Fifty years ago, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I
visited Jamaica, one of the most memorable and frenzied events to have
taken place here. It's not that all Jamaica was enamoured by the
Rastafarians' claim that God had visited Jamaica. It was just that we
dared not ignore Rastafari. Then.
Today, his grandson has come to visit on the 50th anniversary, and
there is no such national excitement over his visit. Rastafari holds
neither the threat nor the promise it did 50 years ago. It has largely
been conquered by Babylon, enjoying greater influence and support in
exile than at home. Rastafari has been eclipsed by the forces of
globalisation or, more properly, by cultural imperialism.
As a cultural resistance, Rastafari is a largely spent force. Or
perhaps one could say, at best, that what we are witnessing is not so
much its decline as evidence of its success: The things it fought for
are now taken for granted. It has been so successful, its influence now
so mainstreamed that we are tempted to say it has outlived its
usefulness.
The Rastafarians have given us a lot. They forced black consciousness
on many Christian churches which had a Eurocentric Gospel and which
could not entertain a black representation of Christ.
Today, it is no longer radical for Christians to talk about a cultural
identity as part of Christian identity. Even Evangelical Christians are
now saying that black consciousness and Black Power can be taught
alongside going to Heaven and accepting the Lord Jesus. Church liturgy
and music have been significantly impacted by Rastafari acceptance of
our cultural expressions and forms. We must never underestimate the
positive impact Rastafari has made on us as a society, and how much we
are indebted to this despised, oppressed and formerly marginalised
group.
When we could only see God through the eyes of our colonisers and
oppressors, Rastafari taught us to see a God in our own image. And what
we were taught as the unvarnished, unadulterated Gospel, we later
discovered, not least of which through Rastafari-influenced
perspectives, were simply Western cultural baggage under the guise of
universality. We must pay homage to Rastafari for opening our eyes to
the deception foisted on us by Babylon.
Our youth need something beyond just grasping for prosperity. Prosperity
has to have a philosophical foundation. If it is driven by sheer
narcissism and an obsession with wealth and glory - what Rasses call
vanity - then can't sustain a nation. Our social-media generation is
hooked on the hip, the trendy, the cool things as defined by an American
culture of hedonism and atomism. The medium is the message. Our youth
are committed to nothing beyond themselves and their narrow dreams.
Read More _Ian Boyle
