MONDAY MUSE (21 September 2009)
WE SHALL OVERCOME
Today is the International Day of Peace. ‘Peace’ is deemed to signify an
absence of antagonism and aggression. But it also represents a broader outlook
of healthy interpersonal relationships in an interdependent world. Reasons for
the absence of peace are primarily selfish greed, hateful prejudice and
regressive discrimination.
Various peace movements have marched to the determined chorus of the peace
anthem – ‘we shall overcome’. This protest song of the US civil rights movement
is believed to be derived from a hymn penned by Reverend Charles Tindley in the
early 1900s. Martin Luther King used it in his oratory. Joan Baez, Bruce
Springsteen and many other singers have lent voice to it. Nations across the
globe have created versions in so many languages.
Indeed, it isn’t enough to sing ‘we shall overcome’.. Quite often peace becomes
a shifty virtue that changes with situation. The cause of peace is oft
sacrificed at the altar of selfishness. We may seek peace among religious
communities, and yet play antagonist to our own neighbours. We may applaud
efforts towards international peace, and yet turn a blind eye when destructive
development seeks to disturb the peace of our people.
All this happens as we rein in our internal resolve for peace by succumbing to
materialistic pressures. To be better at connecting to true peace, we must
first overcome the circle of self-centredness and look beyond to the larger
perspective of peace for all. Very simply, we must overcome hate, greed and
injustice of all sorts. The path to peace is filled with toil, self-doubt,
seclusion and even defeat. But we shall overcome, someday!
To BE BETTER at ‘overcoming’ the war someday…
Let’s commit to the true resolve of peace today!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
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