This one is inspired by my recent trip to Washington D.C. and New York.
As one stands outside The Federal Building in New York looking up to the elegant statue of George Washington representing the historic moment when he took the oath as the First President of United States of America, one is filled with awe for this great man who once worked as the Post Master General in the old post office building in Washington D.C. More than just a few pages of history come alive as you stand on the footsteps of the Lincoln Memorial or as you look down upon the stone from where Martin Luther King Jr. reached out to the rest of the nation with his famous "I have a dream" address.The honor, we, as the common man of today bestow upon these two great leaders is evident not just by the pillars or the steps or the marble that has been used to construct the memorial but it is simply as if the veneration seeps through the walls and their great words linger in the air.Abraham Lincoln's idol truly idolizes the persona of one of the greatest leaders of the nation.One cannot help but think that if merely looking at the idol can bring forth such emotions, what must it have been to have met the great leader in person.As millions people come here to pay their respects, I wonder, as I am sure many others have too as to what would the world would have been if not for these men?
The honor, respect they command today, ages after they have passed, is it because they had the courage to break away from the common public opinion and to be able to see things differently, to maybe believe in values that were different from those of the majority? To not only think differently and believe in different things but to take a stand for whatever it was that they believed in.Everyone knows the kind of resistance both these men faced in their voyage to bring about change and equality and it all began with them being bold enough to stand for what they believed to be true and right.Had they kept quite, had they gone with the popular or the majority opinion, would we have been where we are today? Do they then command the respect of generations that have come after them coz' they were different or coz' they were not afraid to be so?
A lesson to be learnt here, not just by our youth in schools who cringe at the mere thought of wearing a outfit that's not popular or the lady who buys a Vera Wang product or a Satya Paul outfit even though she secretly detests the product line. A lesson to be learnt here not just for the young or the not so young but also for our leaders of today who sometimes seem to lack the backbone to come up with or stand for novel strategies and approaches to the problems we face today.
Maybe it is time to seek out the new and radical rather than be ashamed of it.What can the leaders of today do differently to turn the world's mural into a better one ? What new approach or strategy or plan can one leader of today take a stand for to implement now to etch his name on the same scroll as those before them? What can they do differently today to rightfully deserve the honor and respect of the masses that leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr,Mahatma Gandhi and many, many others command?
So well said, Anu. Throughout history there have been individuals who have risen high above the others. To use a sports term, they were truly "game changers". But we also need to recognize the individuals who, rather than on a grand scale, are "game changers" in their own right. CNN each year around Thanksgiving highlights 10 individuals in their CNN Special "Heroes". Each of these heroes started with a small endeavor that continued to expand through his/her dedication and zeal.
ReplyDeleteWhile we hope that individuals continue to be "game changers" on a national or global scale, it is the work done by individuals in our communities, helping others, that makes the world a better place to live. If each person were to become a "game changer" in their own family, tribe, or community, humanity will benefit.
Great leaders began their historic roles locally. Abraham Lincoln was a circuit-riding lawyer. Martin Luther King was a Baptist minister, and Barack Obama was a Community Organizer before he became a senator and eventually president of the United States.
Another aspect to be appreciated when looking at the great leaders of history is that they did not exist in a vacuum. Each was influenced by other great men that preceded them. Martin Luther King spoke of being influenced by Jesus, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Benjamin Mays, Hosea Williams, Bayard Rustin, Henry David Thoreau, Howard Thurman, and Leo Tolstoy.
So, you wonder, where will come the leaders of the future? They are sitting in desks in classrooms throughout the world. They are reading and hearing of the great leaders of the past and somehow realize "That can me!" And as you ask, "What can they do differently today to rightfully deserve the honor and respect of the masses...?" Equally, we can ask OURSELVES, "What can WE do differently today?"