Freedom at Midnight
February 26, 2008 by gbrown · Leave a Comment
Currently reading “Freedom at Midnight” by Collins and Lapierre - the account of India’s struggle for independence through the eyes of its main actors - Mountbatten, Gandhi and Nehru amongst others.
The main interest is that of Gandhi’s part in the transition, his beliefs and his legacy. Through his doctrine of non-violence we still have today a viable model for change without bloodshed so uncommonly practised. More remarkably is his connection as kindred spirits with likeminded philosophers - Martin Luther King (to whom he was an acquaintance and friend), Henry David Thoreau, Einstein and Leo Tolstoy (both of whom he conversed avidly before his death).
Gandhi’s strict adherence to a principled life can only be admired. How else could such a man without office, power or title bring about change on such a scale without money or violence? As Gandhi himself said “My life is my message”.
“Generations to come will scarce believe such a one of flesh and blood walked on this earth” (Albert Einstein on Gandhi’s passing)
His legacy can only be reflected in the works of students such as Martin Luther King whose faith in the doctrine of non-violence itself created massive change for the better in people’s lives.
“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal” MLK
Threat to Peace
February 20, 2008 by gbrown · Leave a Comment
You’ll probably find as much success in investing in anti-obesity pills as a long term cure to the nation’s health problems as you will in our obsession with increasingly expensive mandates for anti-terrorism measures.
Such measures are merely desperate attempts to address the symptoms.
Neither addresses the causes.
Feeding a fat person with diet pills will have little affect as long as they continue to supersize every meal. Similarly, peace will find no fertile soil in a barren landscape where people have little self-determination or hope for change.
So it was with great interest that I read the transcript to Muhammad Yunus’ Nobel Prize acceptance speech in his new book “Creating a World without Poverty”.
No prizes for reading between the lines that Yunus is a visionary and Lennon’s lines “… But I’m not the only one” could have equally been penned for this Bangladeshi as they were for John.
Being a dreamer does not mean however being without aciton. Yunus documents the evidence to demonstrate the impact of reform on Bangladesh. Poverty, for example, has fallen from near 60pct in the 90s to just over 40 in 2006. Infant mortality has halved and life expectancy extended nearly 10 yrs in just 2 decades.
“Poverty”, notes Yunus “is our greatest threat to peace”.
You only need to tune into Greg Mortenson’s description of life in the Hindu Kush and Karakoram ranges of Pakistan in his excellent “Three Cups of Tea” to understand where the roots of terrorism have their foundations.
Like any other parent, tribal Balti leaders seek the best future for their children - education, health care and peace. Yet when survival is their overriding concern any ideology promoting the hope of a meaningful existence is welcome.
And it’s Saudi money building the Wahabbi madrassas on the hillsides of Pakistan to lure young tribesfolk into a life of promise that seems a thousand miles away from their current abject poverty.
As Yunus says, we cannot rest until poverty is eliminated. Perhaps it can be so. Charity will never get us there because its dollar has just one life. Social business offers not only the credit necessary to faciltate economic activity but, importantly, the emancipation and self determination needed by so many to feel that they can ultimately change their future for the better.
