Music must awaken people to do their duty as citizens and act.
Fela KutiRead
Being African didn't mean anything to me until later in my life.
Interpretation
This quote reflects a journey of self-discovery and the growing appreciation of oneβs cultural identity over time.
Fela Kuti's quote expresses the idea that one's sense of identity and connection to cultural heritage can evolve with experience and maturity. Initially, being African may not have held significance, but as one grows and experiences life, there can be a deeper understanding and pride in that identity, highlighting the importance of cultural awareness and self-acceptance.
In practice
Use this quote in a discussion about the importance of cultural heritage in personal identity.
Music must awaken people to do their duty as citizens and act.
The rhythm, the sounds, the tonality, the chord sequences, the individual effect of each instrument and each section of the band - I'm talking about a whole continent in my music.
I'm playing deep African music.
The art, the greatness of the music, the experience of the music is what I'm about. I think most African artists have destroyed their artistry by commercialization, and I don't want to belong to that bag.
The human spirit is stronger than any government or institution.
My message was 'Think African. Make schools read African history.'
One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one.
This book was not written because I wanted to offer a supreme model to the man who struggles; I wanted to show him that he must not fear pain, temptation or death - because all three can be conquered, all three have already been conquered. Christ suffered pain, and since then pain has been sanctified. Temptation fought until the very last moment to lead him astray, and Temptation was defeated. Christ died on the Cross, and at that instant death was vanquished forever.
We experience life as a continuity, and only after it falls away, after it becomes the past, do we see its discontinuities. The past, if there is such a thing, is mostly empty space, great expanses of nothing, in which significant persons and events float.
We spend our whole lives worrying about the future, planning for the future, trying to predict the future, as if figuring it out will cushion the blow. But the future is always changing. The future is the home of our deepest fears and wildest hopes. But one thing is certain when it finally reveals itself. The future is never the way we imagined it.
My personal feeling, if I can interject a political note, is that I don't think it is right that basic health care is a privilege. It shouldn't be. It should be a right of all human beings. And certainly in the richest country in the world.
Fixity is always momentary. But how can it always be so? If it were, it would not be momentary - or would not be fixity.
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