Take the Mahatma, for instance. Majority of people the world over has great respect and admiration for his indomitable courage and great human spirit. Even the great American scientist Albert Einstein paid tribute to him by saying: "Generations to come will not believe that such a man as Gandhi has walked the face of this earth."
In Guyana, one of my favorite subject was History. In First Form, the History teacher told us about the travels of the ambitious Christopher Columbus, who landed in the New World in October in 1492 (If memory serves me right). He sailed with a group of criminals at the behest of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain in search of land and wealth.
At that tender age, it was hard to distinguish the good or bad behaviour of the sailors of The Pinta, Santa Maria and (can't remember the 3rd ship's name) towards the native people of the New World.
In college over here, I recalled my professor had the good human decency to question the barbaric behaviour of Columbus's men towards the native children, women and men of the countries they landed.
I'm not going to go into details, but that professor was correct. And I wonder how the Mahatma would have thought of these historic events.
Heroism is not heroism if it is recognized at the immense pain, hardships and suffering of other group of human beings who were less fortunate and less arm than the more powerful groups. True courage is the hallmark of men and women who stand up against injustice at all cost.
Anyways, I was able to snap at some of the floats-in-waiting for the Columbus Day Parade on 6th Avenue. Enjoy ...
These little kids seems to be enjoying all the hoopla...
Chilly me ... all bundled up even before winter arrives...
This is important ... US Census 2010 ... take notice.
My favorite ... I like ships and boats...
My favorite ... I like ships and boats...
No comments:
Post a Comment