My Inspiring Advocate
Since humans have become a part of Earth, we have been fighting and advocating for our own set of rights, as well as the rights of other beings. There are and have been many, many movements overtime with many different types of people involved around the world. It is through these movements that the world has exposed some of its most terrible and undesirable human beings. However, alongside the worst beings, the greatest and most admirable humans have been revealed as well. I know I kind of just discussed human rights last week, but I think the lifelong journeys that make up human rights movements offer some of the most admirable leaders. Today I will be giving my credit to the widely known Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi was born October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India. He lived to be seventy-eight years old. During his lifetime, Gandhi became a majorly important key figure in the Indian nationalist movement against the British rule. He also played a part in campaigns to relieve poverty, expand women’s rights, achieving religious and ethnic harmony, and destroying the unjust concepts of the caste system. The caste system, for those who may need a reminder or be unfamiliar with it, created separate classes for people based on social positions and occupations in a community. It is generally depicted as a pyramid with Brahmins, or priests, residing at the top and “untouchables” (cobblers, street cleaners, etc.) beneath the pyramid. My point being, Gandhi advocated for many important changes regarding human rights and lives. What really puts him toward the top of my own personal list is that he did all of this through expertly applied nonviolent civil disobedience. I, again, compare this to how humans have been handling certain recent protests with violence. Violence appears to have a tendency to attract more extreme supporters on the further end of the spectrum who, through my case study research, I have found to be more of a hindrance than a benefit toward social movements. Civil disobedience seems to get and have gotten people much further than violence in these types of movements and situations, and Gandhi realized this. He had a better understanding of humans and human interaction.
The work Gandhi has done is very important in two main ways. Aside from the obvious fact that he has made important accomplishments regarding his goals in human rights, he also teaches us an important lesson today. Often times we hear the phrase “violence isn’t the answer”. Gandhi’s work demonstrates that there is truth and value to that phrase. I think people nowadays would benefit from taking a closer look at Gandhi’s work. They do not even necessarily have to look at what he achieved but how he achieved it. I hope that in my own life I may gain a great understanding of people that would allow for me to grandly contribute to social movements in my community. There is a lot to learn from studying someone like Mahatma Gandhi. Through sort of mirroring and applying his actions and ideas to my own social movements, I believe a lot could be achieved.
