We are part of something bigger than we can imagine. Our role today is a tiny part of a truly enormous picture we cannot begin to conceive. In that picture we all have a role to play, from the smallest and most lowly serf, to the grandest prince. Our future as a species relies on each of us fulfilling that role, however humble. In this picture we are all equal. To fail to see this is to be blind and most monumentally ignorant.
To have a free Mandela, we needed a student demonstrator failing their course in a London college. To have a young entrepreneur we needed a Bill Gates creating a windows system. To see the beauty of the dawn across the mountains from my office, we need a window cleaner.
There's a few things that are very unusual about the video above. First off, it's performed by the Soweto Gospel Choir. They a choir made up of primarily of Zulu members. Hence the wonderful voices... Except they are not singing in Zulu. They are singing in Swahili, the third largest language on earth - didn't know that did you. Swahili is an ancient trading language incorporating African, Arabic and Indian words and originates throughout the east african, middle eastern trade routes. The words are more poignant still, being The Lords Prayer, a christian incantation. So we have a European African, and Asian infusion right there. On top of that it's the theme from a computer game - an amazing one - designed by Sid Meier (Jewish connection) developed in the US and Canada. The music was composed by Christopher Tin (Chinese: 田志仁) - an American composer of Chinese descent whose work is primarily classical, with a world music influence. He was educated at Oxford. OK - this is about as multicultural an exercise as you are likely to find. I love it.
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