#george michael
George Michael: Freedom Uncut (trailer)
George Michael, 1984.
“So, you haven’t heard my new song yet…?”
2016 has been a shit year for all of us. We’ve lost important role models in David Bowie, Prince, Alan Rickman, Muhammad Ali, George Michael, Carrie Fisher and many more. There’s been the atrocities in Aleppo and the 5000 refugees fleeing conflict who have drowned in the Mediterranean. There’s been the uncertainty of democracy across the world. There’s been geo-political shock with Brexit and Donald Trump as well as the sure rise of far-right politics. There are escalating tensions between a multitude of nations, with each action only succeeding in making the uncertainty worse.
If there’s one thing we can take away from 2016, it’s that we cannot stand still, we cannot stay silent. Don’t just sit by and see what you value in this society be taken away one by one. Stand up, speak out, scream it if people refuse to listen to you.
The role models we’ve lost this year knew the importance of making their minds known, their values heard and as a result they succeeded in making this society a better place, a safer place for a lot of us. They’ve left us at a point when we need them more than ever. Instead of shrugging and letting things pass without protest, we must take up their mantle. We must protest in the streets, we must write to our politicians and tell them our concerns, we must continue to fight the constant onslaught of hate and fear that has exploded across the planet.
In the memory of David Bowie, of Prince, of Alan Rickman, of Muhammad Ali, of George Michael, of Carrie Fisher, in the dead of Aleppo, in those who were trampled, shot, beaten for fighting for their values, their morals. In memory of humanity, we all must begin to work, to fight for what we believe in. Do not let our voices be silenced. Do not let our actions passed unnoticed.
Let us be the role models for the next generation. Let us fight for a better world, a world of peace and acceptance, of love and friendship.
For such a world to happen, we have to fight for it, not traditional war with guns and violence. But a war where the weapons are words, where the weapons are kind actions. Every little good deed sends ripples, every little protest adds to the whole. Let’s all do our bit. Let’s fight for a world that we all believe in.
