Only action awakens spirit of revolt against tyranny
By Charles Ochen Okwir
11th April 2011:- Last week, I ended with these questions: “…By what miracle have these men whose wives rightly called them cowards transformed themselves into heroes marching through the King’s bullets and cannon ball straight towards the final conquest in the battle for their rights?”
“…How was it that mere words, so often spoken and lost in the air like the empty chiming of bells, suddenly became transformed into revolutionary actions?” And I promised that the answer/s to those questions would come this week.
Action! Continuous and ceaselessly renewed action by the oppressed brings about this transformation in such ordinary men. Courage, devotion, and the spirit of sacrifice are all as contagious as cowardice and panic are. But what form will or should such action take?
Again, the answer is easy. All forms. The choice of action is often dictated by a number of things; especially the prevailing socio-political and economic circumstances, the temperament, and the means at one’s or a group’s disposal at any material time.
Overall however, to propagate and find expression for dissatisfaction with the status quo, to excite hatred against the exploiters in the dictatorship, to ridicule the tyranny and expose its weaknesses, and most importantly to awaken courage and fuel the spirit of revolt, a policy of action excludes no possible means.
And crucially, before the spirit of revolt is sufficiently awakened in the masses to express itself in violent demonstrations in the streets or through rebellions and uprisings, it is only through action that minorities succeed in awakening the desire for independence from a repressive tyrant.
And yes, the best signs that tell us if a revolution is about to happen can be discerned from the audacity of the leaders of the impending revolution. Some have already argued that to some extent, that has already been achieved in Uganda.
They say the courage and spirit of revolt seen in young men and women during the “Mabira Riots”, the “Kayunga Riots”, the “Kasubi Tombs Fire” etc can only be attributed to the audacious actions of Ugandan opposition leaders and activists.
For these leaders, the act is the same as the idea. These are men for whom prison, exile, and even death are preferable to a life of servitude. Any form of servitude offends their fundamental principles of justice, liberty, and freedom for all most grievously. They are intrepid leaders who know that it is necessary to dare in order to succeed. “He who dares wins”, the British [SAS] Special Forces motto goes.
Through their actions, these men have showed the rest that “it can be done”! They entered the battle long before the masses were sufficiently roused to raise the banner of insurrection and to march, arms in hand, to the final conquest of their fundamental rights and freedoms; rights and freedoms that had been taken away by the oppressive tyrant.
These same men have also argued in defence of their firm belief that however powerful a regime might seem to the untrained eye, it can be defeated with thorough planning. Their words, not mine! All I will say is that it is possible that at the beginning, the masses may be indifferent. It is also possible that while admiring the courage of the individual or group which takes the initiative, the masses will at first follow those who are cautious.
You know, those well-to-do elite who will immediately say the initial leaders of the revolution acted with “insanity”, that they are “mad men”, fanatics who will endanger the “relative comfort” that they are enjoying even with the tyrant at the helm of power. To show their displeasure with the activities these “insane mad men”, some have even excommunicated their friends from their elite circles.
These are very “clever” men. They are accomplished capitalist mathematicians who have worked out that it is “prudent” to remain indifferent to the suffering of the masses as long as their loved ones continue to enjoy the hedonistic pleasures of life under tyranny. That is until the unexpected rudely intrudes.
The unexpected is of course the revolution which our “prudent capitalist mathematicians” never expected. Before they know it, the “insane mad men” will be amassed in rapturous applause from the oppressed masses. Indifference from this point on will have suddenly become “imprudent”. But it will be too late.
Too late because whoever has even a slight knowledge of history and a clear head will know from the beginning that the theoretical propaganda for a revolution expresses itself in the form of audacious civil actions long before the “prudent capitalist mathematicians” decide that the moment to join the action has come.
Some food for thought there! Join me next week for what comes next. END. Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.
