IF THERE IS TIME…
On November 13, 2010, Aung San Suu Kyi was released from 7 years of house arrest in Burma. This is not the first time the government has imprisoned this frail looking woman but none of her confinements seem to have dampened her resolve to bring democracy to her country. Already she talks of resurrecting her outlawed political party and while the generals look on in fear behind their armies, the people of Burma are welcoming her emergence with an outpouring of flowers.
I do believe the meek will one day inherit the earth, perhaps not in my lifetime nor in the Dali Lama’s nor in San Suu Kyi’s; but one day, peace will come. There aren’t enough bullets or bombs or prisons to quell a movement if it strikes a chord in the human heart. Freedom is one of those.
Tyrannical governments may continue to build arsenals and fences and walls to keep out democracy’s contagion, but the idea is like crab grass. It burrows through the cracks of these barriers, eroding the strongest defenses. If we have time, if we can avoid destroying ourselves, then peace will come. I sense our growing disillusionment with war. At last!
Still, I know the final battle hasn’t been fought; pillaging and looting have yet to end. And in some ways, the violence has gotten worse. Our arsenals have become more dangerous. Perhaps that is a good thing. Yes, I mean what I say… a good thing. As we watch our cities and villages burn, the light from those fires may illuminate the folly of violence, a path where only death triumphs.
Is a scorched earth what we want for our future? I know the answer. Most of us do. That’s why I am certain insanity will heal itself, in time… if we have time.
Today, I honor the gentle voices of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Dali Lama, Martin Luther King and Ghandi. They have striven to point us in a different direction. As yet, it is a road not fully taken. But we if listen to their words and study their teachings, then slowly, one by one, each of us will awake and join the army of petals… if there is time.