Saturday, September 29, 2007

The Unsung Heroes.



I apologized to my regular readers for deviating from what I usually write for this blog but I know you will all understand and support me. Sometimes, there comes into our life a cause that is much bigger than any of us and an urgency that demand our immediate and complete attention. We cannot stand aside and watch it go by without doing anything. Here we are presented with a chance to do something from wherever we are. We must grasp it.


We have no idea if what we do will make any impact but that is no excuse for not taking action. The least we can do is to provide some solace to the poor people of Myanmar that there are hundreds of thousands of people all over the world who feels their anger and their pain. And that - cannot be wasted effort.


Sorry if I offend anyone by saying - if you just sign up, you've not done enough. Please help to spread the words. Parents, share it your children. Teachers, share it with your students. Clubs, share it with your members. Friends, colleagues and lovers, share it with your close ones. Shout it out in MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, or wherever you congregate. Link it back to my blog or start your own links. Let us together try to make a difference. If we fail, it shall not be for lack of trying.


Yesterday, the tally stood at 173,000+. At this hour the new figure is 215,000+ nearing the targeted 250,000. But why stopped there? With all your help, let us go the distance - one million caring individuals of the world demanding an end to the atrocities happening in Burma. Use whatever imagination and ingenuity that you may have to get people to add on to the petition. Let our voice be heard - loud and clear.


I'm very happy to note a sudden spike in new readers yesterday after I posted the information on Avaaz in Flickr. I assumed you are all here to lend support to the Myanmese cause. Let us do more.


For my readers, old and new. I've selected a few quotations from Aung Sang Suu Kyi which proved not only to be insightful but prophetic. If you've any difficulty remembering her name, I liked the memory aid used by Jim Carrey "And let's face it: the name's a little difficult to remember. Here's how I did it: Aung San sounds a lot like 'unsung,' as in unsung hero. Aung San Suu Kyi is truly an unsung hero." The people of Myanmar are also unsung heroes. Let us change that - let us sing their praise.


Ghostwise shall refrain from making any comments out of respect and not wanting to trivialize the gravity of the situation:


It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.


Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavour, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one's actions, courage that could be described as "grace under pressure" — grace which is renewed repeatedly in the face of harsh, unremitting pressure.


Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man's self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.


We have faith in the power to change what needs to be changed but we are under no illusion that the transition from dictatorship to liberal democracy will be easy, or that democratic government will mean the end of all our problems. We know that our greatest challenges lie ahead of us and that our struggle to establish a stable, democratic society will continue beyond our own life span. But we know that we are not alone. The cause of liberty and justice finds sympathetic responses around the world. Thinking and feeling people everywhere, regardless of color or creed, understand the deeply rooted human need for a meaningful existence that goes beyond the mere gratification of material desires. Those fortunate enough to live in societies where they are entitled to full political rights can reach out to help their less fortunate brethren in other areas of our troubled planet.


Sometimes, 24 hours can bring a total revolutionary change.


The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.


We will prevail because our cause is right, because our cause is just. ...History is on our side. Time is on our side.


What is there to be discouraged about? Gandhi said the victory is in the struggle itself. The struggle itself is the most important thing. I tell our followers that when we achieve democracy, we will look back with nostalgia on the struggle and how pure we were.


(All quotations are extracted from Wikipedia)



1 comment:

iGhosts said...

I won't speculate on your implication or motive. You had your say. I shall retain it out of respect for freedom of opinion.

Readers shall form their own opinions on what to believe.