Don't take shadows too seriously. Reality is your only safety. Continue to reject illusion.
Wole SoyinkaRead
Some African leaders actually dare to suggest that democracy is a concept alien to traditional African society. This is one of the most impudent political blasphemies I can think of.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote criticizes the notion that democracy is incompatible with African traditions.
Wole Soyinka's quote challenges the misguided belief held by some African leaders that democracy does not align with traditional African values. He describes this view as a severe political offense, highlighting the importance of recognizing the compatibility of democratic principles with diverse cultural backgrounds.
Themes
DemocracyAfricaCultureLeadershipPolitics
In practice
Example use cases
At a political rally to emphasize the values of democracy.
More from Wole Soyinka
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A war, with its attendant human suffering, must, when that evil is unavoidable, be made to fragment more than buildings: It must shatter the foundations of thought and re-create. Only in this way does every individual share in the cataclysm and understand the purpose of sacrifice.
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Rwanda, which is one of the younger independent states in Africa, must be regarded as a model of how great human trauma can be transformed to commence true reconstruction of people. Human trauma can lead to stunted growth and mass withdrawal.
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I have a kind of magnetic attraction to situations of violence.
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Art is solace; art is vision, and when I pick up a literary work, I am a consumer of literature for its own sake.
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