Upheavals of the kind that produce massive shifts in public policy like women’s suffrage or the end of Apartheid in South Africa are typically met with state coercion and armed opposition. Indian independence from the United Kingdom happened largely as the result of legislative and social movements possessing a clear moral imperative. The expression of that imperative was crystallized by leadership that modeled sacrifice and honesty over a period of prolonged resistance to oppressive force.
In cases where armed resistance was endorsed by these activists, their targets were institutional. They sought to disrupt daily activity, rather than harm people. In each case, in spite of prolonged pressure by the state, an inequality was addressed and legislated out of practice.
The leadership that helps to catalyze these social movements stand today as iconic figures of spiritual and moral strength. Nelson Mandela( SA), Mahatma Ghandi, (India) Martin Luther King, Jr.(USA), Emmeline Pankhurst (UK)and Nellie McClung (Canada) have shaped the path of human progress. Their message of non violence, found in so many spiritual traditions, serves as a cornerstone for their work.
Deeply held prejudice can only fall under the hammer of justice when we expose it to widespread public scrutiny and reflection. Choosing a path of peaceful resistance and bearing witness to the suffering of others, challenges society to consider their entitlements and context. On a profound and personal level, the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., the assertion of personhood by McClung and her suffragette sisters, the non-violent resistance of Mahatma Ghandi, lead us to remember that the rights and dignity we enjoy, are conditions paid for by lives of great sacrifice, moral fortitude and a sustained peaceful effort.
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