What would have happened had Mahatma Gandhi not refused to comply with the racial rule that resulted in his being thrown out of the train in Pietermaritzburg that June 7, 1893? It is erroneous to think nothing would have happened.
It is true that apartheid did take root and flourish in South Africa beyond Gandhi's lifetime. And certainly, racism still flourishes around the globe. Nevertheless, that one act of conscience transformed Mohandas Gandhi – who later became known as Mahatma, meaning “the great soul” - and by his transformation, the world was also transformed.
Indeed, Gandhi saw that experience on that train as a moment of truth for him. That moment of truth spread throughout the world, and still spreads. Even where racism and prejudice still exists today, they are seen as cowardice, shame and ignorance.
Gandhi's moment of reckoning spread beyond South Africa into India and became a transformative force in the civil rights movement in the United States. Who would have thought one man's simple act of response to injustice would have such momentous consequences?
But think of what would have happened had he done nothing. As Edmund Burke once said, “All that is required for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing”.
No comments:
Post a Comment