Howdy–
In so many of our current national debates, there is fear-mongering ON ALL SIDES. People shouting and screaming about “death panels” in the health debate. Other people afraid of gun-toting men in para-miltary uniforms attending the debates.
This is the “Agenda of Fear”, in full bloom. Somewhere out there, somebody wants YOU to be afraid. Fearful people are easily manipulated and controlled. On the Left as well as the Right.
I have a different agenda. I want you to WAKE UP. I want all of us to be empowered. I want us to realize that fear, like joy, is a choice.
Do I get afraid? Of course. Do I allow my fears to change my vision, my values or my course of action? No.
During my recent (March/April 2009) visit to Sri Lanka, I had both my fear and my resolve tested. For years, Sri Lanka has been plagued by the infamous “white van gangs”, the modern-day equivalent of the Nazi “brown shirts”. Men riding around in white unmarked vans have been beating, killing and intimidating the opponents of the current government. Their most famous “white van” assassination was Lasantha Wickramatunga, editor of the “Sunday Leader” newspaper, in January, 2009. In a chilling post mortem editorial, Mr. Wickramatunga named his murderer — the current President of Sri Lanka. I believe his editorial “And Then They Came for Me” is a MUST READ. The first line of Mr. Wickramatunga’s chilling post-mortem editorial: “No other profession calls on its practitioners to lay down their lives for their art save the armed forces and, in Sri Lanka, journalism.” Please click on this link to go to the Sunday Leader article: click here.
One dark night, as I was walking the five blocks from my office at Sarvodaya headquarters to my apartment, I saw out of the corner of my eye a white van pull up and slow down next to me, so close I could touch it.
I jumped out of my skin. I turned to face the van, my mind racing. Should I run? The nearest Sarvodaya security gate was blocks away. Stand and try to negotiate? Nonviolently resist?
As I prepared myself, the white van kept going. It had slowed down to negotiate the speed bump I was standing near.
In hindsight, this is a humorous anecdote. I can assure you, at the moment it was not. For days, I seriously considered giving up my apartment and moving behind the security gates of the main Sarvodaya campus, or not working until my usual 9 or 10 pm.
I did neither.
I remembered what I had written in “The Power of One: Authentic Leadership in Turbulent Times”:
“Fearlessness does not mean that you do not experience fear; it just means that you don’t let it stop you from doing what you have to do.”
I also say, “A person who does not experience any fear is reckless, dangerous and probably in denial.” Rather than deny my fear, I acknowledged it. (Easy to do when my hands were shaking so much after the incident, it took me awhile to unlock my door.) But, once acknowledged, one can move past the fear, to the point of personal empowerment.
So, I invite all of my friends, on the Left as well as the Right, to just “GET A GRIP”. Even if the sky is indeed falling, your fear reactions will mean that you are unprepared to deal with the fall. Take a deep breath, return to your inner place of power, and decide to face our collective future with positive joy. It beats all the alternatives.
Peace,
Sharif