E. Che Guevara – The Motorcycle Diaries – Comment.

 

Che Guevara (1928-1967) is likely the most famous or infamous Latin American revolutionary in the modern era. Argentinian born, a trained physician, his specialty was leprosy, a Marxist scholar, author and a military strategist focusing on guerilla warfare; in 1951, he set off with his friend and colleague, Alberto Granado, a fellow physician, on a 500cc Norton to see the places on the continent he dreamed about as a young lad.  

The Motorcycle Diaries is slightly a misnomer because at around page 40 in the text, La Poderosa, (The Powerful One), nickname for the bike, breaks down beyond repair, forcing the young lads to walk and hitchhike along the rest of their journey.  

Much of the text describes the boy’s hardships while negotiating their way across borders, seeking out dry places to sleep and acquiring their next meal. The people they meet are friendly and generous with what little food they own. There is one “con” that Che uses to obtain a meal that is quite harmless. Most people will offer wine, local alcohol, beer etc., though are reluctant to share a meal. After one drink, Che would remark that in Argentina, the consumption of alcohol should always include a full meal. This ploy often worked, their hosts sharing what food they had.  

Che describes the massive mining in Peru at the time. These mines are US owned and run, and the obvious exploitation of the Indian workers, and most resources and profits taken by their American masters. This was the beginning of Che’s revolutionary mission that ended in his assassination years later.  

As mentioned, Che and Alberto’s special study was leprosy. In the diary, he mentioned visiting a few leprosy hospitals, consulting with the resident physicians, and commenting on their debilitated conditions. One scene in the text was quite moving, where the lad’s sat and drank with the patients, all at different stages of the disease. As permanent outcasts, this simple act of kindness and respect significantly raised morale, a bright spot in an otherwise suffering existence.  

Guevara writes of his disgust with imperialist exploitation of these various Latin American countries, primarily by the United States, and one can see this growing dismay in The Motorcycle Diaries. We witness his revolutionary spirit begin in this text after his experiences on the road.  

Many are aware of Che Guevara’s meeting with the Castro brothers in Mexico, and the subsequent overthrow of the US backed Batista regime in Cuba.  

The Motorcycle Diaries is well worth the read for anyone interested in the young mind of the 20th centuries most symbolic activist, dissident and colorful revolutionaries.  

Comment on Young Love

 

It was late afternoon last week when sitting outside writing in my journal at an attempt to describe those people and objects around me. The afternoon had been very hot and a cool change, a soft wind, soon made the area more comfortable. It seemed I had been writing a long time, looking at the sky turn crimson, when I noticed two young people half laying on the grass and gazing into each other's eyes. 

 

There is no doubt that I was observing "young love", reminding me of a sentimental scene from some forty's film. 

As a writing exercise, I tried to describe both their emotions and body language. 

Then, the boy appeared to say something to the young woman, who promptly stood up, turned away, and walked in the opposite direction. The young man called after her, but she did not respond to his apologies and exited through the door. 

The boy appeared upset and followed her as she walked away. 

Oh, the games we play in love! 

What I found interesting was how sudden their mood changed from a love scene to a "lover's spat." 

Sometimes I miss how intense young love feels but quickly recall the pain it brings. Is it worth it? Sometimes I don't think so; other times, the passion makes me wonder if the trouble was justified. 

"It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." as the saying goes. 
 
Looking back, for me at least, it was worth the trouble, because thankfully, the heart is a resilient muscle. 

 

A Troubled World: Gaza, the New ‘Patriotism’, and Islamophobia.

 

What more can be said about the slaughter in Gaza? The Greater Israel Project is in full swing with Israel now achieving their total goal of ethnic cleansing and absolute banishment of the Palestinian people from Gaza and the West Bank. The death toll of civilians including children, has reached astonishing numbers not seen since WWII in such a short amount of time.  

We have come to understand that this is not a mere disproportionate response from Israel against Hamas since October 7, but an intentional act by the Netanyahu government to maintain the war to achieve their longer-term goals of a Greater Israel in the middle east. The war crimes committed over the last two years are numerous and difficult to comprehend for any human being with a soul. The problem for me, personally, is that the country in which I was raised, the USA, are just as responsible as the Israel in this genocide.  

The people on legacy media and the internet that have been defending this genocide from the beginning are now running out of any valid arguments, (the intentions of Israel and the US is quite clear), and all these justifiers of mass murder are left with is “antisemitism”. This is absurd, of course. Really, no one cares about your religion, being Jewish, Christian or otherwise, if you are committing a genocide, it’s a war crime and you should be punished. For these people to use Judaism as a front to commit these atrocities is diabolical.  

At this stage of the genocide at the time of this writing, the future for the Palestinians looks bleak. Ethnic cleansing is a very real thing; it has been attempted before in history with some success. The reason Israel will succeed with the annihilation of the Palestinian people is the full support from the United States government. This is a fact. And for many people in the US this reality is difficult to confront. Perhaps this blind-eyed “patriotism” and the *denial* that one’s country can do such atrocities is a contributing factor to this on-going genocide? Perhaps the reasons are more nefarious and fiendish than simply ethical blind spots? Perhaps it’s orchestrated?  

Agent Provocateur’s in the Media and Paid Influencers. 

Particularly on social media, since October 7, 2024, individual accounts, some hiding behind anonymity, have appeared pushing controversial agendas. In a relatively short amount of time, their followers reach over 40,000, and upon analyzing their contents, their posts are pushing the Greater Israel project, attacking those who oppose the genocide in Gaza as antisemitic, and blatantly complaining about Islamic immigration, and intentionally creating fear. Suddenly the fear/hate of Islam has now become a “thing”, where only a short time ago Islam was rarely mentioned at all. This may be only speculation, but these accounts are planted with a specific plan to shift public opinion on the genocide in Gaza and establish ‘hate’ for Muslims.  I believe this is a Zionist agenda.  

In Australia, certain accounts have appeared recently on social media positioning themselves as “patriots”, emotionally complaining about immigration, waving the flag around like grinning automatons, and attacking anyone as ‘unpatriotic’ if you challenge them on their ideas. A demonstration in Melbourne two or three weeks ago, revealed the success for those pushing the new ultranationalism in Australia. This was an obvious expression of racism. Of course this is a far-right plan, as many self-proclaimed neo-Nazis instigated violence at the rally and were later arrested.  This rise in jingoism in many respects is disturbing.  

Again, I believe this new ultranationalism is a plan to create ‘hate’ for Islam thus establishing divisiveness in the public and distracting many from the ethnic cleansing in Gaza. My first clue was in many of these social media accounts they posted their disgust for the pro-Palestinian activists who rallied in the thousands across Australia in the prior weeks. Following this twisted logic, you’re ‘unpatriotic’ if you oppose ethnic-cleansing and genocide. Although speculation, these accounts have all the hallmarks of a Zionist agenda.  

In the UK and Germany, posting anything on social media about the genocide in Gaza or criticizing Israel will land you in prison with a hefty fine. The Zionist infiltration into both country’s government legislative branches has been successfully achieved. So far this type of authoritarian censorship has not manifested in Australia – so far.  

Where all this ultranationalism, jingoism, the stirred-up hate for Islam and (legal) immigration, and the unabashed support for the Israeli genocide in Gaza is leading is anyone's guess.  

The old Chinese saying, “May you live in interesting times” is true today. The world is interesting but more so, troubling.