At this time when many are fearful about the future of Sri Lanka, we hope the recent blog about the Govt of Sri Lanka’s censorship of that revolution-inciting magazine, the Economist, allows you at least a brief smile!
As Walter Wink, the world famous non-violent advocate advises: “The Powers That Be literally stand on their dignity. Nothing takes away their potency faster than deft lampooning. By refusing to be awed by their power, the powerless are emboldened to seize the initiative, even where structural change is not possible.”
So “deft lampooning” of the oppressive regime in Sri Lanka is something that we will need to do more of given there may be less space for more direct work, at least for those living in Sri Lanka.
This blog is out first attempt and we aim to get better. But we need your help too so please send us your ideas! Dont censor – just send. We will record all, use as many as we can and share the rest with others who might do be able to use them too. And just giving ourselves the permission to think in this manner – as neither victim nor aggressor – will be good for us given the tendency of Sri Lankans to flip from one to the other.
Best wishes,
The Campaign Team
PS For the Buddhists, Hindus or Muslims amongst our readers, what are the equivalent teachings from these traditions? There have been tyrants all over the world and societies have progressively learnt now to contain and then neutralise them. If you don’t believe this read Amartya Sen’s “Development as Freedom”. Sri Lanka is now lagging well behind this development curve today and needs all the spiritual wisdom it can get, so please share any relevant spiritual guidance from your tradition.