Sunday evening. I had a long discussion with a friend about revolutions. The discussion took some other turn, and we ended up talking barriers and fears. She talked about the times and how much they have changed. How we have more barriers that limit us from carrying out certain actions compared to what was once obtainable.
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Her argument left an impression on my mind. One that kept me contemplating the times and how much they have changed. I came to the conclusion that truly, the times have changed, but haven't necessarily created more barriers but instead reduced them.
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Now, let me tell you about the barriers faced by some revolutionaries in the former times.
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Fela. I guess many of you do not know his story. Fela opposed the Nigerian head of states in a time when these men were literarily god unto themselves. Maybe you think this is a small feat. Today, the soldiers are more cautious, even scared, but an ordinary officer cadet on uniform would tell you to roll in a gutter and you would jump in like it's the nicest place you've ever seen. Here was a man, who refused to cower when the nation had 150 million cowards for citizens. Here was a man who understood the dignity in dying on his feet instead of his knees. The times have reduced the brutality of the soldiers but have increased our fear of them.
Seretse Khama. First president of Botswana. Banished from his country for marrying a white woman. No, not by his people, by the United Kingdom. Seretse studied in the UK, where he met and married Ruth Williams, a white woman. This was at a time when apartheid was at its height in nearby South Africa. The marriage angered both the elders of his tribe and the racist government in South Africa. The elders eventually accepted his decision but South Africa did not. So they got him banished from his country. Throughout, the man did not bend or break. He loved his wife and defended his decision everywhere, even in the British congress. Today, nobody stops you from marrying a woman of your choice, but a small push by mother-in-law and the marriage would be begging for a peaceful end. The times have mitigated the barrier but not the fear.
Mandela. We are all supposed to know his story, so I won't waste precious time retelling it. But what we may not know is that Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years’ imprisonment in solitary confinement. 18 years in solitary. Let that sink in. What greater barrier? If you've never been locked in a cell, you might not understand what 18 years in solitary could do to a man. Soyinka spent 25 months and came out screaming hell. 18 years in solitary would break any man but not Mandela. One prison warden would later tell stories of how Mandela would scream 'fuuuck the white government' at the top of his voice from his prison cell. Here is a man bleeding and cursing.
Today our barriers are mostly self-inflicted fears. We often given up our dearest pursuits because of minor things like family and finance. The times have changed, but our fears haven't.
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Today, we have more mental barriers and fears. Self-inflicted and self-nurtured.
Very good examples. Fear is generally disastrous. . And those that didnt shy away from them were courageous and history remebers them. How ever, some others did hide away from it.. that is why you cant hear that it is everyone that confronted the government. Infact.. there were more cowards in those days than there is today. The only fact today is that.. the fear system has become very threatening and complex in ways that Fela himself.. if awoken to do what he did in the past might fail. What i'm saying is that.. today we have more bold individuals than we had those days. Now we could bost of 10 out of hundred, unlike those days. . It was 1 out of 100!.
Experience can only make us better.. not worst. But the fear factor has also developed.
Also.. every little gun shot made the history in thier days. Nowadays even atomic bomb explosions are only recorded on social medias.
In my opinion.. fear has increased ,also courage have in equal proportion. But, there are far too much to cover today in our history than a man struggling a wife and musician singing against the government. Cheers!
Great opinion! But as you rightly opined, the present generation are more brave online. The social media has come to redefine us, that we can only go online to attack the government, under the condition of anonymity.
Do you know how many people criticize the present government on daily basis? Given the chance to do that in the full glare of people, do you think they could do it?
Take for example that 2face incidence. He was about to lead a protest against the government, on the eve of the protest, he gave up!
You see?
The barriers have greatly reduced. But fears...
I hate fears, welcome to steemit, I expect you grow a lot. A follow for you
Thank you sir. I'll sure do that.