Great article Rene. Freedom definately cannot be achieved,without sacrifice. And the gift of freedom is the best thing we can give our children and theirs .some of us have little or no interest in matters that will benefit us as a nation,and are more interested in individual freedom and personal comfort , One way of being selfless and achieving the goal of freedom, is by Speaking out and fighting for what we believe in, Educating our people about the value of freedom, and what freedom is,exactly, especially the young. Thanks for giving me something to reflect on. Rene. Fatou . .
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From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sun, Feb 24, 2008 03:27 PM
Subject: The Will To Sacrifice
To sacrifice is a will. It is the will to have the strength and conviction,
and also the tendency to have a selfless desire to change the course of an
event; to change the course of history. And, to sacrifice is to change the
course of an event for the good, and for a cause whose motivation is
transcendental.
It may be difficult to fathom why people do make sacrifices; to
sacrifice their time, energy and money to pursue a common goal or to promote an
ideal. What motivates a doctor, who instead of a lucrative practice in a wealthy
industrialized country, opts to go back to his impoverished native country to
offer his services for a pittance? What motivates an intellectual, a well
educated person, who denies himself/herself the opportunity to secure a highly
placed and financially gainful job, only to devote his/her time and energy in
promoting a cause, an ideal, that doesn't add much to his/her material
benefit?
The question of motivation, therefore, is a unique experience that guides
an individual's sense of purpose; that guides an individual to do something
good or react to that which is not good in something. Thus people make
sacrifices; they sacrifice for a cause, for an ideal and for a belief, and
challenge themselves to bring out the best in their humanity as they challenge others
to bring out the humanity that is best in themselves. And there are many
convincing reasons why a person should promote this course of action; to keep
the faith in doing something good where the fate of something good being done is
perilous.
At a time when ordinary circumstances demand a response that is not
ordinary, people of goodwill and sincere convictions should build an enterprise
that is both challenging and productive; an enterprise that does not build on
our fears, but on our hopes and aspirations.
The sad stories of poverty has undignified so many lives; the
hopelessness and wretchedness that so many lives are undignified, and the social and
economic alienation of the poor, and the marginalized, summons our will to
sacrifice. A sacrifice that can change the lives of people for the better; an
innate disposition to affect the lives of people for the better as it also
affects for the better the lives of those people.
Against the above backdrop, the fervent desire and a will to sacrifice
among Gambian Diaspora's, can positively respond to a national issue which
alerts our consciousness to safeguard jealously our common heritage. We should
never surrender our voice. The violation of the basic tenets of our
constitution, the abuse and wanton disregard for the rule of law, the assault on civil
liberties and freedom of expression, has and should arouse a patriotic fervor
among Gambian Diaspora's to create the vehicles for the legitimate
expressions of our dissent. The many online Gambian newspapers and discussion forums,
the emerging Diaspora groups, and a debate on our different political
orientations, our culture and our politics, can augur well in creating an environment
that will impact positively our socioeconomic and political reality.
What the Gambian Diaspora needs, I believe, is to organize our
collective dissent; to frame the agenda and discussion around alternative objectives,
and try to impress upon one another a Gambian mindset that is attuned to the
conceptual development of a value system that is people centered and action
oriented.
There is a lot of talent among Gambian Diaspora's, some eloquently
expressed in their artistic beauty, and others in their technical and innovative
ingenuity; there are many academicians and intellectuals, all of whom has to
be agents of a deliberate and conscious effort to harness the progressive
spirit for a search for better alternatives. Every one of us should endeavor to
be part of something, either to be among those who organize or to be willing
participants among those to be organized. Let us support and be part of the
organizations that are organized around some of the values that we celebrate.
What we must not accept is to forever remain as willing spectators in a
political drama that will never foster the growth of a mature democracy.
Rene
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