Stories of the open road

By Pathum Punchihewa

We are told to remember the idea, not the man... because a man can fail, he can be caught; he can be killed buried and forgotten. But even 400 years later, his idea can change the world.

Remember remember, the fifth of november,
Gunpowder, treason and plot...
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason,
should ever be forgot...

Guy Fawkes belonged to a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Those secret plotters which consisted of Catholics who believed that the system is corrupt conspired to explode the houses of parliament. Unfortunately the plot was exposed and Guy Fawkes who was guarding the explosives beneath the basement was arrested. He was questioned, tortured and finally executed. This of course is part of history and Guy Fawkes has died and been forgotten as an individual but still those rhyming words stand for his idea, Remember, remember the fifth of November…

In our known history how many people died for the fulfillment of their ideas? Yes they die, but as free men and women. They have died defending the ‘idea’ that made them die, the idea that made them smirk in contempt at their moment of death.

It’s not just Guy Fawkes; we should remember how many heroes fought and died for freedom on our own soil? Can you remember mighty “Kappetipola”, Rev ‘Wariyapola Sumangala’ or ‘Butawe rate Rala’? They all sacrificed their lives for the very same reason, to defend an Idea. They knew that after countless torrents of bloodshed and volumes of wicked wars the true form of revolution was inbuilt in the idea itself.
“Beneath this mask there was more than flesh, beneath this mask there is an idea… and ideas are bulletproof!” You may definitely remember those words if you have seen ‘V for Vendetta’. The dystopian movie that portrays a mysterious anarchist that fought and died for the sake of giving hope for people against the corrupted system. And those words speak for the name of freedom and freedom of ideas which has always had a pure potential to lead mankind to its expectant utopia through revolutions.

Ideas cannot be touched. Ideas cannot be held. Ideas never bleed or ideas never feel pain. Ideas are devoid of emotion but ideas keep the revolution alive. And many men and women who sacrificed themselves for the sake of an idea they believed, are foundations of the new world that arises tomorrow. Fifth of November is a celebratory day for Britain but to us, the rest of the world It is just another day.

Today our country, our beloved mother land need something more than Slogans or patriotic speeches, more than political tricks and hidden agendas, more than reckless riots and foolish blindness. This country needs hope.

I will end the article in the way the movie ‘V for Vendetta’ ends. When you can give a real ‘hope’ for her my beloved mother land, when you can defend the idea of freedom there will be music played. And those rhymes will carry a different meaning. We are not talking about one year ‘let’s build a new country’ plan. We are not talking about the agenda for the next election. We are talking about a new hope, a new idea yet to be born, yet to be believed. And as always it is up to you.

Tomorrow is Fifth of November, the day Guy Fawkes died for his cause. We are not commemorating him tomorrow. But tomorrow, we can believe the fact that a single Idea can change the world!


Published on Youth Mirror - Daily Mirror (04th November 2010)