“Reflecting on Revolutions” By Marie

As wonderful as our group trip to Johannesburg was, it did not come at the most opportune time as I was left without much media access to follow the rapidly-escalating conflict taking place in Libya.  I much prefer international politics to domestic ones since, for example, question time with the British Prime Minister is exponentially more entertaining than anything in the U.S. Senate.  Lack of amusement, however, was not the main culprit in my frustration.  I am both fascinated and confused by the sudden outburst of protests around the globe and have found myself wondering “why now?” and “why did it take so long?”  In my hours of reflection spent on the bus in Johannesburg, being shuttled from various points of interest, I came across a thesis that may help answer my questions: Perhaps change can only happen when people face their fears in a two-fold manner by not only overcoming the fear of rebelling against an oppressor, but also by overcoming the fear of embracing a new way of life. 

Many are afraid of intense change; I’ve come across individuals during the course of my life who long for the old days of the Soviet Union because, for half a century, that is all they knew.  It seems illogical for people to desire a return to an oppressive regime but their yearning for stability (or rather their fear of instability and change) drives them away from logic.  Although I believe there to be two steps to social change, most people think it’s just the one. This is where my new favorite quote comes in: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” That thing that is “more important” is a better life! Stability must be sacrificed for a short time in order for you and your children and your children’s children to live in a better society. I’m not talking about anarchy, but simply social change. Society has been unstable in the past (and people have gotten through it) and it will be unstable in the future (and people will get through it like they always have) so, knowing this, why are people so afraid of change?  Why fight the inevitable since social change is a global phenomenon?  If it wasn’t, why would Libyan protesters shout “Amandla” (the South Africa anti-apartheid cry for power)?  When we witness others embracing positive change and working toward a free society, we are more likely to do so ourselves.  This, if anything, is the best promotion for global awareness I have ever seen!