I am going through newly recovered boxes of Rhoda Kadalie's papers, as I continue to tinker with the manuscript of her biography. Among the files, I found a collection of papers belonging to the late Professor Anthony Holiday, a philosopher who was a close friend of Rhoda's and -- in her description, and probably his -- a guttersnipe of the most esteemed sort. He served a prison term during apartheid for his role in the Communist Party, but later renounced communism, saying that he had "left the community of closed ideas."
He also had "friends in low places" -- the drug dens and brothels and the rest of it -- and therefore had lots of political dirt, which he exploited to the full to gain inside accounts of what was going on in the new South African government.
Anyway -- few others reckoned quite so deeply with the paradoxes of South African life, and the clash between left-wing idealism and reality. He wasn't always on target -- he had really hackneyed ideas about Israel, and suggested (perhaps tongue-in-cheek?) that local Zionist groups be banned. I wrote a very strident response to the local newspaper about that, when he made the case in an op-ed. How could a banned former communist want anyone banned? Nobody's perfect.
Anyway, in a paper on "The Idea of an African University," given in Cape Town in November 2001, he concluded:
"To achieve this recovery of what colonialism and slavery have interred, a generation of artists, historians, scientists and philosopher[s] that is growing up among us must brave the twin dangers of scientism disguised as science, on the one hand, and superstition parading as African religion on the other. It will have to endure the cynical mockery of Eurocentric skeptics as well as the accusations of disloyalty which Africanist ideologues are bound to heap on it. Above all, this generation of seekers will have to withstand the dark night of intellectual loneliness which travelers towards goals of this sort must inevitably traverse. It will find no companions among the politically orthodox. But there may be those from other cultures, spaces and times, who will join the pilgrimage and, whatever its perils, not betray it."
"[T]he dark night of intellectual loneliness" -- I can relate to that, lately. So could Rhoda.
This week, we are tackling two major areas of contention between the Trump administration and Democrat governors: fighting crime, and redistricting. The president is sending the National Guard to blue cities -- and blue states are trying to stamp out Republican representation. Is this a civil war situation?
Special guests:
- Bradley Jaye -- Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on redistricting
- Tom Manza, California Business and Industrial Alliance, on Gavin Newsom
- Jon Fleischman, veteran California political expert, on the special election
- Dan Backer, veteran political lawyer and consultant, on corruption
- DJ Mark Anthony, on a recent visit to Rome and visiting Pope Leo XIV
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET / 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week's portion is the last of the month of Av -- also known as Menachem (Comforter) Av -- which begins in mourning and ends in celebration and anticipation of the New Year and the process of repentance and renewal.
In a similar vein, the portion features Moses offering the Israelites a choice between a blessing and a curse. They are masters of their own fates: if they obey God's commandments, they receive the blessings -- and vice versa.
The key commandment is to reject idol worship. There is said to be something magnetic about the practice of worshiping idols in the new land, such that it would be constant moral battle, both individually and collectively, in the land.
Nowadays, according to Jewish tradition, humanity has lost the urge for idol worship (and the antidote, which is divine prophecy) -- but there are several near substitutes, such as lust or excessive appetites for worldly pleasures.
We are wired for compulsive behaviors, bad habits, and even addictions. These ...
We have so much to talk about this week -- Trump's efforts to negotiate peace through negotiation, and Gavin Newsom's efforts to divide Americans through gerrymandering. We'll also talk about Playboy leaving LA and California.
Special guests:
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Russia & Ukraine
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on Newsom
Harmeet Dhillon - DOJ Civil Rights Division chief, on the fight against DEI
Jessica Vaugn - Playboy model on political commentator, on California
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 PT
Call: 866-957-2874
