Go Lean Commentary
Christendom has a sullied past!
This is well represented in the historicity of the Spanish Inquisition (see Appendix * below), the campaign by the Roman Catholic Church to weed out the Jews and Muslims in Spain! This bad history of ethnic cleansing was at its worst in the 15th Century. See the tongue-in-cheek comedy VIDEO in the Appendix.
How does a community repent, forgive and reconcile from such a bad legacy?
Easier said than done!
For starters, do not proceed as if the events never happened. This is the lesson now being learned in modern day Spain. See the news article here:
Title: Ancient Spanish Village Is No Longer Named ‘Kill Jews’
(Source: Huffington Post – Online News Site; posted: 06/22/2015; retrieved 06/27/2015 from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/22/castrillo-matajudios-name-change_n_7636368.html)
MADRID (AP) — The tiny Spanish village of Castrillo Matajudios — which means “Camp Kill Jews” — on Monday officially changed its name back to Castrillo Mota de Judios (“Jews’ Hill Camp”) following a referendum and regional government approval.
The village, with about 50 inhabitants, voted to change the name in 2014 after the mayor argued that the term was offensive and that the village should honor its Jewish origins.
Documents show the villages’ original name was “Jews’ Hill Camp” and that the “Kill Jews” name dates from 1627, after a 1492 Spanish edict ordering Jews to become Catholics or flee the country. Those who remained faced the Spanish inquisition, with many burned at the stake.
The name change was approved by the regional government of Castilla y Leon and published in the region’s official gazette.
Although Jews were killed in the area, researchers believe the village got its recent name from Jewish residents who converted to Catholicism and wanted to reinforce their repudiation of Judaism to convince Spanish authorities of their loyalty.
Others suspect the change may have come from a slip of the pen.
Although no Jews live in the village today, many residents have ancient Jewish roots and the town’s official shield includes the Star of David.
Spain’s lower house of parliament this month approved a law setting a citizenship path for the descendants of Jews who were forced to flee the country centuries ago.
Spain also has an ancient southeastern town called Valle de Matamoros, which translate as “Kill Muslims Valley.” The town has said it has no plans to change its name. Matamoros is also a surname in Spain.
There is a need to reconcile a lot of bad episodes in Caribbean history. Think:
- Haiti
- Cuba
- Guyana’s border with Venezuela
- Belize’s border with Guatemala
The book Go Lean…Caribbean posits that any attempt at unification of the Caribbean 30 member-states region must consider the ancient and modern conflicts some member-states have with others. The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). A mission of the roadmap is to reverse the societal abandonment and invite the repatriation of the Diaspora by flashing the “Welcome Home” signs. But “old parties” returning can also open “old wounds”. Therefore an additional mission is to facilitate formal reconciliations, much like the model in South Africa with their Truth & Reconciliation Commissions (TRC). This mission will assuage these Failed-State indicators and threats (Page 272):
- “Revenge seeking” groups
- Group Grievances
The foregoing article depicts a bad episode in history and the best-practices to repent, forgive and reconcile.
The approach is simple, correct the bad “community ethos” from the past. The Go Lean book defines “Community Ethos” as the fundamental character or spirit of a culture; the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of a group or society; the dominant assumptions of a people or period. The Spanish town in the foregoing article continued to laud the bad actions of “killing Jews” by the continued use of that name. Though none of the villains or victims are alive today, it is just a bad spirit to imbrue from one generation to another. This town name “Camp Kill Jews” is such a bad image to uphold.
The CU/Go Lean vision to elevate Caribbean society must consider the issue of image. There is the need for a sentinel role for Caribbean image, as there are a lot of times that Caribbean life and people are denigrated in works of media arts: film, TV, books, magazines. The Go Lean roadmap calls for the CU to assume that role. Using cutting edge delivery of best practices, the CU will employ strategies, tactics and implementations to impact its prime directives; identified with the following 3 statements:
- Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
- Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
- Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.
The Go Lean book speaks of the Caribbean as in crisis and posits that this crisis can be averted, that it is a “terrible thing to waste”. The Go Lean roadmap seeks to optimize the entire Caribbean economic/security/governance eco-system. This vision is defined early in the book (Page 12) in the following pronouncements in the Declaration of Interdependence:
xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.
xii. Whereas the legacy in recent times in individual states may be that of ineffectual governance with no redress to higher authority, the accedence of this Federation will ensure accountability and escalation of the human and civil rights of the people for good governance, justice assurances, due process and the rule of law. As such, any threats of a “failed state” status for any member state must enact emergency measures on behalf of the Federation to protect the human, civil and property rights of the citizens, residents, allies, trading partners, and visitors of the affected member state and the Federation as a whole.
xiii. Whereas the legacy of dissensions in many member-states (for example: Haiti and Cuba) will require a concerted effort to integrate the exile community’s repatriation, the Federation must arrange for Reconciliation Commissions to satiate a demand for justice.
The Go Lean book details a lot more, a series of assessments, community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to optimize the image of the Caribbean region:
| Community Assessment – Dutch Caribbean – Integration & Secessions | Page 16 |
| Community Assessment – French Caribbean – Organization & Discord | Page 17 |
| Community Ethos – Economic Systems Influence Choices & Incentives | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – People Respond to Incentives | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Turn-Arounds | Page 33 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Manage Reconciliations | Page 34 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness | Page 36 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good | Page 37 |
| Strategy – Vision – Confederating a Non-Sovereign Union of 30 Member-states | Page 45 |
| Strategy – Mission – Keep the next generation at home; Repatriate Diaspora | Page 46 |
| Tactical – Separation of Powers – State Department – Economic & Diplomatic Relations | Page 80 |
| Tactical – Separation of Powers – Judiciary – Truth & Reconciliation Courts | Page 90 |
| Implementation – Foreign Policy Initiatives at Start-up – Relationships with South & Central American Neighbors | Page 102 |
| Implementation – Ways to Deliver | Page 109 |
| Implementation – Reasons to Repatriate | Page 118 |
| Anatomy of Advocacies | Page 122 |
| Planning – Ways to Improve Image | Page 133 |
| Planning – Improve Failed-State Indices | Page 134 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy | Page 151 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract | Page 170 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Impact Justice – Truth & Reconciliation Commissions | Page 177 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Impact Hollywood – Controlling Image | Page 203 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Preserve Caribbean Heritage | Page 218 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Protect Human Rights – Reconciliations | Page 220 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Re-boot Cuba – Reconciliations | Page 236 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Re-boot Haiti – Reconciliations | Page 238 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Impact The Guianas – Venezuelan Foreign Policy Synchronizations | Page 241 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Impact Belize – Guatemala Grand Bargain | Page 242 |
| Appendix – Failed State Indicators & Definitions | Page 271 |
| Appendix – Dominican Republic’s Trujillo Regime – Ethnic Cleansing | Page 306 |
The foregoing news article conveys that many Spanish/European communities had not come to grips with their discriminatory past. So there is the need for outreach. This relates to anti-Semitism and the historic abuses cast on the Jewish people. For the African Diaspora, the majority population of 29 of the Caribbean member-states, the experience is even more egregious. (French territory St. Barthélemy is the sole demographic exception).
Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people and governing institutions, to lean-in for the empowerments described in the book Go Lean … Caribbean. There is reason to believe that these empowerment efforts can be successful. The Go Lean roadmap conveys how single causes/advocacies have successfully been forged throughout the world (Page 122 – Anatomy of Advocacies). We can succeed here as well.
(This movement does not campaign for reparations from slavery nor colonization).
The CU will address past, present and future challenges of human rights abuses and defamation to the Caribbean image.
The Caribbean can succeed in the advocacy to improve the Caribbean image in the region and around the world. There are previous blog commentaries that delve into aspects of Caribbean image:
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4971 | A Lesson in History – Royal Charter: Truth & Consequence |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4058 | Bad Image: New York Times Maledictions on The Bahamas |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2547 | Image: Miami’s Success versus Caribbean Failure |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2025 | Caribbean Jobs – Attitudes & Images of the Diaspora |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1847 | Good Image – Declared “Among the best in the world” |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1568 | Bad Image/Bad Tweet: Dutch airline angers Mexico soccer fans |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=857 | Caribbean Image: Dreadlocks |
The foregoing consideration helps us to appreciate that reconciliation is possible only when the persons doing the wrong accept the forgiveness being offered and repents for what they have done. We applaud the tiny Spanish village of Castrillo Matajudios for showing the world their “Mea Culpa”; this is the best-practice for reconciliation.
This is now a new ethos for the Caribbean, to reconcile conflicts from the past; to repent, forgive and hopefully forget the long history of human rights abuses from the past. All of this effort, heavy-lifting, will make the region a better place to live, work and play. We urge all to lean-in to this roadmap.
Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!
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Appendix * – Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition (Spanish: Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition (Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms and to replace the Medieval Inquisition, which was under Papal control. It became the most substantive of the three different manifestations of the wider Christian Inquisition along with the Roman Inquisition and Portuguese Inquisition.
The Inquisition was originally intended in large part to ensure the orthodoxy of those who converted from Judaism and Islam. This regulation of the faith of the newly converted was intensified after the royal decrees issued in 1492 and 1501 ordering Jews and Muslims to convert or leave Spain.
Various motives have been proposed for the monarchs’ decision to found the Inquisition such as increasing political authority, weakening opposition, suppressing conversos, profiting from confiscation of the property of convicted heretics, reducing social tensions, and protecting the kingdom from the danger of a fifth column (clandestine activities involving acts of sabotage, disinformation, or espionage executed within defense lines by secret sympathizers of an external force).
The body was under the direct control of the Spanish monarchy. It was not definitively abolished until 1834, during the reign of Isabella II, after a period of declining influence in the previous century.
The Spanish Inquisition is often cited in literature and history as an example of Catholic intolerance and repression. Modern historians have tended to question earlier and possibly exaggerated accounts concerning the severity of the Inquisition. Although records are incomplete, estimates of the number of persons charged with crimes by the Inquisition range up to 150,000, with 2,000 to 5,000 people executed.
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisition)
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Appendix VIDEO – Movie: History of the World Part 1 Inquisition Scene – https://youtu.be/5ZegQYgygdw
Published on Dec 8, 2012 – From Mel Brooks’ “History of the World Part 1”. This is a comedic parody, with song-and-dance!
Category: Entertainment; License: Standard YouTube License