The enemies of a people are those who keep them in ignorance.
Interpretation
Ignorance is a significant enemy, and those who perpetuate it harm society.
This quote by Thomas Sankara emphasizes the idea that a true threat to any community comes from those who prevent its members from gaining knowledge. By fostering ignorance, individuals and groups can maintain power over others, stifling progress and freedom. Therefore, enlightenment and education become crucial for empowerment and societal advancement.
In practice
In a speech advocating for educational reform, one could use this quote to illustrate the need for knowledge.
Our revolution in Burkina Faso draws on the totality of mans experiences since the first breath of humanity. We wish to be the heirs of all the revolutions of the world, of all the liberation struggles of the peoples of the Third World. We draw the lessons of the American revolution.
Let there be an end to the arrogance of the big powers who miss no opportunity to put the rights of the people in question. Africa's absence from the club of those who have the right to veto is unjust and should be ended.
We must dare to invent the future
It's really a pity that there are observers who view political events like comic strips. There has to be a Zorro, there has to be a star. No, the problem of Upper Volta is more serious than that. It was a grave mistake to have looked for a man, a star, at all costs, to the point of creating one, that is, to the point of attributing the ownership of the event to captain Sankara, who must have been the brains, etc.
Under its current form, that is imperialism-controlled, debt is a cleverly managed re-conquest of Africa, aiming at subjugating its growth and development through foreign rules. Thus, each one of us becomes the financial slave, which is to say a true slave.
It took the madmen of yesterday for us to be able to act with extreme clarity today. I want to be one of those madmen. We must dare to invent the future.
For me, books have always been a way to feel less alone while being alone. Perhaps if I was depressed and isolated, just communicating with these authors through their sentences helped me.
Everyone gets a spiritual formation. It's like education. Everyone gets an education; it's just a matter of which one you get.
Fundamentally, the solution to economic insecurity is economic prosperity - an achievable goal. But for anyone who has grown up without financial security, there's a shadow that lies over even those who move towards independence: lack of financial literacy.
I think one of the most fascinating things you can do after you learn about your own people is to study something about the history and culture of other people.
In the old days... it was a basic, cardinal fact that producers didn't have opinions. When I was producing natural history programmes, I didn't use them as vehicles for my own opinion. They were factual programmes.
Study as if you were going to live forever; live as if you were going to die tomorrow.
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