Hero Talk

When we involve ourselves in “Hero Talk” and picking out a man or woman to be exalted as our national hero, we are doing more than weighing up what that person did in the past. That would be an abstract exercise that hardly affects or changes who we are. Serious hero talk, however, challenges us to raise questions like “who are we really”, “whose history are we making” and “how far are we becoming a definite/defined people”?{{more}}

In other words, we not only identify our heroes, they, in turn, help to define us. Hero Talk is a critical dispute and divisive argumentation. I remember a few lines from an anthem that the members of the United Peoples Movement (UPM) used to sing. They illustrate my point. One couplet says: With Chatoyer and Duvallé we fight against all foreign sway/ from shore to shore, we face the foe, a people who’ll be slaves no more/ “Sovereignty” for our people means/ The United Peoples Movement.

Another snippet goes like this:

Daddy Mac and Sheriff carried the flame/ the broad majority now stakes its claim/ Democracy for our people means The United Peoples Movement.

We are still in the process of becoming a people and a nation and Hero Talk can support our nation building journey. In addition to the examination of past personalities and their principles and struggles, let hero talk also become full for our present motion in a vehicle for our journey to the future.