I am Spartacus...

Last Sunday, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar started... it has probably been the most politicized sports event in my lifetime.

I do remember people and the media criticising other events such as the Beijing Olympics in 2008 (summer games) and 2022 (winter games). I also do remember some form of criticism of the 2018 World Cup in Russia... but none of this comes close to the criticism we read about the World Cup in Qatar.

This criticism is partly due to the more and more evident corruption within FIFA, the politics of the Qatari government, and various political movements happening around the world incl. my home country of Iran.

This article will not be about politics e.g. whether it was right to hand the World Cup to Qatar or not. The article will be about how we as responsible and vocal members of societies can and maybe even should act.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948. (Source: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights )

Today almost exactly 74 years later, there are?192 member states of the UN, all of whom have signed on in agreement with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Initially, eight countries - among them Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the Soviet block - had abstained from their vote.

Article 3 of the UDHR states: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. Especially right now, but all throughout human history including the 74 years since the Declaration was proclaimed, we have seen violations of this and other articles in various countries.

What can we do about these violations? It would be easy to put ourselves in a victim position and ask politicians to deal with these violations. Don't get me wrong, politicians have to deal with these violations. It is their job to do this... they have been elected specifically for this and they are getting paid for it.

But as responsible and vocal members of societies - especially in the Western world - I believe it is our duty to also take action. To stand up and articulate whenever we see something wrong being done. To vote with our wallets and with our attention.

Each of us has a different platform... some can do more and some can do less, but everyone can do something.

Values are what we do not what we say

The doing is important... not the talking! We have seen this very clearly during this World Cup. Eight European countries (Germany, England, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Wales, France, and Denmark) had stated that they will wear the #OneLove armband intended to send a message of tolerance, connection and opposition to all forms of discrimination.

Being threatened by FIFA with a yellow card, they decided to not wear the armband. Really? It only takes a yellow card to give up on the values that they talked about so often? This is what the press and the general public have been asking the players...

I believe this is based on a wrong definition of values. Values are not what we say, values are what we do... especially what we do when it gets tough.

Values are what we stand up for when we face opposition. Values are what are willing to fight and be punished for - in extreme cases things we are willing to die for. Values are things that we value!

If the threat of a yellow card is enough for us to not act on values we talk about, it is a clear sign that those things are not of any value to us... or at least they are of less value than money, fame, peace of mind, etc.

Could the European teams have acted differently? Of course! They could have played with the armband accepting the yellow card. They could have become creative and changed the color of their hair matching the colors of the armband. They could have threatened FIFA to not play at all... Imagine the threat of these eight countries dropping out. Who do you think would have lost that fight FIFA or the European countries?

I am Spartacus

Now, you might be wondering why I selected the title of "I am Spartacus" for this week's article. When I was a kid, I used to watch a lot of movies with my dad. One of his favorite movies was Spartacus played by Kirk Douglas.

The movie is about a group of slaves - lead by Spartacus - that fights for the right to life, liberty and security of person - basically Article 3 of the UDHR.

They manage to win many battles against the Roman army, free many slaves, and through that grow their movement. But ultimately, they lose their last battle... the Roman empire wins.

One of the last scenes of the movie shows the General of the Roman army asking the slaves to identify Spartacus and promises them their lives will be spared. Here is the scene: https://youtu.be/FKCmyiljKo0 .

Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) stands up to say that he is Spartacus as he wants his friends, his followers, the people he feels responsible for to live. But before he can turn himself in, his closest friend Antoninus (Tony Curtis) stands up and says: "I am Spartacus".

Suddenly, one slave after another stands up and says "I am Spartacus". All of them willing to die to protect their tribe and their leader. All of them acting based on their values of camaraderie, love, and sacrifice.

Most of us won't lose our lives when we stand up to fight against injustice. Most of us won't even lose our jobs if we stand up and speak up. Most of us have way less to lose than we think and way more power than we believe.

We have to move from talking to acting... otherwise we are as spineless as the millionaire football players who, threatened by a yellow card decide to be silenced. They pretend they are victims instead of taking ownership for their own decisions and actions.

Let's not be like these players... let's be better. Let's create the real life stories that our kids will remember decades from now. Let's build a culture of courage, leadership, and service. We can all be Spartacus!