Today, I stumbled across this wonderful speech by Jose Mujica, former President of Uruguay. For those who don't know where Uruguay is, I have marked it here. (I know a lot of us are unaware of certain things, so here is the information that you may/may not need.)
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| A small country sharing borders with Argentina and Brazil - Uruguay! |
In the video, the President speaks about himself and his understanding of the values of being human. His perception of democracy transcends the political definition and embraces the socio-economic aspect . The continent of South America has witnessed many revolutions in the past century. His struggle was related to one of them in his home country. A fight to secure justice in all aspects of life so that people could grow and develop together, in an all-inclusive manner. He talks about how the world is dragging its feet on the Kyoto Protocol. It stands as a shame that the second- largest carbon dioxide emitter is yet to ratify the same. Moreover, the Protocol though comparatively sound in wording, has seen a significant lack of will on the part of the member states. This is a story for another post, another day. He mentions the instance when the government of Uruguay prudentially purchased a helicopter for emergency services rather than an expensive jet for the President. He talks with pragmatism.
This is the man who realizes that we should learn to think as a species, rather than individuals or countries as he is quoted to have said :
"We can almost recycle everything now. If we lived within our means, by being prudent, the 7 billion people in the world could have everything they needed. Global politics should be moving in that direction. But we think as people and countries, not as a species" - Source
The most important take away from the speech is the way the man conducts his life. He doesn't lecture us with ways to live, rather the exemplary way in which he lives leaves a lasting impression and makes you think twice. He might be tagged as the 'Poorest President - BBC' but he is the 'Richest' when it comes to service to humanity.
His is a life that should be taken note of by policy makers too. While, expenditures on health, education and poverty alleviation are on the rise, downward trends are not visible in contentious areas such as defence. Certain splurges of the governing and the governed have no place in the developmental goals for tomorrow. This year is important as we have reached the deadline for the MDGs and are poised to take on the Sustainable Development Goals. Progress on the MDGs has been mixed with some goals achieved and others still sitting a long way off on the distant horizon. The SDGs lie on a steeper slope as the global dynamics are constantly changing. In fact, the entire SDGs rest on the bedrock of SDG #10 i.e. Reducing inequalities. So, it is up to the stakeholders to take wise decisions and create pathways that make the achievement of the SDGs possible.
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| 17 SDGs as listed on the UN Website. |
Remember:
A show of strength doesn't feed the poor.
A girl denied freedom, doesn't preserve your culture.
A shell fired doesn't protect biodiversity.
Most importantly, hollow agreements just sit as scribbles on paper.
So, it is but our responsibility to think as one, to act as one and to create a world that benefits generations to come.
Useful links:
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I just realized that this is the second President that I have written about in two days. Two amazing lives to gain inspiration from, for me!
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