Man's dearest possession is life. It is given to him but once, and he must live it so as to feel no torturing regrets for wasted years, never know the burning shame of a mean and petty past; so live that, dying, he might say: all my life, all my strength were given to the finest cause in all the world──the fight for the Liberation of Mankind."
--Ostrovsky
I used to learn these words by heart when I was a schoolboy. Indeed, the words were a part of communist brainwashing and that is why it suited so well the propaganda machine in communist China. Accordingly, several generations of the Chinese keep hailing and publishing the book.
However, while getting older a person learns some things about what this life is about. Accordingly, these very words can have another meaning.
Life of any human being is precious. The man is the most perfect creation of God. Each person is unique, and this makes anybody valuable for entire mankind. And each of us is one with all mankind. As John Donne put it, "No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls - it tolls for thee".
A man would rarely if at all, think of this when young. It is only when growing older and feeling "torturing regrets for wasted years", "the burning shame of a mean and petty past" that the frightening question of life and its limited nature arises in its ugliness due to either scarce knowledge or scanty use of one's brains.
I cannot help agreeing with
resinsoft who wonders
who else do i think i can liberate?i d better liberate myself first
. As a matter of fact, the universal human values are very simple - they are Good, Truth, Light and Love.
However, throughout the ages we have invented a lot of sophisticated theories which are very difficult to embrace and serve mostly to the purposes of state, not persons.
Liberation of mankind appears to me precisely getting rid of complex traditional ideas and coming to understand and believe simple truths rather than exporting revolutionary or any other ideas to other nations which are different from us. The mastering of this by most of the humans would surely prevent us from any imperialist, religious and other conflicts and wars, would create understanding and tolerance.
This task is not so easy. As Maxim Gorky put it, "the simplest truths are the hardest to embrace". In any event we have to fight through them if we want to be successful in life and avoid any regrets at one's last breath. Furthermore, we have to do it ourselves. As they say, "if you want a helping hand, you will find one at the end of your arm".
So, God bless you in this liberation effort.
