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| A Walk in the Wood Pierre Auguste Renoir |
The philosopher Isaiah Berlin once remarked that one should never underestimate the role of humiliation and shame in human affairs, especially in motivating men and women to rise up against injustice. Power that humiliates and shames will not endure forever. When Mohamed Bouazizi, a young Tunisian fruit and vegetable seller was fined, slapped and insulted by a female police officer in a small town in December 2010, he returned an hour later and set himself alight in the town square.
With this act, he transformed humiliation into politics. He ignited the Tunisian revolution, and the fire has spread across the Middle East. Emotions are facts in politics and their reality cannot be denied indefinitely. Eventually these feelings will erupt and surge into the streets. Shame and humiliation can justify revenge and violence as easily as they can validate demands for dignity and respect. For these emotions to be bent away from revenge and forced toward justice, great leadership is required. Looking around the Middle East, we do not see these leaders emerging. Perhaps they are there, only time will tell.
We are looking for leaders who hae endured shame and humiliation – Mandela is the example – but who have the force of character and strategic insight to rise above them. This is something more than moral nobility.
It is also political wisdom. When those who have been shamed and humiliated refuse to inflict it on others, we witness moral greatness, but we also create the foundation for a power that is based on justice
and will endure.
- Michael Ignatieff, Canadian politican and human rights advocate
Hmm. Too naive and optimistic. And possibly dangerous?
With this act, he transformed humiliation into politics. He ignited the Tunisian revolution, and the fire has spread across the Middle East. Emotions are facts in politics and their reality cannot be denied indefinitely. Eventually these feelings will erupt and surge into the streets. Shame and humiliation can justify revenge and violence as easily as they can validate demands for dignity and respect. For these emotions to be bent away from revenge and forced toward justice, great leadership is required. Looking around the Middle East, we do not see these leaders emerging. Perhaps they are there, only time will tell.
We are looking for leaders who hae endured shame and humiliation – Mandela is the example – but who have the force of character and strategic insight to rise above them. This is something more than moral nobility.
It is also political wisdom. When those who have been shamed and humiliated refuse to inflict it on others, we witness moral greatness, but we also create the foundation for a power that is based on justice
and will endure.
- Michael Ignatieff, Canadian politican and human rights advocate
Hmm. Too naive and optimistic. And possibly dangerous?
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