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Sunday, 18 January 2015

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Unity, not uniformity

"There is a Law that man should love his neighbour as himself. In a few hundred years it should be as natural to mankind as breathing or the upright gait; but if he does not learn it, he must perish." - Alfred Adler, an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology.

The human race lives in a global village and the world itself is a giant community, where cultures have blended and people see each other as equal.

A world where distances have diminished, and time is not of relevance; where each of us stand responsible for the misdeeds of others, and the lie that some people have the right to think of other people as their property has dissolved; human diversity makes tolerance more than a virtue and a requirement for survival.

Yet, in this nation called Lanka, we the people are still fighting over the relevance of language, religion, region; one entity trying to dominate the other, unable to set aside all selfishness in consideration of language, religion, region; and live as though, this country is my world; my countrymen are mankind.

Tolerance

In world history, those who have helped to build the same culture are not necessarily of one race, and those of the same race have not all participated in one culture. So why is it that we cannot be a nation of differences; and let tolerance of those differences, be our strength - letting tolerance be something that is good for all and not, only good for one.

It is in the nature of tolerance to achieve peace; whereas, intolerance is the source of disorder and squabbling.

Hence, have we not as a people - if we can master the necessary goodwill - the ability to achieve a common integrated society blessed with a shared culture of peace that is, nourished by the ethnic, regional, and local diversities that enrich our lives? Why cannot we become an integrated whole looking through the same eyes, and see an entire different world together? Prejudices blind us, and it is never too late to give up our preconceptions.

All conflict is about difference; whether the difference is of race, religion, ethnicity, language, or economic. Yet, difference is of the essence of humanity. Difference is an accident of birth and it should therefore never be the source of hatred or conflict.

The answer to difference is to respect it; and therein does rest a most fundamental principle of peace. Why is it that we cannot respect diversity instead of unity in uniformity? Unity in uniformity will only lead to a community without conformity; and a community without colour. Concord is not unity in similarity, but unity in diversity.

In the comparison and conciliation of differences, in the cultural differences that form each other, cultural diversity brings a collective strength that can benefit all of us. United we stand, divided we fall, is an age old adage told by Aesop as far back in time as the 6th century B.C.

Aesop was an Ancient Greek fabulist or story teller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as Aesop's Fables. Thus, to be united, intercultural dialogue is the best guarantee of a more peaceful, just, and sustainable nation.

In fact, diversity is the magic: the greater the diversity, the greater the perfection. Hence, let us remember that different religions may separate us, different languages may separate us, different colored skin may separate us, but we all belong to one race - the human race. Yes, we are different and it is true; and not all of us like to do all the things that the other does; but there is one thing to think through, that you are a lot like me and I am a lot like you; for we both are, of the human race.

When power leads man towards arrogance, poignancy reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man's concern, poignancy reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poignancy will cleanse.

The most powerful single force in the world today is neither that-ism nor this-ism, neither the hydrogen bomb nor the atom bomb; it is man's eternal desire to be free and independent. The great enemy of that tremendous force of freedom is, for want of a more precise term, intolerance.

Thus, acting on our own, as a single ethnic group, we cannot establish justice nor throw off the yoke of poverty that plagues our nation today.

All our problems are man made; and thus, can be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.

The world is very different now and yet, the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forefathers fought are still at issue in this nation: the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state or its rulers; but from the hand of man itself and his shared brotherhood.

The men who create power may make an indispensable contribution to the Nation's well-being; but the men who question power also does make, a contribution just as indispensable - especially when that questioning is, disinterested; for they determine whether we use power, or power uses us.

There is no nation, there is only humanity; and if we do not come to understand that soon, there will be no nation either, because whatever the human race must undertake, all free men must fully share.

The supreme reality of our time is our indivisibility as children of one nation and the common vulnerability of all of us; and unless one realises this and lives in camaraderie, no amount of preaching, posturing, or agreeing can contribute anything to the ideal condition of mind and heart known as, brotherhood.

As such, let us appreciate the fact that the peoples of the earth are one family, let alone the people of a nation; and the wise man belongs to, all countries; and the home of a great soul is the whole world.

Differences

Therefore, if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can begin to make this country safe for diversity; and by so doing, let us look forward to a nation, which will be safe not only for democracy and diversity; but also for personal distinction.

The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining; and hence, it is time that parents teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty, there is strength, there is distinction.

What we are seeking as a nation is really, very simple. It is merely recognition that this is one nation and we are all one great people.

Our origins may be different but our destiny is the same, our aspirations are identical.

There can be no artificial distinctions, no arbitrary barriers. In life, we have all made mistakes. Justice weighs the sins of the cold-blooded and the sins of the warm-hearted on different scales.

Thus, it is better the occasional faults of a party living in the spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a party frozen in the ice of its own indifference.

Hence, let us all, henceforth, not be frozen in our own indifference. Let us stand as one people united in our differences and desire for peace and freedom.

Let that be our conviction for ourselves, and our only commitment to others. Let it be the new revolution of our time; if not, for those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

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