‎Championship era‎ –‎Michel Aflaq

Championship era‎

‎Michel Aflaq ‎

‎ Now a page opens in the history of our Arab renaissance. A new page is beginning: the page of the weak who meet the misfortunes of the country by crying and saying, “There is no power except in God”; the page of the utilitarians who filled their pockets and then said, “There is no need to hurry; everything is done with slow development”; the page of the cowards who admit the corruption of society if they leave themselves alone; even if they go out on the road, they are the first to bow their heads to this corruption…‎

‎ A new page begins, the page of those who face the general dilemmas with the coolness of mind and the flames of faith, and who speak out their ideas, even if all the people of the earth stand against them, and walk in life naked. These are the ones who open the era of the championship.‎

‎ The era of heroism, I almost say the era of childhood, because the youth who are preparing to enter this battle today have the honesty and frankness of the children; they do not understand what they call politics, and they do not believe that the truth needs a burqa, and the just cause needs secrecy and skulls.‎

‎ Their lives will be a clear, straight line, with no difference between their inner and outer appearances. There is no contradiction between their day and yesterday, so that no one will be told, “Yes, a thief, but he serves his country,” and they do not lead a demonstration in the morning and eat at the table of the oppressors in the evening. Firmness of opinion is an attribute of their qualities, so they do not accept compromise in their beliefs and do not know how to keep up. If they saw the truth on one side, they returned to the others, and instead of seeking to please everyone, they angered all those who believed it was wrong and corrupt. They are cruel to themselves, cruel to others, and if they discover a mistake in their minds, they will not be afraid or ashamed, because their goal is the truth, not themselves. And if they find the truth in a place for which the son has denied his father, and the friend has abandoned his friend.‎

‎ These are few today, and perhaps they will become fewer tomorrow if they encounter the difficulties that await them, and they see woes descending upon them, and curses are directed at them. But the future is theirs because they express the feelings of millions of people whose tongues have been cut off by injustice.‎

‎ The weapons that threaten this young man are many different weapons, and there is a weapon that has been spent in prison and torture, which is the weapon of coldness with which some of his compatriots meet him, and the sarcastic smile with which they respond to his call and enthusiasm. They will say, “Let these children play for a while and try to eat the moon with their short hands, for reality will bring them back to reason.” Still, it is the duty of this young man to make his fellow citizens more jealous and faithful, and to remember that the survival of his country so far in its flawed retardation is the result of this sarcastic smile with which the weak are armed whenever duty calls them. The voice of truth awakens in their consciences.‎

‎ Heroism is not always in attacking; it can also be in patience and fortitude, and courage is not always in fighting the outward enemy, but it is also – and most importantly – in fighting the inner enemy, that is, fighting in oneself despair, lethargy, and a love of comfort. In this new era, the dawn of which is beginning to mingle on the horizon, we want the revival and awakening to be in all our noble emotions