Pedro Santana on LinkedIn: #humanity #challengethestatusquo #ethicalleadership #globalaffairs… (2024)

I watched Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, 2nd in line to the Presidency, speak at Columbia University, along with several other members of Congress. I couldn't help but notice how much of what was being said reminded me of a speech given by King George. Full text below:A Proclamation, by The King, for Suppressing Rebellion and SeditionKing George IIIAugust 23, 1775George R.Whereas many of our subjects in divers parts of our Colonies and Plantations in North America, misled by dangerous and ill designing men, and forgetting the allegiance which they owe to the power that has protected and supported them; after various disorderly acts committed in disturbance of the publick peace, to the obstruction of lawful commerce, and to the oppression of our loyal subjects carrying on the same; have at length proceeded to open and avowed rebellion, by arraying themselves in a hostile manner, to withstand the execution of the law, and traitorously preparing, ordering and levying war against us.And whereas, there is reason to apprehend that such rebellion hath been much promoted and encouraged by the traitorous correspondence, counsels and comfort of divers wicked and desperate persons within this Realm:To the end therefore, that none of our subjects may neglect or violate their duty through ignorance thereof, or through any doubt of the protection which the law will afford to their loyalty and zeal, we have thought fit, by and with the advice of our Privy Council, to issue our Royal Proclamation, hereby declaring, that not only all our Officers, civil and military, are obliged to exert their utmost endeavours to suppress such rebellion, and to bring the traitors to justice, but that all our subjects of this Realm, and the dominions thereunto belonging, are bound by law to be aiding and assisting in the suppression of such rebellion, and to disclose and make known all traitorous conspiracies and attempts against us, our crown and dignity.We do accordingly strictly charge and command all our Officers, as well civil as military, and all others our obedient and loyal subjects, to use their utmost endeavours to withstand and suppress such rebellion, and to disclose and make known all treasons and traitorous conspiracies which they shall know to be against us, our crown and dignity; and for that purpose, that they transmit to one of our principal Secretaries of State, or other proper officer, due and full information of all persons who shall be found carrying on correspondence with, or in any manner or degree aiding or abetting the persons now in open arms and rebellion against our Government, within any of our Colonies and Plantations in North America, in order to bring to condign punishment the authors, perpetrators, and abetters of such traitorous designs.Given at our Court at St. James’s the twenty-third day of August, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, in the fifteenth year of our reign.GOD save the KING.

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It's funny how when images like these are shown from other countries, American Conservatives are the first to pridefully sing the praises of our democracy and to warns other of what communism and socialism look like and what repression really is. And yet the moment students challenge the status quo and demand accountability and change, those same conservatives demand the deployment of police and even the military. Hypocrisy at it's finest. #humanity #challengethestatusquo #ethicalleadership #globalaffairs #hypocrisy

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𝗜 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 It doesn't matter their nationality, color, flag, sex, or religion. 𝗜 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 It doesn't matter their nationality, color, flag, sex, or religion. 𝙄𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 You can't ask if I condemn the killing and mistreatment of innocent people and then ignore the undeniable fact that you are also doing the same, many times over! 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝘀 "But Hamas said from the river to the sea!" Yes, and so did the Likud party and Netanyahu before Hamas ever existed! We must be honest about the whole truth to break these endless cycles. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝘀 If we are going to use religious history and rules to claim ownership and dictate the proper response, whose rules do we follow? Are we only to follow the rules that serve our particular agendas? 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 You don't want to talk about it on a business platform. I get it. The reality is that this has affected the entire planet It is changing the face of higher education in America. It is costing billions in losses for some companies, and gains for others. It has affected international shipping. Others are salivating about profits to be made in real estate, natural gas, and oil. This is about business. It's about control, power, money, leverage. 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗹 More importantly it is about people. There is nothing more important in this world than that. Show me how you treat people, all people, and I'll know the kind of person you really are. #ceasefirenow #humanity #challengethestatusquo #ethicalleadership #globalaffairs #gaza #palestine

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As disgusting as his behavior is, what I find even worse is that NO ONE stopped him. No one stood up for them. No one tried to intervene. Not one person. As for his behavior...His biggest gripe was that "This is a Christian Country!" I can definitely feel the love of Jesus in everyone word and step he takes! Another thing to notice is that he gets himself so worked up that he begins to say things opposite to what he means.He is so agitated he can't even think straight. It makes you wonder about all the "mistakes" people make in this state of mind. How many orders are given, policies written, actions taken by people just like him?And, again, no one to defend the innocent.#humanity #challengethestatusquo #ethicalleadership #globalaffairs #racism #Islamophobia

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Let's be clear, being pro-Palestine and pro-Palestinian is NOT a crime. It is not wrong. It is NOT antisemitic. I had intended to write a follow up to the University of Southern California's decision to cancel valedictorian, Asna Tabassum's speech and subsequently all featured guest speeches, but I clearly noticed a disturbing pattern. In every report being published about anyone speaking out, they are being labeled as antisemitic, pro-Hamas, and simply wrong for defending the people of Palestine. As an American, standing up and protesting against any policy I disagree with is my constitutional right. It is the very essence of being American! That does not make me anti-American! The Declaration of Independence states: "that ALL men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain UNALIENABLE RIGHTS, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" and "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government"These are a universal belief. It is not an Americanism. We did not invent it. We believe those words. We trust in that belief. And we fight to uphold that truth. That is the true American spirit. And that is why we stand for Palestine and against anyone who says otherwise. It is not anti-American. It is not anti-semitic. It is because we ARE American, and believe in freedom and justice for ALL - even when our own government fails to. Standing up against what has become the brutal regime of Israel is NOT anti-semitic. It is not against Jewish people, all around the world. Liberty and justice for all includes them as well. Murder is not justice. Release ALL the hostages. Ceasefire now. Free Palestine. #humanity #challengethestatusquo #ethicalleadership #globalaffairs #gaza #ceasefire #palestine

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Approximately 85% of the world's population claims to be religious.And many countries also claim to have an official or majority religion.I'm not sure I believe that. I grew up in a Christian home and one of the verses that left a great impression on me was Romans 12:18 which says: "𝗜𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲." Here's the thing, most religions have a similar principle. If that's true, and the grand majority of the population is religious, why is there so much hate, death, and destruction? Someone's lying. #humanity #challengethestatusquo #ethicalleadership #globalaffairs #religion #peace

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I fully understand that what Shai Davidai, Assistant Professor at Columbia University feels is going to be naturally different than what I do. He is Jewish Israeli, and I am not. It affects him differently. I feel for him. I've seen his tweets about being "pro-Israel, pro-Palestine, and anti-terror." I've seen his tweets about "advocating for a prosperous Palestinian state", and "supporting the rights of millions of innocent Palestinians", and yet I don't understand his latest video calling for the National Guard to deal with student protesters at Columbia University. I also don't understand why he doesn't understand the difference in the examples he gives in this interview below:When Students Supporting Israel held a rally on campus, it was peaceful, all the rules were followed and rallygoers waved American flags in addition to Israeli flags, Davidai said. “When you look at the pro-Hamas rally, there was just Palestinian flags and Houthi flags … you get a sense of the kind of people you’re dealing with.”"This is why you see American flags in the pro-Israel protests. This is why you see American flags in the ‘Release the Hostages’ rallies. This is why you never see even one American flag at the pro-Hamas protest and when you see them, they’re being burned down.” (excerpt from Jewish Journal) Does he not understand what people are actually protesting? Or why they are not waving American flags, and why Israeli supporters are? I mean, it seems pretty clear to me. It has nothing to do with antisemitism, or even anti-American, and everything to do with the world largely saying "STOP!" and the US and Israel saying "No, you're not the boss of me!" #humanity #challengethestatusquo #ethicalleadership #globalaffairs #gaza

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𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗱𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲.In many ways, it showcases the best of what this world is and can be. It also shows us the worst.The most concerning part of all is that, many times, the worst is disguised as innovative and successful while the best is described as unproductive and unprofitable.Why is profit considered more important than people?Think about this: How many of our meetings this week will focus on profit and growth? How many will be on enhancing and increasing our humanity?Discussions about humanity and increasing our humanitarian output are only allowed as long as they don't affect the bottom line. Otherwise, they're discouraged and even prohibited.You want to stand out in the marketplace? Be unapologetically pro-humanity.Only by shifting our focus can we change the world.#humanity #challengethestatusquo #ethicalleadership #globalaffairs(Photo credit: Ro Arfat Khan, Cox's Bazar Refugee Camp #rohingya)

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America, we have a problem. When the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States of America publicly declares, "for those of us who are believers, it's a Biblical admonition to stand with Israel", we have crossed the line from personal belief to policy making based on religion. If any governmental representative of a different religion had stated a similar reason, there would have been calls to remove them and charges of some kind or another would have been suggested, if not demanded. But this isn't any governmental representative. He is the next in line to the Presidency of the United States of America, after the Vice President.Additionally, Mike Johnson is in a war within his own party right now, with a growing number calling for him to resign. Meanwhile, Americans are now on the hook for an additional $95 billion dollars of aid going elsewhere. $85.9 billion of that is going to military and war funding, and $9.1 billion to humanitarian aid. I wonder how different things would be if we gave $85 billion to humanitarian aid instead? Maybe there wouldn't be so many people wanting to kill each other... Just a thought. #humanity #challengethestatusquo #ethicalleadership #globalaffairs

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