...Falling Back and Supporting From Behind.
The reason for my long silences? - The sound of my mother's voice in my head pleading, "If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing."
Reading our news online I often find myself dismayed and to be very honest it is with some reluctance that I now make my daily pilgrimage to T&T's newspapers. This dread, by the way, does not apply to anything written by Sunity Maharaj and Raffique Shah.
Recently I read something that brought mixed feelings of agreement and sadness. The words of Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh:
"The leader of the group said he will not be as vocal about the Point Fortin Highway issue in the future and encouraged the members to be persistent. He said:
"It is up to you to put pressure on the Prime Minister and if she refuses take up your bed and revolt. They (citizens) cannot be looking at Kublalsingh and a minority of people to do their work for them."
The strength residents used to build the 13 communities in the Debe to Mon Desir area should be the same strength they should use to preserve them, Kublalsingh said."
What is there to add? I do not believe in top down revolutions. Yes, a revolution can be inspired by the example of a leader but a revolution that is masterminded and executed mainly by those above often will have to continuously enforced thereafter because it did not spring spontaneously from the grassroots.
I once referred to Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh as a patriot and reading his words I mused that there are times when Patriotism involves falling back and supporting from behind. Even the migratory birds understand that the individual flying point in the V formation cannot fly there forever. That lead bird will eventually tire and must fall back to allow another to lead. Tire...not die.
Although I admire Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh's passion and I am particularly moved by his father's comments about his son, I do not want Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh to leave us now, and certainly not for citizens who are not sufficiently compelled to take care of their own business and judging by the online comments, many others who intend not to remember his ultimate sacrifice past this Christmas season.
I want Dr. Kublalsingh to continue to live and fight for his country. This world is overrun by the ignorant, the crass and the ignoble and I seriously doubt that his death will have any impact on the jaded and spiritually dead. I am ashamed to have concluded that in this valley of death where life is cheap another person's demise will not provide the much needed tipping point.
Dr. Kublalsingh, I dedicate the song below to you. Life is the battle and you can only see it to its natural end by continuing to LIVE.
Uploaded by Adamfulgence
"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.
Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.
Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare
4 comments:
Brother, I've got to disagree with your esteemed Mom about not speaking ill. So long as there's wrong not only out there, but rising, we not only can criticize it - we have the moral obligation to do so.
Greetings from the home of Leonard Cohen!
Greetings, Kitabwalli,
I thank you for visiting and also for expressing your opinion about speaking out. I agree with you so you can imagine that the truce with my disappointment continues to be a fragile and uneasy one.
I have on many occasions in the past ignored my mother's advice on this blog but filial imprinting is a powerful thing. Her gentle "All for the sake of peace" approach urges that I count to two hundred, that I try to focus on the good instead, that I walk away and actually do something positive where I am. I am not convinced that she was wrong. Even the most articulate and dedicated and justified of critics can become ignored, ineffectual background noise if for whatever reasons in a particular time and place that form of protest falls on deaf ears, is not fruitful or not the best use of constructive energies. What to do?
But Leonard Cohen is just beautiful! I love his music, his lyrics and his voice. I will close with this link to his "The Land of Plenty".
Come back soon!
Blessings
I just finished reading through the comments on several articles about Dr. Kublalsingh and felt the urge to come here and dip my feet into the healing waters of this space.
I've met him (as a student in one of his courses) and I admire him greatly. I told him this the last time we met several months ago. He twice said to me that we're kindred spirits, and that's a huge compliment, even if said in jest, that I am not worthy of; I do not have his courage, and I do not have his conviction that we are worth fighting and dying for. Our persistent ugliness depresses me profoundly. We have the makings of a paradise here and we don't know it, don't value it, don't want it.
Our mothers were probably right; I'm still trying to put aside my childish rebellion and recognize the wisdom in many of her maxims. In the meantime, I hold my peace. One day at a time.
I'll visit Dr. Kublalsingh tomorrow and shake his hand, in the faith that I'll have the opportunity to do so again and again in the future. We don't deserve him, but we need him. If I can, I'll tell him a seagull sends his blessings also. *smile*
Liane,
I have been thinking about you so I am very happy to see that you visited and left a comment. I've also been reading the comments on the articles about this issue and like them or not, I have come to accept that they are part of my continuing schooling...though definitely not recess, more like the sessions involving vicious swipes across my palms with the dreaded long, wooden ruler.
About our mothers and their maxims, I think that they put up with a lot, even sacrificing something of themselves to maintain peace and harmony. But Liane, I suspect that those undercover tigresses were only an alarm away from springing into action with all claws bared, fangs displayed and more than a few choice words being roared if anything had seriously threatened our well being on their watch.
Thanks so much for sharing what you know about Dr. Kublalsingh and thanks even more for going to visit him tomorrow. I don't understand why many, many more citizens are not going there. He represents much more than just the Highway Re-Route Movement.
I would also like to meet him so thank you also for your graciousness in thinking of sharing your visit with me. Yes, please, please tell him that a seagull is flying close in the spirit and that he is in my heart and prayers.
Blessings
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