March 12, 1990
"The Stars & Stripes", editorial letter
(Well - they DID tell me, "We hope to hear from you again sometime."
And as there was no threat to speak of here, this time it flew. It was
occasioned by my growing disgust with the lethargic indifference in the
barracks populaiton, to what was coming over the TV at an increasing
pace - nind you, the Wall had fallen, the GDR was history, Germany would
be one nation again, and Mandela had just been realeased! Keep in
mind: there was no internet, we had only the mainstream media.)
THE BEAUTY OF WATCHING CHANGE OCCUR
I'd like to use the recent events in South Africa as an opportunity to remind the jaded TV addict of one obvious point, which has been redundantly expressed over the past six months, but which still deserves our attention.
Thepoint we have all "gotten tired of hearing" is that this is such a significant time in history, that the world as we know it is going through only-dreamed-of changes right before our eyes and with the rapidity of the unexpected on a daily basis.
That the majority of what is occurring is as nonviolent as it is substantial - and that each further crack in the "world as we know it" actually confronts us daily with the ominously breathtaking question: What in God's name or any other name, do we want our future to look like? - this is the stuff that should make the tube watcher feel already quite involved just by being witness to it.
When I look at Mandela on the screen, I can't ovid being deeply moved; I am looking at a replcia - in South African context - of Martin Luther King, as dignified after 27 years of prison as King would be. Twenty-seven years in lock-up sustained by one thought: that the concept of freedom is worth it.
Where did this crack begin? Tiananmen Square. It took the personal and individual convictions and clarity of some Chinese students, some East bloc Europeans, of some white, black and mixed South Africans to follow through against an immovable force - and actually move it. I am not tired of watching it and I won't be tomorrow. I'm staying here in Berlin so I can watch it some more, from a position less isolated than the States.
There are other struggles being waged that are not working out, or they would have had the same results by now. They are still at the futile stage because the intransigence of these struggles is not at the level of certainty it takes to upset the balance of tyranny. That level of certainty is peace, not the hope of peace, but the vision enacted from peace as a reference point form which to begin. It is after you acknowelge yourself to be a free person or a free people that you tap into the current which breaks chains and removes walls.
I suggest we try not to be bored with the broadcasts and interviews; I suggest we give thsi all some careful, individual thought. We might want to wake up and take notice, and let outselves for once feel a certain gratitude for being around during some interesting times.
Gandhi held no government position, yet his funeral was attended by heads of state ffrom all over the world because they were afected, and they wanted to recognize and to share in the integrity he represented. What I am saying is that we also can share that integrity just by staying awake. "It ain't over, folks, till the fat lady sings."
- Spec. Inayat-Chisti
Berlin
"The Stars & Stripes", editorial letter
(Well - they DID tell me, "We hope to hear from you again sometime."
And as there was no threat to speak of here, this time it flew. It was
occasioned by my growing disgust with the lethargic indifference in the
barracks populaiton, to what was coming over the TV at an increasing
pace - nind you, the Wall had fallen, the GDR was history, Germany would
be one nation again, and Mandela had just been realeased! Keep in
mind: there was no internet, we had only the mainstream media.)
THE BEAUTY OF WATCHING CHANGE OCCUR
I'd like to use the recent events in South Africa as an opportunity to remind the jaded TV addict of one obvious point, which has been redundantly expressed over the past six months, but which still deserves our attention.
Thepoint we have all "gotten tired of hearing" is that this is such a significant time in history, that the world as we know it is going through only-dreamed-of changes right before our eyes and with the rapidity of the unexpected on a daily basis.
That the majority of what is occurring is as nonviolent as it is substantial - and that each further crack in the "world as we know it" actually confronts us daily with the ominously breathtaking question: What in God's name or any other name, do we want our future to look like? - this is the stuff that should make the tube watcher feel already quite involved just by being witness to it.
When I look at Mandela on the screen, I can't ovid being deeply moved; I am looking at a replcia - in South African context - of Martin Luther King, as dignified after 27 years of prison as King would be. Twenty-seven years in lock-up sustained by one thought: that the concept of freedom is worth it.
Where did this crack begin? Tiananmen Square. It took the personal and individual convictions and clarity of some Chinese students, some East bloc Europeans, of some white, black and mixed South Africans to follow through against an immovable force - and actually move it. I am not tired of watching it and I won't be tomorrow. I'm staying here in Berlin so I can watch it some more, from a position less isolated than the States.
There are other struggles being waged that are not working out, or they would have had the same results by now. They are still at the futile stage because the intransigence of these struggles is not at the level of certainty it takes to upset the balance of tyranny. That level of certainty is peace, not the hope of peace, but the vision enacted from peace as a reference point form which to begin. It is after you acknowelge yourself to be a free person or a free people that you tap into the current which breaks chains and removes walls.
I suggest we try not to be bored with the broadcasts and interviews; I suggest we give thsi all some careful, individual thought. We might want to wake up and take notice, and let outselves for once feel a certain gratitude for being around during some interesting times.
Gandhi held no government position, yet his funeral was attended by heads of state ffrom all over the world because they were afected, and they wanted to recognize and to share in the integrity he represented. What I am saying is that we also can share that integrity just by staying awake. "It ain't over, folks, till the fat lady sings."
- Spec. Inayat-Chisti
Berlin
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