DAY TO SHARE THE PAST & LIVE THE PRESENT ‘DESCENTLY’
First and foremost, we wish to acknowledge the
traditional custodians of this land, Australia, on which we live and pay our respect to
their elders of the past, present, from all nations who gave their lives for
all their enduring praiseworthy causes.
The truth might hurt but must be told, regardless. We all have our own unique cultural predispositions
while growing up in different social and educational settings that may not
gratify everyone.
“If you shut up
truth and bury it under the ground, it will but grow, and gather to itself such
explosive power that the day it bursts through it will blow up everything in
its way.”
Without going
back further, just starting from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama, the shackles of
chain and the knees that pushed the people of color down for centuries have been torn apart by the
descendant of the Lion King from Afrika, in 2009.
As we’ve seen
the emotions of the people who couldn’t take it any more back in 2009 voted to
put the pulsating Barack Obama in office. Since then, America slipped back to
its racial profiling and abuses by the very people who took oath in office to
obey and serve everyone equally and unconditionally. Just when we thought
America has learned about a perfect leadership that managed a perfect union on
the land, they need to start all over again, to vote and put the same dynamic
leadership that awakened the nation, again. “Whatever we do echoes for
generations.” –Barack Obama
We no longer
live in the draconian time of “see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil”.
It’s time to speak what’s on our mind, especially, if it is deemed prejudicial
to our society.
A better and
more peaceful world can only be attained by societies developing basic
principles of altruism, supporting others thru individual empowerment,
practicing non-violence and self-development thru inner transformation.
“There’s no vaccine for racism.” –Kamala Harris
It’s not
rational anymore to accept that the “western” world is democratic, and the rest
is “undemocratic”. This is a misconception that merely rests on vindictive
thinking of dichotomy and things don’t have to be accepted just the way it is
anymore.
In the face of
evil, the question in our morality is always a clear one. We can choose to be
silent; we can choose to be defenders and accomplices of evil, we can choose to
blindfold ourselves in the face of evil or get in the faces of evil doers or we
have a choice to be damn evil to condone it or openly accept it.
The message is
clear, all of us who teach and preach to others to do things differently, have
the choice, seek the opportunity to make the difference, refrain from being
doing the same thing and playing by the same rule again, again and again. Make
no mistake time to heed, refocus and transform the way we deliver our speeches
and speak honest opinions to connect with others.
One must
remember the rule of law or democracy is not an advantage that we can
automatically get because we are in a certain environmental location or
upbringing. It is rather an innate virtue we all humans are entitled to enjoy.
If we accept anything, “That’s just the way it is”, nothing will change and
neither can we.
There is no
stronger weapon against inequality and no better path to equal opportunity than
an education that unravels our genetically given potential to live together decently as a human race.
We all have our
own unique cultural predispositions while growing up in different social and
educational settings that may not gratify everyone.
Reverence is long overdue, empathetically. Nevertheless, this is not a blame or hostility for
the arrogances, invasions or maltreatments of the past or whatever you want to
call it.
It’s absolutely essential to
know history, how far society has come travelling a stifling journey and to give
the concept of sorry and reconciliation for the significance this day upholds.
This may sound
so harsh but take a heed or make no mistake that anything is possible if we
mindfully put our heart in anything we do. Change is possible.
We need to break free from negative emotions of the
past & outdated beliefs of generational scenario, inherited collective
mind-patterns that have kept our parents & ancestors in captivity, without
blaming anyone, creating so much of their suffering for eternities manifesting
in our misery today.
Any society should learn from the outdated past
systems of governance or any covenants and stride forward with renewed approach
of openness and accountability in any social relations, business dealings or
political capitulations in any endeavors
in the rapidly changing world.
We can’t change the past but we can shape up our
future only by forgiveness, empathy, consideration and reconciliation.
It's now time we
draw a line under the differences of the past and work together to build
consensus around a proposal for change without hostility.
No matter what
has happened in the past, we can’t obliterate history. What we can do now,
nevertheless, is forgive and move on knowing that the benefits are much greater
than playing politics in a continuous vicious cycle to fix the past hefty
maltreatments and all delinquencies with so much substantiated mendacities for
vengeance.
“The difference
between a dreamer and a visionary is that a dreamer has his eyes closed and a
visionary has his eyes open.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
What we believe individually and collectively, whether good or bad,
right or wrong, true or false, will be determined by our creed, values, beliefs
and principles that will shape the final outcome.
It is a mentality that is willing and able to
reflect on the past experiences, past actions and their outcomes. It is only
through such reflections that one learns one’s strengths, weaknesses and the
environment and conditions in which actions were undertaken and what could have
been done differently that could have resulted in a constructive outcome. It is
not enough to admit collective failure. One needs to evaluate one’s role in the
failure.
However, any failure can be turned into an
opportunity to learn and grow. I say it can, because it requires a particular
attitude to benefit from our failure. Without that mentality, all our failures
will go to waste. This is true in political affairs as it is in personal life
for a leader, contender as well as a follower. So, what is that mentality?
Today, it’s not enough to create change at the level
of symptoms and structures. We need to work together even more deeply to change
the underlying paradigms of thought and to connect with our deeper sources of
creativity and self in a heterogeneous society.
The process of unifying people is difficult and the
road to agreement is often littered with the debris of historical grievances,
animosity and resentment.
However, we can’t continue living in the past anymore, whether we like it or not errors do happen. We have the choice to move
forward with a comprehensive social change, compromise, recognition and
resolution. “I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.” –Abraham Lincoln
However, we are
all interconnected humans fundamentally and we can’t afford to abandon our
moralities and privileges to coexist harmoniously.
Today, because of all those who made the difference
before us and those who are making the change for a better society now, we’re
able to live side by side even though the road to change is still far away from
reaching “the mountain top”.
As wounds of the
past still lingering around in their respective territories, Afrikans are
genuinely making a solid declaration that they no longer allow, to be scrambled
by authoritative and hungry, foreign or domestic, hippos to satisfy their
voracious appetite.
It’s time that
all Afrikan countries must also give up their colonial names and replace it
with descent names that fit into the culture and their country of origin vetoed
and voted by the voice of the people, regardless of the geographical locations.
The greatest
anti-apartheid hero and philanthropist, Nelson Mandela, said, “No one is born
hating another person because of the color of his skin, his background, or his religion.
People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to
love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
Here is also one
good act to follow: “May we uphold the serenity to accept the things we cannot
change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the
difference.”
May those who
have lost their lives in all unjustly maltreatments and wars in our past and to
this modern day, Rest In Peace, and also sending condolences to their grieving
families and loved ones.
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