Certainly, its fine and admirable to have an opinion, and to listen to others opinions. But what is not fine is forgetting how much of these opinions and judgements are copied and pasted from hand-me-down words, out-of-context factoids, and skewed perspectives; what is not fine is forgetting that you do not know everything (and neither do the people you follow), and that your voice and opinion (and theirs) isnt the end all and be all- its not even a drop in the ocean, its a molecule. And certainly, there is much to look up to in the words of those who are given a voice throughout the world, those whose voices we do hear. But there is far more to look up to, respect, and admire in what these public voices hide- namely, the voices and opinions and experiences of all those whom we do not hear. We make quite a big deal out of what we see- speeches, lectures, publications, written or televised broadcasts- but for me, Im convinced that the real driving force lies in the unseen, and it is from this amazing, confusing, inspiring, frustrating, unseen and unrecognized mass of humanity that our future continually springs, for better or for worse. When I think of it like this, I cant help but be reminded of Ernest Renans closing remarks in his address What is a nation? to the conference of European leaders and figureheads in Sorbonne at the end of the 19th century: Lhomme nest esclave ni de sa race, ni de sa langue, ni de sa religion, ni du cours des fleuves, ni de la direction des chaînes de montagnes. Une grande agrégation dhommes, saine desprit et chaude de cœur, crée une conscience morale qui sappelle une nation. Tant que cette conscience morale prouve sa force par les sacrifices quexige labdication de lindividu au profit dune communauté, elle est légitime, elle a le droit dexister. Si des doutes sélèvent sur ses frontières, consultez les populations disputées. Elles ont bien le droit davoir un avis dans la question. Man is not a slave of his race, nor of his language, his religion, the course of rivers, nor the direction of mountain chains. A large gathering of people, healthy in spirit and hale of heart, creates a moral conscience which is called a nation. As long as this moral conscience shows its strength through the sacrifices that demand the individuals abdication in favor of the community, it is legitimate, and it has a right to exist. If uncertainties arise on its borders, consult the populations in question. They have the most right to an opinion on the question.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Oct 2013 19:13:06 +0000
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