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The Horror, the Horror: Colonialism and the price to pay
Joseph Conrad wrote The Heart of Darkness in 1899. In part it was a reflection of a time he had spent in the Congo; as a crewman and later captain on a ship travelling up […]
Articles by Bert Hetebry
Social Justice
The woman problem
That really is the wrong headline, it probably would be more accurate to say, The Man Problem, but too many men may kick up at the idea that they are a problem, let alone THE […]
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The Battle for Imperial Supremacy
“Who commands the sea commands trade; who commands the trade of the world commands its riches, and so commands the world.” Quote attributed to Sir Walter Raleigh (1553-1618). Sabre-rattling in what is more and more […]
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Empires, colonies, past and present: The good, the bad and the ugly
At the height of its imperial power, Britain had about 130 colonies, imperial ‘possessions’ which encircled the earth. France, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands accounted for over 200 possessions. Germany, Russia, Belgium, Sweden and Norway […]
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Criminalising First Nations People. How is this criminal?
In trying to see matters of property through Indigenous eyes, Edward Curr, an early settler in Tasmania wrote: “ … it is probable they see no difference between our taking their Kangaroos and taking our […]
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Who benefits from fair trade and trade wars?
Choices governments make and the economic consequences “What ever happens we have got The Maxim Gun, and they have not.” (British poet Hilaire Belloc, “The Modern Traveller”, 1898) At the height of the British Empire, […]
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There is always someone to hate
The Irish actor Richard Harris told a story of his experience of the bigotry directed against him in his days as a young actor. He was playing a small part in Macbeth, just a walk […]
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Superficiality allows a power imbalance to exist, a banal evil
“… the more superficial someone is, the more likely he will yield to Evil. That is the Banality of Evil. An indication of such superficiality was the use of cliches. And Eichmann, God knows, was […]
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Can Christians, Jews and Muslims ever get on together?
“There is seldom a difficulty with religion where there is friendship.” (Sebastian Barry, Irish novelist and playwright.) In a world wracked with religious wars, can there ever be a time and place where people of […]
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Colonialism and the Erasure of Cultures
“You didn’t learn our language.” It has been a long time since I saw the film ‘1492: Conquest of Paradise’, but the closing scene (as I remember it) was Christopher Columbus asking the leader of […]
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Religion and politics just don’t mix
I know a few people who would disagree with me in very, very strong terms, but I stand by what I have said. Religion and politics don’t mix. OK, but maybe they can with certain […]
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What is Zionism and what is Christian Zionism?
O come, o come Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel; That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee O Israel (J.M. Neale 1851) In discussing […]
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Jewish history revisited
So much of the history of the Jews and the Jewish diaspora is tied to the rebellion of the Jews against the Roman occupation culminating in the expulsion of them and the destruction of the […]
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Dangerous democracy
Democracy is a great threat to those who have or seek power. Democracy is a tussle for power. The slow move to fuller enfranchisement, the right to vote from adult men holding property to all […]
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Swings and merry-go-rounds
The gilded age in America saw the rise and rise of some of the wealthiest people in the world. People such as JD Rockefeller who made his fortune establishing Standard Oil, financiers, Andrew Carnegie and […]