Friday, May 20, 2011

i-TFTD #321: On Interdependence and Courage to Change

#321-1. This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in.
-Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President (1858-1919)

#321-2. For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.
-John Kennedy, 35th US President (1917-1963)

(Thanks to K Shailesh for sharing this.)

#321-3. We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.
-Barack Obama, 44th US President (1961-)

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Three important points, all relevant in a timeless kind of way: interdependence, change and courage. Interes! tingly, Obama has emphasized these three.

I was always deeply disappointed that while the world’s largest and multi-ethnic democracy (India) has had prime ministers and presidents who were women or belonging to minority groups such as dalits, Sikhs and Muslims, the world’s oldest and multi-ethnic democracy (America) did not seem to practise the diversity and inclusiveness that it preached. The swearing-in of the first ever black president of the USA was a heartening event. I was reminded of novels I read long ago, by Irving Wallace (The Man, about the first black president) and Jeffrey Archer (The Prodigal Daughter, about the first woman president). Yes, we can hope for better things.

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