Quoting Common Sense

The following quotation is from “The Challenge for Africa”, written by Wangari Maathai. It is dedicated “To All the Peoples of Africa”, and is a book full of common sense. The blurb reads:

“In this urgent yet optimistic new work, Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai provides a unique perspective on the fate of Africa. Informed by her three decades as an environmental activist and campaigner for democracy, The Challenge for Africa celebrates the enduring potential of the human spirit, and reminds us that change is always possible.”

There is such motivation, hope, strength, and tireless commitment in that book. The following quote is just a small example:

”Africa has been on her knees for too long, whether during the dehumanizing slave trade, under the colonial yoke, begging for aid from the international community, paying now-illegitimate debts, or praying for miracles. At both the top and the bottom, all Africans must change the mind-set that affects many colonized peoples everywhere. They must believe in themselves again; that they are capable of clearing their own path and forging their own identity; that they have a right to be governed with justice, accountability, and transparency; that they can honor and practice their cultures and make them relevant to today’s needs; and that they no longer need to be indebted – financially, intellectually, and spiritually – to those who one governed them. They must rise up and walk.”

-Wangari Maathai,

Peace