Once upon a time, on a beautiful little planet there lived a clever lad named Amabo.
Amabo came from the Kingdom of Insatious, whose boundaries stretched east to west from ocean to ocean. It was a large kingdom with many people and cities. It was also very rich in natural resources. Yet, it was constantly at war with much smaller, poorer, and weaker kingdoms all over the planet.
The people of Insatious were mostly a good and kind people, but they were ruled by a shrewd and cruel nobility. The nobility of the Kingdom of Insatious had an insatiable appetite for wealth and power.
Every four years the people of Insatious were allowed to choose from among the wealthy nobility which of the nobles would lead them. And every four years the people hoped that they might find among the nobles a good, kind, and wise leader who would love them and stop making them fight wars with neighboring kingdoms. But each time their hopes were dashed.
Suddenly there appeared a relatively unknown, well-spoken noble by the name of Amabo. Amabo said all the right things to the people, and was heralded even by other nobles. The people hoped that they had at last found a noble who would be true, wise, and honest. So when they were told that they could once more select a leader from among the nobles, they chose Amabo.
But, alas! Three years passed with Amabo as their leader, and things became worse than ever before. Increasingly mean and unjust laws were passed and any who disagreed with Amabo and the other nobles were labeled as malcontents and often imprisoned or banished. The people toiled with great heartache. Many had no work and no homes. Others continued dying in Insatious’ wars with other kingdoms. Yet, Amabo continued to lie, and some of the people began to realize that they had been fooled by the nobles, and that they had chosen Amabo the Conjurer—who like those before him—had misled them and dashed their hopes.
Finally, towards the end of the third year of Amabo’s rule, some of the people began rising up, calling for an end to the reign of all the nobles. Thus began a great shaking and awakening among the people of the Kingdom of Insatious.
History has yet to record what occurred after that. But perhaps—just perhaps—the year 2012 will usher in seismic changes and glad tidings by and for the people of the Kingdom of Insatious on the small planet called Earth.
Intrepid Report Associate Editor Larry Pinkney is a veteran of the Black Panther Party, the former Minister of Interior of the Republic of New Africa, a former political prisoner and the only American to have successfully self-authored his civil / political rights case to the United Nations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In connection with his political organizing activities, Pinkney was interviewed in 1988 on the nationally televised PBS News Hour, formerly known as The MacNeil / Lehrer News Hour. Pinkney is a former university instructor of political science and international relations, and his writings have been published in various places, including The Boston Globe, the San Francisco BayView newspaper, the Black Commentator,Global Research (Canada), LINKE ZEITUNG (Germany), and Mayihlome News (Azania/South Africa). For more about Larry Pinkney see the book, Saying No to Power: Autobiography of a 20th Century Activist and Thinker, by William Mandel [Introduction by Howard Zinn]. (Click here to read excerpts from the book.)
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Amabo the Conjurer: A short New Year’s parable
Posted on December 30, 2011 by Larry Pinkney
Once upon a time, on a beautiful little planet there lived a clever lad named Amabo.
Amabo came from the Kingdom of Insatious, whose boundaries stretched east to west from ocean to ocean. It was a large kingdom with many people and cities. It was also very rich in natural resources. Yet, it was constantly at war with much smaller, poorer, and weaker kingdoms all over the planet.
The people of Insatious were mostly a good and kind people, but they were ruled by a shrewd and cruel nobility. The nobility of the Kingdom of Insatious had an insatiable appetite for wealth and power.
Every four years the people of Insatious were allowed to choose from among the wealthy nobility which of the nobles would lead them. And every four years the people hoped that they might find among the nobles a good, kind, and wise leader who would love them and stop making them fight wars with neighboring kingdoms. But each time their hopes were dashed.
Suddenly there appeared a relatively unknown, well-spoken noble by the name of Amabo. Amabo said all the right things to the people, and was heralded even by other nobles. The people hoped that they had at last found a noble who would be true, wise, and honest. So when they were told that they could once more select a leader from among the nobles, they chose Amabo.
But, alas! Three years passed with Amabo as their leader, and things became worse than ever before. Increasingly mean and unjust laws were passed and any who disagreed with Amabo and the other nobles were labeled as malcontents and often imprisoned or banished. The people toiled with great heartache. Many had no work and no homes. Others continued dying in Insatious’ wars with other kingdoms. Yet, Amabo continued to lie, and some of the people began to realize that they had been fooled by the nobles, and that they had chosen Amabo the Conjurer—who like those before him—had misled them and dashed their hopes.
Finally, towards the end of the third year of Amabo’s rule, some of the people began rising up, calling for an end to the reign of all the nobles. Thus began a great shaking and awakening among the people of the Kingdom of Insatious.
History has yet to record what occurred after that. But perhaps—just perhaps—the year 2012 will usher in seismic changes and glad tidings by and for the people of the Kingdom of Insatious on the small planet called Earth.
Intrepid Report Associate Editor Larry Pinkney is a veteran of the Black Panther Party, the former Minister of Interior of the Republic of New Africa, a former political prisoner and the only American to have successfully self-authored his civil / political rights case to the United Nations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In connection with his political organizing activities, Pinkney was interviewed in 1988 on the nationally televised PBS News Hour, formerly known as The MacNeil / Lehrer News Hour. Pinkney is a former university instructor of political science and international relations, and his writings have been published in various places, including The Boston Globe, the San Francisco BayView newspaper, the Black Commentator, Global Research (Canada), LINKE ZEITUNG (Germany), and Mayihlome News (Azania/South Africa). For more about Larry Pinkney see the book, Saying No to Power: Autobiography of a 20th Century Activist and Thinker, by William Mandel [Introduction by Howard Zinn]. (Click here to read excerpts from the book.)