HOW TO LOVE YOUR COUNTRY – PILATO

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Democracy is like a meal, you only show your love for it by partaking of it. Sometimes the meal looks so beautiful on the plate but if you just sit there and watch it, it will go bad with time. This can be said about democracy. It is a system that looks good on paper but if the public choose to be spectators and not partakers, this beautiful democracy dies with time. If the state chooses to stop the public from taking part in their own governance, democracy dies.

The past few months have been challenging for me personally and since my return, I have spent days interrogating my own convictions. I have been trying to make peace with ideas that provoke me to do the music I do. I have been confronted with ideas of choosing between an illusion of peace and the real peace.

From the first day of my arrest, I have battled with the thought of withdrawing from the type of music I do and be like everyone else. I have tried to make peace with ideas that provoke me into speaking against social ills. Should I only care for myself and my family? Should I stay quite even in the face of corruption like everyone else? What’s the best way to love my country? What’s my gift to humanity?

All things considered I have chosen real peace. I will sing another song and I will protest again. I have refused to celebrate corruption, I have refused to tolerate social injustices and I have refused to be at peace with evil. I remain a strong believer in social justice and equality. I believe that the wealth of my country does not just belong to the ruling class but to every citizen.

Democracy demands that we participate in our own governance. Democracy invites us all to join forces to partake of if before it dies. You don’t your love for your country by cheering those that rape it for their own pleasure. You don’t love your country by pretending everything is okay. You don’t show your love for your country by being romantic with those in power. How are you showing your love for your country?

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