Sunday, December 12, 2010


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/11/world/europe/11nobel.html?bl=&pagewanted=all

This is an important article. It's rather lengthy, which means that I almost didn't read it, but I'm glad that I did.  It introduced me to the professor, writer, and activist named Liu Xiaobo. I'll admit; I didn't even know the name until Thorbjorn Jagland, the leader of the Norweigian Nobel Committee brought it to my attention. Liu has received this year's Nobel Peace Prize, for reasons that mimic those used when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was selected for the prize. Instead of celebrating this monumental achievement, however, Liu sits patiently in a jail cell, waiting for his 11 year sentence to come to an end. He's there for his role in aiding peace talks between students and authorities in Tienanmen Square and for calling for human rights reform in China. Plainly said, he's a political nuisance. And for that, he couldn't be present for the most prestigious day of his life.
From his cell, however, Liu has said that he still finds happiness in the slats of sunshine that peek into his windows; he keeps himself strong with the love of his wife.
Because he's a humanitarian, and humble, and an optimist, Liu has dedicated the Prize to the lives that were lost in Tienanmen Square.

My University is one that runs on competition, anxiety, and real fear of not being on top. I've seen people throw ethics to the side in order to get on top and stay there. It's so relieving to be reminded that there are still people on this planet who are willing to sit in prison, essentially give their lives, in order to maintain their morals and ethics. Long live the good people.

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