It’s all about revolutions now isn’t it?

It’s all about revolutions now isn’t it?

People want change but won’t actually do their bit.

Log onto twitter and write 140 characters of utter shh*t,

Is this our legacy, words no actions?

Actions met by pathetic reactions.

Society dividing into too many fractions,

Wear masks like V who had an actual vendetta,

While reading only the entertainment section rather than the real news in the gazetta.

Making a few memes,

is as effective as shining at the sun, your gas inefficient car’s light beams.

So what’s your plan beyond the hash-tag,

Cause pretty soon, you’ll be it.

Are you going to stand idly by, or actually do your bit?

The Phoenix

They asked for silence, I yelled.

They asked for discipline, I rebelled.

They asked for peace, I gave them a revolution.

They asked for acceptance; I offered an alternate solution.

 

They imposed fences to cage me in; I raised my arms higher,

They imposed penalties, I set them on fire.

They imposed sanctions, I persisted but did not tire.

 

They demanded ignorance, I commanded knowledge.

They asked, They imposed, They demanded,

They taxed, They imposed, They reprimanded.

 

But they did not succeed.

They can do what they want but I will not concede.

 

I won’t flinch even under the strain of their lashes,

I will wear with pride my many gashes,

I will rise like a phoenix from the ashes.

An Arabian Spring

For forty-two years, the people from a country of green lived under the oppressive rule of a man oblivious to their needs for freedom of thought and belief. Living in only fear and despair, they went about their daily lives in silence until one event in Tunisia inspired them to find a voice; the voice of unity. The voice of freedom began to clamour from every household; the Libyan revolution had begun.

Word spread and the desire for freedom engulfed one and all however; one man’s fury at the rebellion saw thousands of innocent civilians relentlessly slaughtered. Women and children were gunned down in an attempt to gain back what he did not deserve. Yet were tanks formed impenetrable barriers, the voice of freedom rang internationally and help was given to aid millions of innocents cross the finish line and win the coveted prize of freedom.

Outraged and nearly thwarted, the infamous leader of the country lashed out and in order to protect the land from being taken away from his grasp he summoned both death and despair to fight for him. He sought to extinguish the candle of freedom once and for all.

Despite the body count rising into the thousands, the revolutionary spirit rang louder than the sound of gunfire. Days tick on and now 5 months and 10 days into the revolution, the people of Libya still fight for what is theirs. They fight not to gain power, but to gain freedom. A ‘freedom’ that was denied to them by a man who had too much power for far too long.

The country, which was once green, has changed, rebellious flags of white, red, black and green rose up again, the crescent and star of the flags shone brightly, guiding the lost through the dark.

Our deeds are the colour of white, our battles of black, our fields of green and our swords of red.

Our goal has always been clear. Oppression we no longer fear. Freedom is near.

I came. I saw. I tweeted. Nothing happened.

When a Tunisian man wanted change, he burned himself to ignite the fire of change within everyone. But when Japan needed help, everyone ‘clicked’ a button, and another button, and another button… but nothing happened. Why? Because we have become clicktivists who are content just sitting behind a box, ‘liking’ words on mentally degenerative social networking sites.

Off late, we have begin to live under the misconception that it is the tweet or the Facebook post that is making a difference in the world, but even today, the might of the sword, the power of physical unity creates a bigger impact than any set of 140 letters. The tweet is simply a few well chosen words that represent your emotions on cyber space and you claim show positive intent on your part to those in strife. Correction ignorant social networker. The people in strife don’t have access to social networks; they’re not clutching their blackberries and mindlessly browsing websites… so your tweet or Facebook post is effectively irrelevant.

Moreover consider 150 students of an institution  decide to make a group expressing their discontent at the potential cancellation of an event. Words cannot combat an institution, just as ideas cannot combat tanks simply because the institution can simply ignore indignant comments. But if these students stand united outside the humble abode  of the unjust leaders, then like Egypt, Tunisia and many other nations, change will be witnessed. Real Change. Not cyber change.

So next time you sit down to permanently borrow a genius’ quote to convey your emotions, remember John. F. Kennedy and Nike ‘Ask not what your country can do for you? Ask what you can do for your country’ and then ‘Just Do It.’