Every so often events occur that shape our world and how we view each other. Man’s first steps on the moon showed us that we were only a single part of a much larger picture. Much larger than we could have ever imagined a hundred years ago. The Jonestown massacre showed us the power that so few can have on so many. Repeated throughout the twentieth century in countries around the globe the ability to so twist someone’s perceptions was a frightening reminder that we need to look out for each other. The first heart transplant showed us that we were all the same inside: black, white, red, yellow. Our parts are interchangeable making us all the same, but our minds make us so breathtakingly unique. When Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot I don’t think anyone would have predicted that over 16 million people would eventually lose their lives in the first of the “War to end all Wars”.
Many events that people remember are the big, splashy, news tabloid type of events that make a lot of noise in a very short period of time. The Challenger disaster and the John F. Kennedy assassination are two events that typify that sort of event. In this day and age of instant news and twenty four hour coverage it is difficult to hide something of importance.
Sometimes, however, that’s what happens.
The destruction of the Berlin Wall was not something that was planned in advance. The East German government announced that its citizens could freely access West Berlin and West Germany and celebrations broke out. Soon people started chipping away at the wall and, with no one jealously guarding the wall that divided the nation it was soon being dismantled by the very people it was meant to keep apart. The people started it, not the government.
The recent changes in the Middle East, most notably Egypt, came from the people. Most people agree that the impetus for the revolution was the self immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi and the success of the Tunisian Revolution. While Tunis was first, Egypt was much more visible to the rest of humanity due to the press corps that went to the Middle East to cover the Tunis event. The death of one man, while by no means matching the impact of Franz Ferdinand’s death in terms of the loss of life, was no less important in terms of its impact on how people perceive themselves.
The bravery, some say foolhardiness, of single individuals has shaped human civilization throughout the ages. While not there personally, the name “Tiananmen Square” still brings back the pictures of a single man standing in the way of tanks.
There are opposing forces at work, however, that would like to reduce the impact of that single man to nothing more than a grain of sand on the beach. These forces come in many different flavours: multi-national corporations, theological bigotry, racism and plain old greed. These forces are growing stronger in our society forcing individuals to kowtow to “truths” that they don’t believe in and people they no longer trust. While Egypt may have had their revolution and Tunis and Liberia and many other countries in Africa and the Middle East, the rest of the world has been silent, waiting for its time.
Waiting for the time to Take Back Our World.
