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.
Don't be afraid to take time to learn. It's good to work for other people. I worked for others for 20 years. They paid me to learn.
Mathematics consists in proving the most obvious thing in the least obvious way.
If you don't feel safe as a child, you can't learn.
When the average child is now spending nearly eight hours a day in front of some kind of screen, many of their opinions and preferences are being shaped by the marketing campaigns you all create. And thatβs where the problem comes in.. ... And Iβm here today with one simple request - and that is to do even more and move even faster to market responsibly to our kids.
But with the library, it's like catnip, I suppose: you begin to run in circles because there's so much to look at and read.
We shouldn't be profiting from our students who are drowning in debt while giving a great deal to the banks. That's just wrong.
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