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sophia_sol) wrote2023-01-11 04:45 pm
sophia_sol) wrote2023-01-11 04:45 pm
The Desert is Fertile, by Hélder Câmara, translated by Dinah Livingstone
This is a small book from the 70's written from a very christian perspective but speaking earnestly to anyone who cares about injustice, urging people to act to make a difference. It's a plea for revolutionary change, but one that argues for non-violent action -- not necessarily from a moral ground (though I think he also believes it morally), but from a belief that non-violent direct action is more likely to be effective at creating the world he wants to see. How can oppressed minorities successfully wage a war of violence against the powers that have all the money and arms and armies, he asks.
The book is a collection of small essays and small poems interspersed with each other. The poetry isn't as good, in my opinion, as the essays, but they're clearly heartfelt at least.
The book does use sexist language and says the occasional awkward or uncomfortable thing, but it's clear that Câmara is genuinely doing his best to be open and expansive with his love, his understanding, and his welcome, and so I was able to read past this myself. He seems to just genuinely love humankind!
It's also very clearly of its era in other ways, like the particular political framework he's discussing throughout of communism vs capitalism. And also, this is the time when liberation theology was blossoming in Latin America, and it's clear he's writing out of that tradition too. I have a lot of respect for liberation theology!
Overall an interesting look into a particular era and a particular perspective in the ongoing efforts to change the world into a better place.
The book is a collection of small essays and small poems interspersed with each other. The poetry isn't as good, in my opinion, as the essays, but they're clearly heartfelt at least.
The book does use sexist language and says the occasional awkward or uncomfortable thing, but it's clear that Câmara is genuinely doing his best to be open and expansive with his love, his understanding, and his welcome, and so I was able to read past this myself. He seems to just genuinely love humankind!
It's also very clearly of its era in other ways, like the particular political framework he's discussing throughout of communism vs capitalism. And also, this is the time when liberation theology was blossoming in Latin America, and it's clear he's writing out of that tradition too. I have a lot of respect for liberation theology!
Overall an interesting look into a particular era and a particular perspective in the ongoing efforts to change the world into a better place.
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Liberation theology is one of those things that sometimes makes me want to hang on to being Christian.
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