Mortality

I see that Chinua Achebe has died.  Achebe was a Nigerian novelist, whose best known book was Things Fall Apart.  (It's main character, Okonkwo is unforgettable and comes to mind more often than one might suspect.)  The novel is a masterful work, noteworthy for both its style and its message.  I've had numerous students read it and, surprise, like it.

Over the years, he led a fight (living here in the US) for democracy in Nigeria.  He had experienced dictatorship, a harsh brutal one, and a terrible war in Biafra.  He constantly opposed the Nigerian government and its authoritarian brutalities.  And, he not only walked the walk, he talked the talk.  On more than one occasion, if I recall correctly, he turned down honors and awards from that government he opposed.  How easy it would have been for him to swallow his principles and accept the honors from the government of his homeland.  On second thought, maybe it wasn't so easy....

That's why I would love to see, just love to see it, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient refuse to accept the prize, citing how the Peace Prize has recently been given to far too many people who don't deserve it.  Wouldn't that be great!?!?!?  Of course, that would take some courage--esp in forfeiting the monetary grant.

And, another AC classmate has died.  I didn't know him well (but with an enrollment of 1200 at the time, it was hard not to know everyone, if only a little bit, at Amherst), but worked occasionally with him in the dining hall.  Another classmate's comment has struck home with me.  "Just a few years ago, we were sharing the sad news of the passing of our parents.  Now, it is we who are passing."  Isn't that sobering?

It seems more and more folks I know are being diagnosed with cancer or some other dreaded diseases.  That, too, is sobering.  I'm not too worried yet, though.  My work here isn't done.  When I explained this to a former student several years ago, he remarked, "Then you can't die."  So, I have that going for me......