August 30, 2009

BYBS: Those Who Took a Stand!

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All of us, at some point of time or another, have been discriminated against by others or, like it or not, have held a prejudiced opinion about other people based on caste, colour, sex, creed, money etc. Often, these biases get so well ingrained in a person that they become like second nature.

Today, in spite of what the dooms day prophets might say, the world is a much better place than it was fifty years ago. Most countries of the world now have democratic systems which allow the principle of equality to thrive. These systems allow people to raise their voices if they perceive injustice being meted out to anyone.

It is, however, a fact - and a sad one - that a majority of us will still choose to ignore an act of discrimination, sometimes even when we ourselves are at the receiving end. We simply hope that in time this will go away too.

But, it won’t…unless someone acts.

We simply cannot imagine today what persecution people who stood up against any discrimination suffered, when society thought of the discrimination as the most natural thing. For example, when caste system was socially accepted in the Indian society, it would be suicide for any one from any caste to try and fight against the system. Similarly, I think, in the US when the discrimination based on colour was widely accepted, anyone- regardless of his colour- who raised his voice against the system, would be ruthlessly crushed.

Yet, people stood up for what they thought was right. These people did not care for what the society – their friends, relatives, peers – thought of them and their ideas. They knew that their cause was just and they were prepared to go to any length to fight for the cause. We remember many of these men and women as our heroes today, but many, I am sure, must have perished without anyone knowing of their sacrifice.

With today’s post I would like to thank everyone who has stood up for what is right, without worrying about what the others said. It is because of these people that we live in a world that has more respect for life, ideals, and values. I hope that more of us have the courage to stand up against anything wrong so that we can gift an even better world to our children.

Wishing you all a great week ahead!

2 comments:

SandyCarlson said...

I think we are living in a better world. And I think we are going to go through some tough times as people who resist positive change out of bigotry and hatred struggle with these changes and react. But we will get there.

PERBS said...

It isn't easy to do always but I try. I am proud to say, that is how I brought up my children and they have friends of all colors and cuntries of origin.

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