Dissident Veteran For Peace: Amerykahn Promise

Dissident Veteran For Peace

"I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America." —Alexis de Tocquevile. Democracy in America, Book I, Chapter XV.

With a nod to the Most Rev. Dom Helder Camara: When I support Palestinians some call me an 'anti-Semite', when I try to explain why I stand in solidarity with Palestinians they call me a Nazi.

"WAR is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives." —Major General Smedley Butler, USMC (ret.)

"... no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end." —character of O'Brien in 1984, part 3, ch. 3 by George Orwell.

"Every prophet has realized that nobody loves you for being the enemy of their illusions. Every prophet has realized that most of us want peace at any price as long as the peace is ours and somebody else pays the price. That is why the prophet Jeremiah said, ' "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace,' ..." —The Rev. William Sloane Coffin. "Not to Bring Peace, But a Sword."

Friday, March 14, 2008

Amerykahn Promise

"Amerykahn Promise" on Erykah Badu's new album, New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War, is my current favorite song. I like it even better than "Honey" on the same album, which I like a lot. The lyrics to "Amerykahn Promise" are rich with ancient Egyptian religious references and sophisticated criticism of modern America and I don't pretend understand even half of them. Every time I listen the song yields a new gem from the surface and depths of it's funky rhythm. For example, at the end a little girl (Ma'at?; pictured at right) asks "Has anyone seen my 42 laws"? This a reference to the 42 laws (or negative confessions) of Ma'at and, obviously, Amerykah hasn't heard of them and doesn't follow them--"Oh, I'm sorry. We're not responsible for lost articles and thangs." Any way, take a listen for yourself.

Erykah Badu - Amerykahn Promise on wat.tv

Addendum: Click the link at right to read the "Negative Confession" as translated by E. A. Wallis Budge in The Egyptian Book of the Dead (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., Ltd., 1898).

Last revised: 14 June 2014 – Replaced image file to image with Ma'at holding papyrus staff; add source link to image file; fixed broken links to Hooker's article on the 42 laws; add link to Budge's book; correct spelling errors; replaced previous video with one that has the full track.

Labels: Erykah Badu, music, religion, United States, video

# posted by VFPDissident @ 3/14/2008 06:56:00 PM

Comments:

Great song. Just found your site looking for exactly what the 'little girl' says at the end of that song. thanks for shedding some light.

-Osita, NJ

# posted by

Unknown : Sunday, March 23, 2008 4:04:00 PM

Glad to be of service.

# posted by

VFPDissident : Wednesday, April 16, 2008 12:23:00 AM

That's Isis (Aset) in your pic...

# posted by

Anonymous : Saturday, June 14, 2014 12:10:00 AM

I'm no expert but what makes you so sure that's Isis? My understanding is that the single ostrich feather worn on the head is associated with Maat, not Isis.

# posted by

VFPDissident : Saturday, June 14, 2014 6:20:00 PM