In defence of the Mazzinis.

I had an interesting exchange with a friend on another article of mine where he lamented that he is not able to do much to create the society of his dreams, and that he (and others who think like him) must enter active politics for any change to actually occur.

I disagree. And I say this on behalf of every person here on (or outside of) social media who is like me: I am not without value in this fight.

And when I use the letter ‘I’ in this article, I mean all of us. All my fellow writers and influencers. All my comrades in this fight. All my friends and followers. All my co-conspirators and collaborators. All my accessories and accomplices. All my brothers. And my brothers-in-arms. All the poets and writers, artists and actors, singers and dancers, painters and sculptors, playwrights and librarians, intellectuals and teachers, philosophers and thinkers. Below, I speak for us all.

So, what do I do if not active politics, you ask? What is my contribution to this society, to this nation, and to humankind? What can I do from my ‘airconditioned armchair-equipped room’ working in comfort from my laptop? Is the Oxygen I breathe wasted?

Well, you are in luck. I am going to tell you exactly what I do for the betterment of this world, or rather how I use what I CAN do to actually create the best possibility of it happening. So, hang on to your jockstrap. Here we go:

I vote, pay taxes, and follow the law as well as influence others to do so too, specifically guiding them to the idea of India I have in my heart as the ideal society our children must inherit.

I speak up against immoral laws that must be changed, while I leave it to someone else to break them demonstrably and openly so as to show that they need changing, at the cost of arrest, imprisonment, and persecution.

I rail against oppression where I find it and understand it, while I leave the task of physically marching with the oppressed on the front lines to those better equipped for the same.

I raise awareness to better ways of doing things, without running for office or insisting that I be contracted to make them happen.

I satirise the powerful and I mock the hyenas leading the lambs to their slaughter, without having the means or even the willingness to take up the mantle and pick up a weapon (whether literal or figurative).

I plant and wave the (figurative) flag of freedom and equality, of a better world and a better tomorrow, but leaving the job of building a fortification around it and protecting it to others better equipped to do so.

I point my fingers and laugh at the pompous Emperor in his nakedness and shout warnings to the rats following this naked royal pied piper leading them to their deaths, but without actually standing in their way and physically stopping them, or him.

As you can see, I am neither a soldier nor a revolutionary. Neither a politician nor a social worker. Neither a leader nor an activist. Neither a wealthy man nor a philanthropist. I am just me, with my skills, and my resources, and my schedule, and my drive, within the limitations of life I find myself surrounded by, and within which I am quite happy to contribute, being all: ready, willing, and able to do the task I set myself to.

For if I were ready and willing, but not able, of what use all good intent? So, if I am incapable of conducting politics or winning elections or occupying the streets or whatever it is that looks visibly like doing something for the betterment of my society, my efforts, however well-intentioned, would be quite inadequate to making things better. Indeed, I might even get in the way.

But I can write.

And I do. Even if limited to a handful of followers who sometimes share and sometimes comment on my writing.

I can stir up passions and stimulate goose-pimples. I can provoke anger and can equally inspire a teardrop to come into being.

I can spark a thought that could, taken at its zenith, change minds and (I’d like to think) rouse bodies to act.

I can think. Clearly. And I can express my thoughts. Equally clearly. In a style that is my own.

Thus, I have the ability. And I have the readiness and willingness to deploy this weapon I possess towards attaining a better world as I see it.

I may not be leading the revolution when it comes, but I can assure you that I, and people like me, would be the steel in the resolve of those that do.

I would be the match that lit the fire.

I would be the book that changed a mind.

I would be the word that kindled an epiphany.

I would be the hilt to the edge of that sword.

I would be the starting point. Because every purposeful change needs a cause, and I would be a part of that, however small.

Indeed, there would be no revolution without me.

You see, every revolution needs a Mazzini as much as a Garibaldi. While I do not propose to elevate myself to Mazzini’s level of intellect or political acumen, I think it is important that we, those that write and influence others, do not think less of ourselves in this fight. Every little counts. We must make it count.

At the end, victory shall be as much ours as the man in the arena’s. Have faith. And keep putting fingers to keyboard. Onward. Upward. And stronger each day.

And you know what? Those arms that hold up the revolution have a duty to protect the minds that made it possible. Each owes its existence from and to the other.

The pen, my friends, isn’t just mightier than the sword. The sword, born from it, exists to protect the pen.