Men rise and fall like the winter wheat
'The
Gods envy us. They envy us because we are mortal, because any moment
might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed.'
- Achilles in the film Troy
In this world, from the timeless infinity of time; and over aeons; we
have seen men rise and fall: men of honour and men of valour; men of
deceit and men of duplicity; men of cunning and craft, cowardice and
contempt; sinners and saints; the wicked and the worldly wise, they have
all risen to fall like the winter wheat. As they rose, they grew in
deceit at seeing themselves discovered, and tried to deceive truth
itself: the truth that they shall all fall one day. Some did deeds that
disserved not the title of man, disserved not the title they held.
They forgot that the evil that men do lives after them; and that,
most oft than not, even the good is interred with their bones; because,
the truth is that men seldom eulogize the virtues and wisdom of their
fathers, their forefathers, howsoever great they may have been. They
repudiate the deeds that make men great and only extend excuse for the
follies and wickedness of their own. There are illustrations of it near
and remote, ancient and modern.
From the time of Abraham and before; or for that matter, our own
queen Kueni; it was fashionable for the children to boast: "we have our
father," when in reality they had long lost the faith of their fathers.
Most people in this world, contented themselves, and liked to live under
the shadow of great names; not realizing, not all greatness is, backed
by deeds worthy of greatness. Those who do so, such people, remain mere
traders in the bodies and souls of men; people who build tombs and
garnish the sepulchers of men who rise and fall like the winter wheat.
It is nothing but a reflection of the plaintive lament of a peeled and
woe-smitten people.
Right
Throughout the ages, men have lived, died, and have done their work;
and have done much of it well. Now, we live; must live, and must die,
and must do our work. We have no right to enjoy a child's share in the
labour of our fathers, unless our children are to be, blest by our
labour. We have no right to wear out and waste the hard-earned fame of
our fathers, however little that fame may be, to cover our indolence;
for then, our children will do likewise.
Thus, we must fully appreciate the hardship we will encounter and
firmly believe in the right of our cause, honourably inviting the
scrutiny of an on-looking and ever vigilant world. We must solemnly
comprehend the responsibilities we assume and wisely measure the
terrible odds against them. For that is what our fathers and forefathers
did, at least those that toiled in the sun and sand of this earth with
honest sweat on their brows and a heart of gold to bring this generation
- us - into this world. They were patriotic people who lived with a
sublime faith in the great principles of justice and freedom. They lived
for honour; lived for victory; lived for love; lived for destiny; lived
for passion; and they loved their country.
Foolish
They laid deep, the corner stone of the national superstructure of
this nation we call Sri Lanka, a nation that had risen and still rises
in the grandeur around you, around us. Pride and patriotism, not less
than gratitude, ought to prompt you, prompt us, to hold it in perpetual
remembrance and bolt us to its destiny, the destiny of our nation. Yet;
are we worthy of the blessings independence has extended to us? Are we
worthy of, the great principles of political freedom and natural justice
extended to us through the gain of independence? Have we, honestly and
truly, severed the chains of servitude from our limbs through the gain
of independence? Could we truthfully return an affirmative answer to
these questions?
Such is not the state of the case. Even a wise man can say a foolish
thing, at any time, anywhere, and to anybody. As such and perhaps, I may
be foolish in saying, but must say, that in truth, I cannot give an
affirmative answer to the questions posed. The reality is that, there
exists a sad sense of disparity between us, our people; and our
independence only reveals the ever-widening gap of disparities in all
things. The blessings, in which some of us are fortunate to rejoice, are
not divided evenly, not enjoyed in common.
The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and
independence; bequeathed by our fathers, is shared not equally, nor
equitably, by all. The sunlight that brought life and healing to some of
us has brought strife and death to many. It was not long ago, just over
67 years ago - a mere speck in the life of this nation - the people of
this country, our people, were British subjects. The style and title of
our present status of a "sovereign people," in which we now glory, was
not then born. We were under the British Crown. Our fathers esteemed the
English Government as the home government, and England as the
fatherland.
This home government, although a considerable distance from our home,
did in the exercise of its parental prerogatives impose upon its
colonial children, such restraints, burdens, and limitations, as, in its
mature judgment, it deemed wise, right, and proper. But, our fathers,
who had not adopted the fashionable idea of this day, of the
infallibility of governments, and the absolute character of its acts,
presumed to differ from the home government in respect to the wisdom and
the justice of some of those burdens and restraints.
They pronounced the measures of the government unjust, unreasonable,
oppressive, and did not submit to them quietly.
Thus was born our independence movement; and the signs and acts
associated with it.
Yet, while looking to generous indulgence of the wealth created by
our fathers, our forefathers; we have failed to imbibe the values that
they cherished. We let ourselves be malleable, and easily led as sheep.
We let ourselves be suggestible and susceptible. We gained independence,
but lost our independent thinking power. Instead, we let power mongers
rise. We did not realize that the only purpose for which power can
rightfully be, exercised over any member of a civilized community,
against his will, is to prevent harm to others.
Warrant
Our own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant.
We cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it will be
better for us to do so, because it will make us happier, or because, in
the opinion of others, to do so would be wise, or even right. We lost
judgment; we let common sense become uncommon; we lacked moral courage;
and in short, we were not wise. In the impressionable stage of our
existence, greed engulfed us, tempted us.
Yet, there is hope: hope that high lessons of wisdom, of justice and
of truth, will yet give direction to our destiny. Great rivers are, not
easily turned from channels; worn deep in the course of ages. They may
sometimes rise in quiet and stately majesty, and inundate the land,
refreshing and fertilizing the earth with their mysterious properties.
They may also rise in wrath and fury, and bear away, on their angry
waves, the accumulated wealth of years of toil and hardship. They,
however, gradually flow back to the same old channel, and flow on as
serenely as ever.
However, while the river may not be, turned aside; it may dry up, and
leave nothing behind but the withered branch and the unsightly rock, to
howl in the abyss-sweeping wind, the sad tale of departed glory. As with
rivers, so with nations: unless you, our future, wake up and rise, even
if later, to fall as the winter wheat.
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