Dear Editor,
This article is for people to understand what education cannot do.
Education defines as the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life. Another definition is the act or process of imparting or acquiring particular knowledge or skills, as for a profession or a degree, level, or kind of schooling.
Education is good, listen carefully, I do not want you to agree or disagree, I need you to understand me. Education can give you a comfortable life and also lots of money.
But education cannot save your soul. The danger about education is that some people let it become idolatry.
The Bible describes idolatry as the worship of an image or a created object. Idolatry is anything that comes between us and God.
In many universities throughout the world, education is used against the teaching of God and also to mock Christianity.
Many people use education as a tool to save the world. That in itself is deception.
Many people use education to promote immorality and to indoctrinate people against Christ. Notice I said Christ, not God.
Because many universities acknowledge there is a God but not a Christ.
Worse yet politics have entered our educational system which is creating more confusion. Education cannot give you a good heart.
Education cannot make you a moral person. Education cannot make you accept Christ.
Education is good but never idolize it because if you do it can be very destructive.
Remember, education cannot change the heart of man to be good. Only God can do that.
Education is good but it is not the savior, only Jesus Christ is. Romans 1:22: Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
The conclusion is education has its limitation. But Christ covers a realm that is everlasting with the knowledge that education is far too limited to accomplish.
The Supremacy is only Jesus Christ. The only idol is Jesus Christ. Be careful who or what you worship and do not educate yourself to be a fool.
Remember, choices have consequences. Choose wisely.
I reaffirm only Christ is Supremacy.
The Patriot Miguel Arrindell
Monseñor,
In joint representation of the Curaçao LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender – Ed.] Community in general and a large group of Roman Catholic members of that community in particular, we express our profound hurt, grief and incomprehension at your participation at the rally against the Marriage Equality Bill last Friday, July 12, at the Alameda in Punda (downtown Willemstad).
Honorable Parliamentarians,
We commend your cabinet’s recent historical declarations on July 1, 2019, in commemoration of July 1, 1863, 156 years after your government’s proclamation of the abolition law, finally a sign, a sprout, of compassion and humanity towards the descendants, the diaspora of our dehumanized ancestors, victims of your criminally inhuman economy.
The Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Mrs. Ollongren stated “that the government cannot turn back time, but deeply regrets that slavery is part of our common history” and the Minister of Social Affairs Mr. Koolmees confessed: “... that is not only the stories about the past that hurt, but that today’s indifference can do that just as well.” These declarations have lit a flame of hope again in this deepest everlasting dark historical tunnel of Dutch unconsciousness about the racism part of their economy.
We all know that the abolition law of slave trade in 1814 and the1818 law that made participation a criminal offense led up to continued discussions in your parliament. For more than half a century, they debated not the humanitarian beliefs or feelings of shame about this form of commerce, but a defense of the Dutch rationale of economic pragmatism, condemning slavery in theory, but allowing its continuation in practice up to 1863 and beyond. And up to now all your governments have kept yourselves and yours and our peoples in a state of cognitive dissonance through cultural, educational, legal, and colonial manipulation, denying the fact that your government was one of the cruelest colonizers in the world’s history.
In the light of the cabinet’s official recognition of the crimes against our ancestors and thus accepting the responsibility of being the continuation of your predecessors’ racist and economic crimes committed against us, the descendants of the victims, we would like to kindly request you the following:
As it took almost two centuries for your government to recognize and regret that what you did to our ancestors was wrong, criminal and inhumane, we are afraid it may take a similar time-span, another two centuries for your government to apologize, a natural logical human deed.
That as your government seems not to be in the state-of-mind to apologize due to the reasons mentioned above and we would not like to start a discussion with you on reparations as that is impossible in the current colonial occupation you hold us, we would like to ask you and your government that same simple question as your first chair of your first national assembly, during the Batavian constitutional debate, Pieter Paulus asked in 1796: “In which way all human beings can be considered equal?”
Yes, the same question remains today 222 years later: “In which way – Are we, your so-called “Kingdom partners”, who were as recent as October 10, 2010, annexed, re-occupied, re-colonized, and embedded in your constitution under unequal rights against the our free will, – considered equal human beings?
We truly hope that the two honorable Ministers, same as Pieter Paulus was called “apostle of humanity”, they will be called the “apostles of decolonization” and not yet another modernized version of Piet Hein personified by colleague state-secretary and ex-military Mr. Knops who could be portraying Piet Hein, but now by terrorizing us all in the Caribbean with his WIC-VOC mentality and approach and who abuses his powers by unilateral legal actions with your approval.
We wholeheartedly feel that our wish to decolonize is not unrealistic and is as real as Mrs. Ollongren’s realization that time cannot be turned back as she declared. Born in the former Dutch colony Sumatra to Finnish-Swede parents, she possesses a diluted Dutch-ancestral-colonial DNA and her M.A. in history gives her all the possibilities to understand colonialism and its only cure: decolonization. A same miracle we expect from Mr. Koolmees with his doctor degree in social and institutional economics and as researcher at The Dutch Economic Institute he surely must understand that the major part of the riches and wealth which he and his government inherited and benefit today, was acquired through the colonial-slavery-criminal-economy tainted with the blood, sweats, and tears of our ancestors. No wonder he clearly admitted that the indifference today is as cruel and painful as the past, because as an expert he indeed knows.
Finally, we herewith kindly request you to cease being an accomplice to the continuation of Dutch colonialism, declared a crime against humanity by the United Nations and to follow up on your recent brave declarations. Our King Willem-Alexander, as a non-political symbol of Dutch colonial legacy, could lead the re-conciliation and healing process by apologizing with humanitarian compassion and not matter-of-factly based on Dutch economic rationale. In this process, we advise you to reevaluate the role and actions of Mr. Knops. The damage he has done so far to your carefully fabricated humanitarian philanthropic world image can hardly be undone other than through a genuine declaration of remorse followed by an immediate resignation.
To summarize all the above: if you indeed recognize that colonialism is a crime and regret that your government is participating in and supporting it, then please follow up and respect our Bonerian 2015 and Sint Eustatius 2014 referenda, expressions of the voice and free will of our people that legally and democratically rejected the imposed colonial structure. And please, comply with your UN Charter obligations and resume the decolonization process by respecting and restoring our inherited and acquired sacred and fundamental human rights of self-determination and self-governance.
We thank you for your attention and look forward to your compliance, as hope is all we need, that, “one day, we shall overcome.”
Respectfully yours,
James Finies, president Foundation We Want Bonaire Back
Dear Editor:
A conscientious people work to define, design and determine their own future.
Dear Editor,
Presently in both French St. Martin and Dutch St. Maarten, we are seeing the challenges that exist.
And many are calling for us to unite as a people and they do not understand why it is not happening. But St. Maarten/St. Martin embraces wrong values and not patriotism.
The original grassroots foundation was promoting patriotism and love of country and at that time many people turned the blind eye and ridiculed us.
Worst yet they promote a term “local”. What is local? A local is not a St. Maartener.
French and Dutch European can and will always dominate St. Maarten/St. Martin because we have no soul meaning in-depth love and loyalty to the country.
We are weak people always willing to make others fit in and feel comfortable while we are excluded, and then like fools, we wonder why we cannot move forward.
Mark my word, as long as you use the term local you just defeat patriotism because local means all people be it illegal or legal that are living here a long time.
Why should an illegal or legal person fight for St. Maarten, their interest is of financial purpose.
If any people do not put heritage and bloodline first quite frankly they deserve to be oppressed. Your choice is weakness and being weak has severe consequences.
I am a St. Maartener not a local with a French and Dutch nationality. My loyalty is to St. Maarten/St. Martin before Holland and France.
I could care less who does not like me for what I stand for and I will die with that value.
Patriotism defined by me and for me is putting the people of St. Maarten heritage and bloodline first before any other person with Dutch or French nationality.
I dislike very much when I see people of St. Maarten heritage call themselves local, I will lose respect for you.
If the people are afraid to define and to say what is your identity every other identity and nationality by default will dominate or oppress you.
Quite frankly, while I disagree with what Holland and France are doing to St. Maarten/St. Martin I cannot blame them.
France and Holland interest is nationality and by right they’re defending the Kingdom and Republic because they know who they are. Do you?
Our governments on both sides just do not get, define who is a St. Maartener/St. Martiner and make laws to complement our lifestyle and values within the constitution of the Dutch Kingdom and France. My personal opinion is to engage and discuss with France and Holland to come up with a solution how best to fit St. Maarten/St. Martin and stop with the color nonsense.
While most St. Maarten/St. Martin people are of negro origin we also have real bloodline and heritage St. Maarteners who are white and brown also.
You only can fix St. Maarten/St. Martin if you can identify who is a St. Maartener/St. Martiner. Refusal to engage in discussion empowers the European.
My interest as a grassroots St. Maartener is not the same as an Indian or Chinese or Arab or European and it has nothing to do with color, it has to do with lifestyle, culture and bloodline.
Choices have consequences. Choose wisely.
The Patriot Miguel Arrindell
