What we usually do to great men and women is relegate them to homogenised heroism. Their words and actions become soundbites and images in a way that gives us an excuse not to act bravely in our own lives.
Interpretation
Great individuals often become simplified heroes, which can discourage us from taking bold actions ourselves.
David Oyelowo's quote reflects on how society tends to oversimplify the lives and achievements of remarkable figures, reducing their complex narratives to mere 'soundbites' or images. This process of homogenization can inadvertently give us a false sense of comfort, allowing us to excuse our own inaction and lack of bravery, rather than inspiring us to emulate their courage in our lives.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a motivational speech to inspire courage among team members.
I had always known that I couldn't play Dr. King purely out of my own ability as an actor. When you look at him give those speeches, you can tell that he is taken up by something other than himself. He is flowing with an anointing that is directly from God.
I grew up watching period dramas, as we all did in the 1980s and '90s - endless adaptations of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens - and I loved them. But I never saw anyone like me in them, so I decided to find a story to erode the excuses for me not doing one.
You will never, I think, fully conquer the play. Every night, you see this Everest before you. It's that two, three hours and the audience, and you'd better tell the truth.
Generally speaking, we as black people have been celebrated more for when we are subservient when we are not being leaders or kings or in the center of our own narrative driving it forward.
Excellence is the best weapon against prejudice. I intend to be part of the solution and not the problem. You've just got to keep on banging out good performances.
Every time I go to Africa, I feel like I hit true north. There is a depth of feeling that I have for the continent, in the richness of the people, the suffering , but also the transcendent joy that is there - it's like nowhere else on the planet.
The song and the drumming were like this: Behold, a sacred voice is calling you; All over the sky a sacred voice is calling.
Worldly Wisdom Do not stay in the field! Nor climb out of sight. The best view of the world Is from a medium height.
Relaxing with something as familiar as loneliness is good discipline for realizing the profundity of the unresolved moments of our lives. We are cheating ourselves when we run away from the ambiguity of loneliness.....Rather than persecuting yourself or feeling that something terribly wrong is happening, right there in the moment of sadness and longing, could you relax and touch the limitless space of the human heart?
The power to think as you wish to think is the only power over which you have absolute control.
There is nothing more uncommon than common sense.
We are not here merely to make a living. We are here to enrich the world.
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