Category: Ramsey Muniz

By Greg Moses

To try to remember a dream. What could such an effort be worth? In
the end one would only have a memory of a dream to show for it. And so
what? Could the time taken to remember a dream be better spent
forgetting it?

So we forget our dreams right away. Up in the morning and after it
— after something anything more solid than a memory of a dream could
be.

But something curious happens to memories and dreams when locked
into thick prison walls. In prison, dreams never dare to escape. Humans
spirits deprived of any spiritual refreshment from paint chipped blocks
and bars will have their fountains, so up through the night come the
dreams.

In the spiritual landscape of the order of things, prisons
therefore are a society’s dream reservoirs. If the walls aren’t built
thick enough, dreams would come flooding out like a tsunami and drown
every bullshit idea in the way. That’s why we have so many thick prison
walls in America.

According to statistics released on Sunday (why Sunday?) the USA
once again ranks top in the world for the dream dams we call prisons.
More than 2.1 million folks jammed into a system that includes federal
prisons (139 percent full); state prisons (116 percent full); and jails
(94 percent full). Nearly 100,000 of those prisoners serve time in
prisons that have been privatized to make some profit which just goes
to show you there is nothing that money will refuse to buy.

In the dream of April 16 that we copy below, Ramsey Muniz is visited
by memory of ancient land, imaginary kingdom Aztlan, where the Aztec
dance unconquered, and every step they take is upon land they never
have to apologize for walking.

We read the dream of Ramsey Muniz in the context of April 11, when
Harvard Professor of Divinty David Carrasco, as the 19th Annual Americo
Paredes Lecturer speaking to a full house in the Santa Rita Room on
Guadalupe St. showed slides of some of the dreams of Aztlan painted during 16th Century land negotiations. As the dreams of Muniz remind us, those negotiations are still under way:

‘We are One’

Enclosed are words received in a dream…

4/17/05
10:45 PM

Mi Citlalmina y mi gente de Aztlan:

As I shared with you on the telephone, I had
a dream – was it a dream, or was it reality of life
and heart, which only seeks justice, love, and the
freedom of all humanity? It is written in our ancient
Mexicano history that dreams, visions, and appearances
of our ancient council of elders would be recorded
for our future. The writings, dreams, and visions
were all so powerful and connected to nature, that
even modern day scholars cannot comprehend. From
the beginning of our creation we have been in tune
with universal nature, stars, moon, sun, and Mother
Earth.

During the last eleven years confined in the
prisons of America, as a Mexicano political prisoner
in exile, I have prayed extensively in the steel,
cold darkness of oppression – not for myself, but for
a symbol, a sign, a message of enlightenment of hearts
in order to share the journey and direction that we
must take as a race, as a people, in order to obtain
justice, liberation, and in due time, land.

Before I proceed any further, I will share with everyone in
Aztlan and the Holy Land of Mexico that on
April 16, 2005, I awoke from a dream within the midst
of our ancient past. Immediately I sat on the chair
next to my writing table, and wrote an entire
page — with such foresight — then returned to
bed and immediately fell asleep. When I awoke in
the morning, after more than thirty minutes, I
glanced at the page that I had written. I will share
the first part of what came from my dreams:

Cultura/Nuestra Cultura Espiritual Primero
"The Mexicano cultural ancient beginning and/or its
creation will eternally and ultimately bequeath the
manifestation of us to fulfill our spiritual prophesy
of once more becoming one. Nosotros somos uno. This
is the beginning of our ancient cultural Mexicano
spiritual mandate for the 21st century."

Tezcatlipoca (Ramsey Muniz)
April 16, 2005
U.S.P. Leavenworth

"Nosotros somos uno" is a phrase that should
become part of our daily lives, conversations,
participation, and at the end of the night it should
be a part of our spiritual message to Topan (heaven).
We are one! Regardless of where we find ourselves
this very night, we are all one! To be one from
within thousands of miles going south, east, west
or north is power.

Oppression in our past has managed
to divide our people and eventually conquer all
schools of thought or philosophies, providing
a scheme of labeling us with different names
and brands. It is for these reasons that America
has labeled our people into the 21st century.
American now wishes for all of us to become
Hispanics or Latinos for the sole purpose of
becoming different from our Mexicano sisters and
brothers who have journeyed from the Holy Land
of Mexico into the United State of America. We
should embrace our sisters and brothers who have
given their lives by the thousands in the hot
deserts and in the strong currents of the Rio
Grande River, rather than separating them from
our own heritage and generations.

To argue that we are different is to permit oppression by those who wish to divide and conquer our lives with
false illusions, and control the lives of nuestra
gente in general. For the last thirty years or
more, we have embraced and shared with the masses
of nuestra raza in the barrios, our communities,
our schools, and in state and federal prisons our
cultural revolution in all Aztlan.

The United States has been in wars and/or conflicts in all
the world for the last thirty years. During that
period of time, our sisters and brothers came like
never before in our history into America. They
crossed the borders after 9/11, and homeland security
came into existence. After several census taken
of our raza, they became alarmed by the number of
Mexicanos who came to join the pursuit of justice
and liberation. We will no longer be the minority
in the Southwest of the United States. We will
become the majority and will continue to grow
in numbers. It is written that we will never
stop growing in numbers until the land also
becomes a part of us.

Vigilantes, conservative groups and others have become so alarmed of the number of raza crossing the borders that now
they too guard the borders, which will be crossed
by our people.

The dream and its relationship to the human
crisis at the borders clearly reveals that we
Mexicanos must begin to express how proud we are
to be Mexicanos once more after many hundreds of
years of oppression and imprisonment. We were
one from the beginning of our creation. We must
reach into our cultural past as if were only
yesterday. Our teachings, our philosophies,
our ideals, and our spirituality must all relate
to nuestra cultura.

The time has come to make a
definite commitment to the life of our Mexicano
cultura. A race and/or nation without cultura
will never come into existence. The more that
we reach for nuestra cultura Mexicana the more
spiritual our hearts and minds will become. To
all of our raza in Aztlan I share the following
words of wisdom:

We want only to show you something
we have seen and tell you something
we have heard…that here and there
in the world and now and then in ourselves
is a new spiritual Mexicano creation…

Tezcatlipoca (Ramsey Muñiz)

Yes, without question or doubt, throughout
all Aztlan there is a new spiritual Mexicano
creation. We will now become what we were from
the beginning – a free race, a free nation, a
free land.

Immigration will become the national issue
which United States politicians will use to
blame for all negative results in America. Our
sisters and brothers will be trea

ted as if they
were responsible for the oppression of America.
We must immediately take the political position
that our sisters and brothers from the Holy Land
of Mexico, who find themselves in the United
States, be granted full amnesty.

We will take a strong political position against the
United States trying to pass oppressive procedures
against nuestra raza on the issue of immigration.
Besides, if we were to study history in terms of
to who was here first, we would win immediately.
Our sisters and brothers from the Holy Land will
be blamed for all economical and financial
downfalls. But at the end it doesn’t matter,
because we have more compassion in our hearts
for humanity.

We are one! We must be proud of who
we are. Our history is one of pride, heart,
and intelligence. We must let the world know who
we are, and that we are proud to be Mexicanos. As
a group we must also begin to communicate directly
with other Mexicanos who are in tune with our
cultura and historia.

No longer will our raza hold their heads down
in shame. No longer will we be afraid or fear the
sacrifice for liberation. We will no longer be oppressed.

In exile,
Tezcatlipoca
Mexicano political prisoner

www.freeramsey.com

Note: letter from Ramsey Muniz conveyed via email April 24 from Irma L. Muniz.

Note: Sunday evening in the second-to-last episode of Pioneer House
on PBS a tiny colonial enclave was visited by native peoples who
presented themselves as living witness to history made whole. For the
second time in the show’s season, modern-day colonists discarded an
opportunity to radically re-evaluate their re-enactment. The first
opportunity was the early morning departure of an African American
freeman who became deeply disturbed at the experience of colonial
economy. He could feel the natural birth of slavenomics coming, so he
left. In both cases, neither the departure of an African American nor
the arrival of Native Americans posed anything more than a brief
distraction from the main game. Soon enough colonists get back to work
for the company. Every night the colonists return to their beds. We
know they sleep, but do they ever dream?—gm

* * *

The following letter from Ramsey Muniz was received via email from Irma L. Muniz on May 19.

Please distribute the enclosed message regarding our ancient past and spirituality.

"As I embrace our ancient sacred indigenous spirituality, I’m
transformed by a passion I have only heard in our past; confined in
these prisons now I feel it in my own Mexika soul. I have been given
access to a great and universal profound secret. Now I know the
suffering, sadness, sorrow, and sacrifices of my ancestors, and now it
has become my own."–Tezcatlipoca (Ramsey Muñiz)

It gives me great honor and pride to share with nuestra gente the
second part of what I wrote late into the night, after awakening from
an ancient Mexika dream. These are the exact words I wrote: "It is
evident from our ancient Mexika writings, symbols, and manuscripts that
eventually the primary principle of our cultural realization was the
power of spirituality of the hearts of the masses of our people –
spirituality in the sense of its liberation, teachings of justice, and
the universal philosophy of a free humanity."

Our most profound and challenging ancient history is like no other
history on this earth. The vision, the intelligence and cosmic power
within the creation of our existence, is like no other in the past
present, and/or future. Even before the invasion of our Mexika Empire,
our wise council of elders was preparing for this disaster.

Our ancient history reveals and teaches us our creation, our
foundation, philosophy of life, cultural structures, constantly
demonstrating the power of our spirituality. It is this hidden
spirituality that has provided the power and pride of resistance
against oppression and atrocities. It doesn’t matter what policies
and/or criminal penalties America brings upon the lives of our sisters
and brothers who came to join us here in Aztlan. It is done! We are
only following the direction and teachings of our ancient Mexika past
into our present world of today. We are not just anybody. We are a
universal cosmic people who lay claim to our spiritual culture from our
past to rehabilitate ourselves, and to begin justifying the
presentation of our national cultural existence.

Perhaps we have not sufficiently demonstrated that present American
colonialism is simply not content to impose its rule upon the present
and futures of a dominated country. American 21st century colonialism
is not satisfied merely with holding a people in its grip, and emptying
the Mexicano/Mexicana brain of all form and content. By a kind of
perverted logic, it turns to the past of the oppressed people and
distorts, disfigures, and destroys it. This work of devaluating our
pre-colonial history takes on a dialectic significance today. When we
consider the efforts of the colonial epoch to carry out our spiritual
cultural estrangement, we realize that nothing was left to chance, and
that the total result looked for by colonial domination was indeed to
convince Mexicanos that colonialism came to lighten their darkness.

The effect consciously sought by America was to drive into
Mexicanos’ minds the idea that if the settlers were to leave, they
would at once fall back into barbarism, degradation, and bestiality. On
the unconscious plane, colonialism, therefore, was considered by the
Mexicanos as a mother who restrained her fundamentally perverse
offspring from its evil instincts. She protected her child from itself
– its ego – its physiology – its biology, and its own unhappiness,
which became its very essence.

We must teach and share with the youth of today the importance of
our ancient Mexika history. How sad to be poor, sad to be chained and
shackled by the injustices of the oppressor. But nothing is sadder than
to witness the fact that our raza does not even know who we truly are.
Our history teaches that we would pass through these periods of
cultural/spiritual uncertainties. It also reveals that certain destined
Mexicanos/Mexicanas would rise within the era of our Sixth Sun. It is
written and destined that our raza will return to its creation and
construct the means of once more becoming a free race, a free land, a
free nation, a free spiritual/cultural Aztlan of today.

Our sisters and brothers from Mexico who had the heart and courage
to cross the borders into the United States will also one day return to
Mexico and share the truth of the fact that we are one. That the
Mexicanos living in the United States have the same roots as the Holy
Land of Mexico. We are finally learning and accepting the truth of our
ancient spirituality. We must have the courage, pride, and honor to
free ourselves and provide the assistance to free our people as well.
We must be a proud and respectful race once again. We must begin in our
preschools, teaching our history, cultura, and spirituality. We must
reunite once again! Our children, our youth, and the masses of our
people must feel proud once again.

We will soon be the majority of the population throughout the entire
southwest of the United States. If we have been able to accomplish
this, then the time has come for us to rise again, to reach out, and
share with the masses of nuestra raza how we will fulfill the great
destiny of our race.

We of our Sixth Sun will continue to strongly advocate the
implementation and existence of our own political party in Aztlan. It
will happen! Our Holy Land of Mexico is also experiencing political and
cultural changes among the masses. The time has come and many of us
continue to suffer, but destiny will eventually remove the sacrifice,
suffering, and imprisonment. No one can change what history brings to
our lives and creation. We are a people who constantly live in the life
of history.

"We are Indian, blood and soul; the language and civilization are Spanish."–Jose Vasconcelos

In exile,
Tezcatlipoca
freeramsey.com

Dear Friends:

The current Supreme Court decision states that it is unconstitutional for a judge to determine a person’s sentence without the jury having knowledge. This violates one’s
constitutional right to a trial by jury. Ramsey was sentenced by a judge rather than a jury. He will be filing an appeal, but has been advised to wait, as others should do.
There will be many people filing appeals, and those appeals need to be studied in order to determine which ones will be granted
by the courts. This information should be shared with others who have hopes of obtaining their freedom.

Activists need to become involved in this issue, as it will affect many African-Americans and Mexicanos. Decisions made regarding
the sentencing guidelines should pertain to everyone, rather than being capricious, arbitrary decisions. If the current sentencing
guidelines are unconstitutional (and they are), then they need to be declared unconstitutional for everyone across the board.

Thank you for sharing this information with others.

Sincerely,
Irma Muniz
http://www.freeramsey.com
via email Jan. 15, 2005

March 13, 2005

After eleven years as a continuous student of the
law in the dungeons of America, and a graduate of one
of the most constitutionally oriented, conservative
Texas law schools (Baylor School of Law), I am unable
to prepare the necessary post-conviction remedy defense
for the re-opening of my federal case.

By administrative policy of the Bureau of Prisons, we are only
entitled to telephone communications of 300 minutes per month, or the
equivalence of ten minutes per day. At times, due to the importance of
the legal matter in which I am involved, I have used my entire 300
minutes in the first two weeks of the month, thus leaving me without
communications with the free world.

I ask that every attorney and/or professor
and scholar of law to place themselves in my present
position, and immediately react to the truthful and factual
matter of the application of one’s constitutional rights
under the Constitution of the United State of America.
The only legal reaction to my present constitutional law
situation is that it is in violation of the Due Process
Clause of the Fifth Amendment and the Equal Protection
Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of
the United States of America.

Presently, I am 62 years of age, and have been
imprisoned in one of the harshest core penitentiaries
(Leavenworth USP) for the last eleven years, facing the
essence — the actuality of a death sentence (life sentence
without parole). It is extremely difficult for me to
accept the violations and actions of the prison administrative
policies on the limitation of my right to counsel and my
constitutional right to prepare my defense in accordance
with all my constitutional rights within the practice and
rules of the federal courts.

I am not a criminal. I am a Mexicano political prisoner
of the 21st century. In order to present to the appropriate
jurisdictional federal court why my case should be reopened,
I must communicate by phone, in person, and through
correspondence. I must communicate with different attorneys,
investigators, politicians, constitutional defense rights
committees, legal constitutional professors, scholars,
and different law student associations involved in the
violation of human rights.

I am not requesting the
determination of my present legal position. I am demanding
that the laws and rights from the written constitution of
this country be applied to my case. Without a doubt, if
I were allowed to prepare an adequate defense with
the fulfillment of my constitutional rights, then I would
become a free man. Until the Bureau of Prisons or the
Federal Courts of the United States permit me to communicate
using unlimited telephone time, my constitutional rights
are in violation at this very minute of the night.

In other
words – to make it clearer – an injustice of the law applies
to my life every day and night in this mode of darkness.
Americans must realize that I am not confined in Iraq, but
here in the United States of America. Or am I?

I will immediately share further information pertaining
to this illegal cloud of injustice on my life…

Sent by Irma Muniz via email. March 23.
For more on Ramsey see: http://freeramsey.com/

By Greg

Moses

CounterPunch

Winter takes the

color away, but people put up lights. In my own cul de sac of the global village, the light show this

year is fantastic. We have colors like I’ve never seen, electric deer that raise their lit-up heads,

candy canes, icicles, y mas santas. At night the frozen ground glows in magical grace. With hope, we

have electrified a dying world.

Where does this spirit come from? If you think it

comes from Jesus, I get it. If you prefer a pagan yule tide, I get that, too. My own favorite story

for this season of lights belongs to Africa, where the Nile River once rose and fell. By x-mas time

each year, the water had fallen low, but the low ebb of the river was matched by the high hope of

Horus, the baby born of Holy Mother Isis and Green God Osiris, each and every December

25.

Whether the water is low or the snow is high, x-mas in El Norte finds us asking

metaphysical questions. Will we believe in the returns of Spring? Stake our cheer on nothing but the

future? Or feed our fear on everything we see around us?

For Ramsey Muniz on x-mas, it

is neither low water nor high snow. For Ramsey, and so many with him, it is thick walls that must be

hoped through. If he had to do it all over again, says Ramsey in an interview with Rolando Garza,

he’d rather not run for Governor of Texas. He’d rather serve as minister of cultura for his beloved

party, La Raza Unida.

Cultura. Familia. And most important, says Ramsey, is

Love.

“Let us celebrate the birth of this historic spiritual man whose destiny was to

change the entire world,” writes Ramsey from Leavenworth prison. The email comes from his esposa,

Irma. “It is not about a white Christmas. It is about accepting the truth of faith, charity, love,

forgiveness, and spirituality. We are in the midst of a world spiritual evolution and those who open

their hearts with patience and understanding will witness the resurrection of spiritual power which is

greater than any other power in the world.”

Although he says nothing directly about her

in this message, Ramsey’s voice reminds me who else is looking out. The Lady of Guadalupe, her

resplendent image watching from the East. She is mother to all the children of Aztlan, and it would

take a soul made from dry husk not to thank her that you live at this glowing cul de sac while Ramsey

Muniz is locked up in Leavenworth.

If the best things come from prison, as Ramsey says,

then in what way do the best things exist, and why do the power-fools of this earth lock the best

things away? In solitary confinement, Ramsey encountered a vision of Ricardo Flores Magón, and, having

nothing more urgent at hand, they talked. Was it the same cell where Magon had been beaten to death in

1922, four years into his fourth imprisonment? Magon had coined the slogan, “Land and Liberty.” In

his journal, Regeneration, he reminded Mechika readers that “emancipation of the workers must be the

work of the workers themselves.”

At the Irish anarchist website, struggle, they say “No

Gods, No Masters.” If you think the spirit belongs to this slogan, I get that, too. On x-mas day,

the point is never to be caught without the spirit that takes you through the low water

times.