‘SONGS OF FREEDOM’: When Defiance Triumphs Over Doubt

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“Only if they knew that I am a seed, yeah . . .” — Livingstone Etse Satekla, Ghanaian musician

Mankind’s greatest accomplishments have almost always sprung from a common source: one indomitable spirit rising beyond a thousand doubt[er]s.

Thomas Edison?

He was deemed unteachable.

Walt Disney?

They said he lacked imagination.

Steve Jobs?

Dismissed as a bad businessman.

Jack Ma?

Neither Harvard nor KFC thought much of him when he applied to both.

Tales abound of famous, history-altering creators who hit a brick wall — some more than once — only to overcome those early constraints with a fierce, ultimately triumphant resolve. Imagine, for a moment, just how different — and how worse, arguably — the world would have been without the existence of the electric bulb, Mickey Mouse & Co., the iPhone, and Alibaba!

Therein lies the lesson, captured so vividly by Agora Awards 2019 winner Michael Aboya: a thousand hands might seek to restrain your desire for self-expression, and a thousand voices may even attempt to drown your tune.

But remain defiant and determined. Continue to play, press, and pray. Someday, when it all comes together and you’re in full flow, the hands that sought to hold you back would be lifted in support, and the skeptical voices would sing along in solidarity.

To the naysayers, though, why wait till then?

“Won’t you help to sing these songs of freedom?”

NY Frimpong — Daily Mail GH