scores of bodies are reported to be floating in the Ganges.
In Varanasi, it is reported that fecal coli-form bacteria from human waste is 100 times the Indian government’s official limit.
Hindu religious practices in India compound Ganges’ Pollution. Because of the Ganges religious importance, cremation occurs daily with human remains discharged into the river in Varanasi. This cremation ceremony occurs on the banks of the Ganges. Though cremation removes most organic material, there are circumstances under which un-cremated bodies are placed in the river.
Cows, which are sacred animals in India, also pollute the waters.
Every night, (7 days a week–Human bodies are prepared for cremation on the Ganges’ bank. Fire in the background obscures a wrapped body that is lain atop a wood fire to reduce a deceased person to ash.
Two young people in the middle being married at the edge of the Ganges in Varanasi.
A societal challenge facing India is its history of caste and religious belief. Caste and Modi’s reification and emphasis on Hinduism conflicts with Islamism. Just under 80% of India is Hindu with Muslimism over 14%. Border disputes with the largely Islamic state of Pakistan continue to roil India’s culture.
Despite diligent effort by the government to eliminate caste, it remains a source of underlying societal friction. Arranged marriages are extremely important in India because the joining of husband and wife are a marriage of families, not just individuals. Though there are exceptions, many of the young appreciate their father’s effort to screen potential marriage partners. Not that this may not be a better way of ensuring a long marriage than America’s happenstance conjugality, it diminishes cultural diversity. Cultural diversity opens a world of opportunity to all people, regardless of caste.
Upper classes object to affirmative action for the castes, particularly the untouchables, because of tradition. Indians are often able to determine the caste of residents by just knowing their names. It reminds one of Americans and their recognition of race by color. Discrimination seems as prevalent in India as in America. The arc of justice may be bending toward equality but both countries are far from achievement.
Equally concerning challenges for India are the two faces of democracy. On the one hand democracy offers more freedom than other forms of government. On the other, unregulated freedom leads to abuse of power.
“White Tiger” by Aravind Adiga tells a story of the consequence of unregulated freedom in India. Katherine Boo, in “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” tells a story of the consequence of regulated freedom in India that does not work.
India’s effort to regulate freedom faces the same obstacles as America. Knowing where to draw the line on individual freedom is problematic. Too much government denies opportunity to succeed. Too little government leads to the Bernie Madoff’s of the world.
Our personal guide in India proudly noted that his family is from the warrior caste. He wishes to become rich and have his daughter marry into his caste. That is his ideal, but he recognizes his daughter lives in a different world. He is unsure of how his life will evolve. However, he is not optimistic. India has a young population, growing at 1,000,000 people per month. He believes Prime Minister Modi is a good leader but that he will not succeed in modernizing India because of the challenges facing India. He argues that diminishing natural resources and India’s increased population will defeat economic growth and social stability.
A May 2022 “Economist” article on India suggests Prime Minister Modi’s government reforms may substantially improve India’s economy in the 21st century. Our guide in 2018 was quite skeptical.
Our trip to India was astonishingly beautiful but terribly disheartening. One hopes our guide underestimates India’s ability to overcome environmental deterioration and achieves its potential for continued economic growth.
Voyager Review By Chet Yarbrough (Blog:awalkingdelight) Website: chetyarbrough.blog 20 Days in Africa Written by Chet Yarbrough Twenty days in Africa does not make you an expert. But, as noted by our insightful Zimbabwe-born team leader, every visit to Africa changes both visitor and native. Manue Joao paints a picture of three nation-states that vivify the … Continue reading “Remembering Africa”
Twenty days in Africa does not make you an expert. But, as noted by our insightful Zimbabwe-born team leader, every visit to Africa changes both visitor and native.
Manue Joao paints a picture of three nation-states that vivify the great beauty and wealth of Africa. In twenty days, the nations of Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana were traveled by our group of 15 Americans; organized, directed, and helped by local guides and a host of excellent camp managers.
Manue offers a history lesson on Africa as we travel on planes, boats, buses, and Land Rovers, through the African Savannah.
Today, the three major industries in Africa are mining, agriculture, and tourism. Each of these industries have troubles.
Mining for coal is a big industry in crises with falling prices, and environmental concern.
African laborers are offered decent salaries but Manue notes that one coal mine had not paid their laborers for over four years. He goes on to explain—the laborers keep working because there is no alternative employment. They are ecstatic when, earlier this year, the mine owners offer 7% of their back wages to continue working.
In an 11/21/21 N.Y.Times’ article, mining of cobalt has become the latest mining frenzy in Africa, particularly in the Congo. Cobalt is an essential ingredient for electric car development. Competition from China and the U.S. is a power struggle that has the imprimatur of economic benefit or criminal exploitation. It also carries the potential for further environmental degradation.
Agriculture is constantly faced with the terrors of nature, i.e., poor rainfall, soil depletion, and animal destruction.
African Tourism–the natural attributes of an animal kingdom surprises and delights world travelers, but even that is at risk.
Tourism is troubled by ivory poaching, Rhino killing for horn profits, and animal overpopulation.
Botswana has more elephants than its habitat preserves can support.
Putting aside these troubles in the big three African industries, there seems a leadership deficit in a country that has so much untapped potential. Too many Africans seem trapped in poverty when the wealth of the country is laid waste by an interstate transportation system that strangles economic growth.
Trucks are lined up for hours, days, weeks, and sometimes months for transport across borders. Vast tracks of land are only accessible by dirt roads.
Water, sewer, and infrastructure investment seems utilized un-systematically. Government leaders are often corrupted by the power they wield over the finances of their countries.
Emmerson Mnangagwa (President of Zimbabwe)
Mugabe’s previous enforcer, Emerson Mnangagwa, has become president but he has only made Zimbabwe’s economy weaker.
The history of Africa sets the table for an economic feast that is consumed by everyone except most native Africans. Because of Europe’s scramble for wealth and power (between the 15th and early 20th century), the continent of Africa is colonized by foreign rulers. Great Britain, Portugal, France, and Belgium carve Africa into nation-states in the Berlin Conference of 1884-85.
Without regard to native societies a multi-state continent is formed based on greed and hubris of occupying foreign governments. Most African nation-states are comprised of white Europeans and native tribes who establish societies within each country. Just as in America, the mixture of cultures often boils over like an over-heated melting pot.
The irony of Africa’s artificial nation-state creations is that these arbitrary borders become a source of conflict in Africa’s drive for independence.
Either because of religion, ethnic differences, or different societal norms, one factional group treads on another’s freedom. Conflict rises; in some cases, with violent and deadly results.
In Africa, conflict comes from a variety of reasons, some of which exist in America. Examples are–the taking of private property without compensation, inter-state commerce inefficiency, rule by force and corruption of leaders like Idi Amin, and Joseph Kony, and equal rights and opportunity for all (particularly women).
The economic difficulties of Africa remind one of the early days of America.
Every state of the original 13 colonies was a kingdom unto itself until the First Continental Congress in 1774. Though the 13 colonies are largely populated by white English, Germans, and French, with a growing population of Black slaves, each colony becomes a melting pot for immigrants arriving from different nations of the world. Native Americans are slaughtered by the advance of “civilization” with the increasing influx of foreign, largely white, Americans.
THE BEAUTY AND MAJESTY OF AFRICA IS EVIDENT IN EVERY CLICK OF THE CAMERA LENSE:
Africa is incredibly beautiful. In sunrises and sunsets; in exposure to the largest and most beautiful animals in the world; in spectacular views of Victoria Falls, and with many Africans’ heart-felt acceptance of tourists. A traveler sees and feels the radiance of nature and the kindness of all human beings. But, the economic hardship of the general population in the face of such great potential wealth is disheartening.
The heart of the failure of the nation-states is said to lie at the feet of poor leadership and corruption. Though there is undoubted truth in that observation, it seems an excuse for failure. Every presentation by indigenous Africans notes how important education is to their family’s success. It may be that the people we met are an exception, but every culture has its exceptions. It is these exceptions that modernize the world.
Sacrifice for education and family values are obvious characteristics of the people we met. Stories were told of the sacrifice that a Principal makes to teach children English; a story of a prostitute who sells herself with the intent of saving enough to finish school and start her own business; a story of an un-wed mother who is first in her class in high school and goes on to college—all are native Africans emphasizing the importance of family and education.
One is drawn to the conclusion that corruption and poor leadership are a stage of early development that will be ameliorated (not eliminated) over time. There is no quick solution but a first step would be to re-value the indigenous culture of each part of Africa. Changing borders is not the answer. But, like early America, sections of Africa should consider their own Continental Congresses to provide government services that one state is unable to provide; i.e. services like interstate commerce, military preparedness, and a common currency. Every power not given to this centralized government would remain in the hands of respective nation-states.
Today, the economic strength of Africa is being strangled by border crossing regulations that delay interstate commerce. Undoubtedly, corruption is exacerbated by bribes to get goods across borders. Respective state leaders are reluctant to give up control of borders because they get a piece of the interstate border crossing fees.
The greed of leaders can be co-opted by making them understand they will make more money with the opening of their borders by using some of their wealth to create paved roads into growth corridors of their states. When a foreign company sees they can get to their mine, or have water for agricultural development, they will invest. Government leaders can negotiate deals with foreign businesses that demand training of native populations in the management work of new businesses. When more Africans are employed, a source for government taxation is created.
The emphasis on education must be reinforced. In time, that education will remove overtly corrupt leaders.
It will not eliminate corruption but it will improve the condition of the local population. There is a cost inherent in this push for modernization. Manue tells of the family structure that exists in the three countries visited. That close family relationship will be diminished by modernization.
LOCAL HEAD MAN SPEAKING TO VILLAGE PROPERTY OWNER
Every village has a Chief who has a Head man that supervises the village. These positions are inherited; not earned by performance.
This familial arrangement will be compromised by modernization because performance will become a more important criterion for Chief or Head man designations. Money and power, rather than family relationship, will become prevalent.
Another cost will be borne by the natural attributes of an animal kingdom that surprises and delights world travelers. Manue notes that Botswana has an animal refuge that can support 20,000 elephants when 100,000 elephants roam the countryside. Action is needed to control nature’s environment. Exercising that control will turn a wilderness into more of a free-form zoo. The wildness of a Safari will be diminished.
Love for Africa is clearly evident in the people we met. One suspects our visit is a sanitized view of the real life of most Africans. However, our view is through the eyes of a rich, modern nation. A young African boy or girl born into a family of loving parents knows what he/she knows and cares little about what a foreigner thinks. Twenty days in Africa is a trip of a life time; especially with a guide like Manue Joao.
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REVIEWS AND VIEWS OF LIFE 