Noam Chomsky, in a recent article, stated it best; “the Arab world is on fire.”
True, it is. But in a larger context, the world is awakening.
Social unrest and critical mass, two critical elements in the revolutions in Northern Africa and the Arab world, are two elements that must be fostered in the United States.
Oppression can only last so long, and in Tunisia it took a man setting himself on fire for freedom to ignite and spread like a forest fire. And, in the case of the Egyptians, it was 30 years overdue.
When I was reading the events from that part of the world, a question came to mind; when will the industrialized world awake to the hundreds of years of oppression?
When will American citizens remove the veil of ambivalence and ignorance and recognize the chains around all of our feet?
Several years ago, I came across a statement by Gandhi. “The world depends for its existence on the act of generation … the act of generation should be controlled for the ordered growth of the world. One who realizes this will control their lust at any cost, equip themselves with the knowledge necessary for the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of their progeny, and give the benefit of that knowledge to posterity.”
It begets the question, what are you doing in this world, if it’s not for the betterment of humankind?
Yes, this is a college newspaper, and yes, we all have our own work that we must deal with, but don’t lose sight of the bigger, greater picture.
Humanity has been lost for 7,000 years; it’s about time we get back on track.
Outside of the United States, and even within, the world we have created is collapsing. The age of the intellect is coming to a close; its disconnect from heart and soul has its place in history.
The next step is in the youth; the next step is within you. It has to be. The world now depends upon you. I depend upon you.
Remove self-doubt from your mind. Disregard the notion that you are but one person and the world is too large to change.
Yes, there is truth in knowing that you are but one person, one speck of dust on the carpet of eternity. But know that the brightest points in our known history are marked by prominent dust particles, reshaping the carpet from which we exist upon.