Audacity, etc

In the United States, large arenas full of people who have the audacity to hope have devoted themselves to a man who promises to be the bringer of change. Together, in solidarity, they chant "yes we can!" and the words shake the walls and make their bellies tremble. They will bet on change, as intangible as this change may look, because they have nothing to lose.

In Asia, the so-called "change" takes the form of IMF-highways and Burberry stores but has the face of familiar tyrants and conservatives. We had thought we had left them behind in a past century, but as one democracy falls after another, we re-enter a familiarly oppressive Asia. There were changemakers once, a long time ago, they took the streets and fled to the jungles and devoted themselves to civil society and good governance. They believed in the potential of Asia as an example of post-colonial democratic success. In this security-obsessed world, today's changemakers are misunderstood and, even worse, ignored.

I entered university the month the World Trade Center came down. I began working on human rights the month the new UN Human Rights Council had their first session. This world order defines my existence and purpose but I have not the courage to fight and I fear pension schemes and credit crunches. This global paradigm of fear restricts and cripples the most noble of intentions. So this sense of daring, this audacity to hope, this audacity to demand change, this audacity to stand for justice and human rights, this audacity should be part of us all, really. We should all be this fearless. Especially in Asia.