Eloquent reflections Rene. I hope and pray that all Gambians develop this priceless will to sacrifice that you suggest. There are indeed many ways of sacrificing for ourselves, our homeland, our continent. It does take much, as you so eloquently recognize. But the prize to be won is much greater than the time and energy expended. Thanks for sharing this beautiful piece.
 
Baba> Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:27:30 -0500> From: [log in to unmask]> Subject: The Will To Sacrifice> To: [log in to unmask]> > 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 > > > > > > **************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living. > (http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-duffy/> 2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)> > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤> To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface> at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html> > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l> To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:> [log in to unmask]> ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤> 
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