Might to Fight

"Anything worth having is worth fighting for."

I came across this quote recently and really liked it. It's so applicable to almost any problem or challenge we encounter as human beings. It's universally relevant, but it first requires you to determine what in life is worth having.

Now, the specific goals and material objects that meet this criteria are vastly different for everyone. But surely we can agree on a few foundational things: a family to love and be loved, good friends to share experiences with, a home to live in, food to eat, water to drink, clothes to wear, a quality education, a healthy and disease-free body, accessible and affordable healthcare, etc.

Everything else is just... nice to have.

Those are the basics. What have people decided is worth having lately? What have people been fighting for?

Freedom, Justice, and Democracy... in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen, etc. People are fighting.

A world free of HIV/AIDS, most of Africa and many other parts of the world are fighting.

Obesity, many American fight tirelessly everyday against this first world affliction.

School fees for their children. Many parents in Uganda are fighting.

People here know what is worth having. Some know how to fight, others don't. They know what they want (most of the time - money). Some have prepared and planned, others haven't. Others can't, the fight within them is destroyed, is hopeless, was never there, is broken, is weak, is ill-suited, ill-equipped, lost.

Most people will tell you what is worth having: money, some food, a new backpack, school books, a football, medicine, etc. But you won't find them asking you how they can fight for that which they value. For many of the above reasons. They feel their ability to fight has been compromised in some irreversible or unsalvageable way. They expect you to fight for them. That's what you're hear to do, isn't it? That's what all those others are here for, why not you?

It's not. It can't be. Because one of these days WE will have to go home. The struggle would continue, and those fighting it would leave.

We're hear to unlock that dormant fight within them. To awaken that hibernating potential. To erase those reasons responsible for the "dead fight" and to equip with the knowledge and tools to use in each individual's personal fight for (you name it).

The problem is most people aren't interested in knowledge and tools. They seek immediate gratification. Or they seek nothing at all. Or maybe they are interested, but not enough to do something about it. Or maybe they don't have a fight, a hope, a prayer. Sometimes those that don't have a fight are the ones that would benefit most from stepping into the ring.

There are, however, small and sudden moments when people do choose to make the fight, to begin the end of complacency. And though they may be few and far between, they make the rest of the struggle completely worth it. The problem is, I see the "dead fight" in almost everyone I meet nearly everyday I'm here. I see the want and desire in virtually everyone, but I don't see the willingness and motivation to fight.

I do see the fight in my students. Everyday. It's what keeps me sane. Thank God. They are my foundation of everything I do here. Without them, my purpose is aimless, worthless, lost. I see it when they ask an intelligent question in class. I see it when they come to my office to check out study materials. I see it when they ask me for chalk so they can write and review their notes on the chalkboard when there are no teachers in class. Or when they ask me for blank sheets of paper to rewrite and reorder their lecture notes. When they come to class everyday and are on time. When they submit their assignments and sit their exams, every time.

I see glimpses of it when one of my fellow teachers gets fired up about something. When they're talking politics. Or they're discussing some fantastic economic reform. Or commenting on why we can't manufacture chalkboard erasers in Uganda. Or why the school can't improve the staff room. The fire, however, soon burns out, and the passion is lost.

Because that's the thing about the fight here. Sometimes, in the minds of many, the fight just isn't worth, the fight. And if you've never fought before, how can you possibly be expected to perceive and envision the end benefit, that which will inspire and fuel your commitment to follow through, finish the fight. To many, this is the end result, and life goes on.

It's those that, despite adverse conditions, decide what it's worth, strap on the gloves, and fight for getting it that create the small miracles of progress. They reap the benefits and experience the revelatory feeling of having attained something truly unique through their own prowess. Something many people will never or cannot do.

It's time to get out the gloves.