I have read and continue to
read and study Jesus of Nazareth, Mandela, Fanon, Che, Castro, Nkrumah, Gandhi,
Marx, Engels, Machiavelli and many other individuals who influenced our one
world in a specific way.
My reading and studying of these
great men, helped to shape my life. But little did I know I would come
face-to-face with similar but rather dramatically different things that these
great men came across during their day.
Only one thing in the scheme
of things that has kept me afloat and going on my own journey to freedom; and
that’s the concept of “objective Reality.”
I will not delve too much into
“objective reality” so that we do not lose sight of the issue at hand.
If anyone thinks I can be like
Jesus, Mandela, Castro, Fanon, Nkrumah, Mao, Che, Marx or Gandhi, he or she
must think again. For I am not on the level of any of these great men.
And this is where “objective
reality” creeps in. During the day of these great men, there was no Internet.
I’m sure if they had the Internet, they would have sent in their daily
experiences. Because of the lack thereof, other people had to tell their
stories and experiences, whether or not the accountings are correct.
In my day, because of the
Internet, I am telling my experiences on a daily basis as they happen. Those
experiences may sound “ridiculous” and “unbelievable” but that’s that truth.
I’m sure if those great men mentioned above were doing the same as I am doing,
others or their detractors would have had the same attitude as it is with mine.
In any case, they probably went through similar criticism. But not up to our
knowledge.
In essence, the day of those
great men is dramatically different from mine. I could list a platitude of
examples, but for the lack of time and space, I will remain this far.
Jesus, also referred to as
Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity, whom the teachings of
most Christian denominations hold to be the Son of God. Christians believe
Jesus to be the awaited Messiah of the Old Testament and refer to him as Jesus
Christ, a name that is also used by non-Christians. The Bible tells us He
walked on water. I could never be like Him.
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is
a Cuban communist revolutionary and politician who was Prime Minister of Cuba .
At my age, Fidel was already head of Cuba. That means I can never be like him!
The martyr, Ernesto Che
Guevera, was an Argentine-Cuban revolutionary who made a monumental
contribution to the anti-imperialist and world socialist movement in Latin
America, Africa and throughout the globe. His political determination and
theoretical reflections provide tremendous lessons for the workers, farmers and
youth today who are facing the same challenges of building societies devoid of
class exploitation, racism and national oppression. I am far from Che!
Frantz Fanon was a
Martinique-born, French Creole psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary, and
writer whose works are influential in the fields of post-colonial studies, critical
theory, and Marxism. As an intellectual, Fanon was a political radical, and an
existentialist humanist concerning the psychopathology of colonization, and the
human, social, and cultural consequences of decolonization. I am not Fanon and
can never be Fanon!
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader
of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1951 to 1966.
Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957,
Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana.
An influential 20th-century advocate of Pan-Africanism, he was a founding
member of the Organization of African Unity and was the winner of the Lenin
Peace Prize in 1963. He saw himself as an African Lenin. I am not Nkrumah and
never be like him!
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi,
was the preeminent leader of Indian nationalism in British-ruled India.
Employing non-violent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and
inspired movements for non-violence, civil rights, and freedom across the
world. I am not!
To compare me with these
all-powerful men that had tremendous impact on the history of mankind is rather
disingenuous.
As a young man deriving
commitment and revolutionary integrity from my late father and then enhanced by
The Movement for Justice in Africa (MOJA) trying to do my best in taking my
country into the 21st Century, is a remarkable task but cannot be
compared and measured to that of Jesus of Nazareth, Castro, Nkrumah, Che,
Fanon, Gandhi and others.
I hereby invoke sanity in my
detractors not to compare me with those great men of insurmountable strides. If
I took the baton from them, I can never do exactly what they did. And
generations behind me will never do as I am doing today. THAT’S THE FACT!
I know I have done my best;
and I know future generations will look through the pages of history and see my
work.
And when they do, I hold deep
in the abyss of my heart and soul, truly “History will absolve me!”
I am Thomas G. Bedell, a
volunteer worker; working and speaking on the ground in Liberia, a victim of
police brutality and candidate citizenship repudiation.
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