Thursday, March 13, 2014

Philosophy of Ubuntu


Today I'll start by telling a story I read that gives me a lot of inspiration, and perhaps it will inspire you too. Several years ago, an explorer came to a tribe in Africa. When he arrived, he was welcomed by a large group of kids.  The explorer wanted to give them a bag of candy he brought, however the number or kids was too large. He decided to challenge them to race to closest tree so the winner would get the entire bag of candy. Surprisingly, they walked together to the tree holding their hands and singing. When they arrived and received the bag of candy, they sat down together and shared the prize. The man, amazed, asked them why didn't they run. One of the kid responded, "How can one of us be happy if all the others are not?" 

The Ubuntu Philosophy resembles a very interesting way of seeing life. Human kindness must be a shared value in order to make us care about others. We are not different from each other, but our ideas and values can make us believe that we are.

Several leaders in Africa support and follow this philosophy by standing and fighting against oppression and racism. Among these leaders, I highlight Nelson Mandela. He opposed apartheid and spent several years of his life in jail as a result. Only after he was released, he became President and saw his changes become a reality: "Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another."

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