OPINION
Bridging the Social Divide
- Edmond Fernandes
“I saw a stone on the road & wondered why someone did not shift it, till I realized that I was also someone.”
Friends, we play a role towards everything in life, peace also.
Maintenance of communal harmony has become a major challenge to reckon with, textbooks have chapters on it, seminars & conferences are organized, talk’s shows held in the media. These debates & discussions have only aggravated the problem & worsened matters.
Peace is not the product of terror or fear.
Peace is not the science of cemeteries.
Peace is not the silent result of violent repression.
Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all.
Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity.
It is right and it is duty. – Archbishop Oscar Romero.
The atmosphere today is poisoned with social bitterness. We have gone wrong somewhere. We know more about killing than we know about loving.
More about war than we know about peace. We guide missiles, but misguide men.
There can be no harmony if the things that we believe in are different from the things that we do.
The world at large is witness to all sorts of communal problems. Love it or hate it, but you cannot ignore it. You and I play a very important role in bridging the social divide. Most often, we are influenced by others. We never reason out the happenings ourselves. We often tend to settle with majority opinion always. If it’s good, it’s the best that can happen but if it’s bad, we are committing a crime by supporting it.
Instead let us ask for answers, from many concerned. A major catastrophe that need, to change immediately – is our ideology towards things.
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who are hungry and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. – Dwight David Eisenhower
Fear, suspicion and hatred are the fuels which feed the flame of social disharmony and conflict. We are dangerously out of proportion and currently there is no lasting cure in sight. Until hearts are changed there is, at best, the outward form of equality without the spirit.
For it isn’t enough to talk about peace.
One must believe in it.
And it isn’t enough to believe in it.
One must work at it.
-Eleanor Roosevelt
Lasting harmony between multiple communities can only come through recognition of the oneness of Mankind.
A realization that differences, which divide us along ethnic and religious lines, have no foundation.
Indeed there are three pillars upon which a rebirth in society is achievable, that is only through individual commitment by every single member, the spirit of volunteerism & deep sense of moral value of one’s self. This transformation in our mindset is not going to come easily, we have to remove the cozy idea of blaming the government for everything and put our shoulders to the hard work & toil. It takes to bridge the communal distrust, that, at times, sparks faster than fire.
Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, and where any one class is made to feel that society is in an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither person nor property will be safe. – Frederick Douglass
Just as there are no boundaries on earth to separate nation, distinction imposed by people are artificial. There is no way to peace, peace is the way. This is the embryo and prototype of the future society.
Having told you so much, let me tell you, mere knowledge about social injustice ethnic discrimination will not inspire us to act. Rather intellectual conviction and collective action accompanied by socio-political will and emotional confirmation are necessary before they result in persistent action.
Current situation of paralyzing conflict and devastation in the society calls for deep soul searching to its own negligence, to the clarion call to which it has not listened.
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
– Winston Church
At this juncture, let me tell you, it is our moral responsibility to bring forth a new generation of ethical individuals who would make a difference to all walks of life – social harmony included. Get started on your commitment to Bridge the social divide.
As a sovereign, one must not start war on the spur of anger. As a general, one must not fight a battle out of spite. – Sun Tzu (516 B.C.), The Art of War
I leave you with a question, “ARE YOU A SECULARIST”?
Dear Edmond Fernandes, you have quoted Eisenhower and Eleanor Roosevelt . They are Americans, who influenced world events and they sit on piles of arsenals. What is their contribution to the world peace that are in pieces today. We need world leaders who are same inside out like Mahatma Gandhi. - Editor
- Edmond Fernandes
“I saw a stone on the road & wondered why someone did not shift it, till I realized that I was also someone.”
Friends, we play a role towards everything in life, peace also.
Maintenance of communal harmony has become a major challenge to reckon with, textbooks have chapters on it, seminars & conferences are organized, talk’s shows held in the media. These debates & discussions have only aggravated the problem & worsened matters.
Peace is not the product of terror or fear.
Peace is not the science of cemeteries.
Peace is not the silent result of violent repression.
Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all.
Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity.
It is right and it is duty. – Archbishop Oscar Romero.
The atmosphere today is poisoned with social bitterness. We have gone wrong somewhere. We know more about killing than we know about loving.
More about war than we know about peace. We guide missiles, but misguide men.
There can be no harmony if the things that we believe in are different from the things that we do.
The world at large is witness to all sorts of communal problems. Love it or hate it, but you cannot ignore it. You and I play a very important role in bridging the social divide. Most often, we are influenced by others. We never reason out the happenings ourselves. We often tend to settle with majority opinion always. If it’s good, it’s the best that can happen but if it’s bad, we are committing a crime by supporting it.
Instead let us ask for answers, from many concerned. A major catastrophe that need, to change immediately – is our ideology towards things.
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who are hungry and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. – Dwight David Eisenhower
Fear, suspicion and hatred are the fuels which feed the flame of social disharmony and conflict. We are dangerously out of proportion and currently there is no lasting cure in sight. Until hearts are changed there is, at best, the outward form of equality without the spirit.
For it isn’t enough to talk about peace.
One must believe in it.
And it isn’t enough to believe in it.
One must work at it.
-Eleanor Roosevelt
Lasting harmony between multiple communities can only come through recognition of the oneness of Mankind.
A realization that differences, which divide us along ethnic and religious lines, have no foundation.
Indeed there are three pillars upon which a rebirth in society is achievable, that is only through individual commitment by every single member, the spirit of volunteerism & deep sense of moral value of one’s self. This transformation in our mindset is not going to come easily, we have to remove the cozy idea of blaming the government for everything and put our shoulders to the hard work & toil. It takes to bridge the communal distrust, that, at times, sparks faster than fire.
Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, and where any one class is made to feel that society is in an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither person nor property will be safe. – Frederick Douglass
Just as there are no boundaries on earth to separate nation, distinction imposed by people are artificial. There is no way to peace, peace is the way. This is the embryo and prototype of the future society.
Having told you so much, let me tell you, mere knowledge about social injustice ethnic discrimination will not inspire us to act. Rather intellectual conviction and collective action accompanied by socio-political will and emotional confirmation are necessary before they result in persistent action.
Current situation of paralyzing conflict and devastation in the society calls for deep soul searching to its own negligence, to the clarion call to which it has not listened.
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
– Winston Church
At this juncture, let me tell you, it is our moral responsibility to bring forth a new generation of ethical individuals who would make a difference to all walks of life – social harmony included. Get started on your commitment to Bridge the social divide.
As a sovereign, one must not start war on the spur of anger. As a general, one must not fight a battle out of spite. – Sun Tzu (516 B.C.), The Art of War
I leave you with a question, “ARE YOU A SECULARIST”?
Dear Edmond Fernandes, you have quoted Eisenhower and Eleanor Roosevelt . They are Americans, who influenced world events and they sit on piles of arsenals. What is their contribution to the world peace that are in pieces today. We need world leaders who are same inside out like Mahatma Gandhi. - Editor
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