I. Introduction

A. Definition of sun setting

Sun setting refers to a planned discontinuation of a service or product, which is gradual and non-intrusive to other parties. In this article, sun setting refers to the idea of discontinuing the celebration of independence day.

The purpose of this post is to spark a conversation about the relevance and impact of independence day in modern times. While the celebration of independence used to symbolize freedom and the rejection of colonization, over the years, the country has become more dependent on the world and the celebration may be doing more harm than good. The post will examine the historical context of independence day, the shift in its relevance, politicians using history as a tool, costs and ego, and the need to move past the blame culture. The conclusion will reflect on the current state of the country and call for a greater future.

II. Historical Context of Independence Day

A. Gain of independence from Britain

Independence Day marks the country’s liberation from British rule in 1948. This event occurred at a time when Britain was focused on World War 2 and its aftermath. In the background, many other countries were also gaining independence from their colonizers.

B. Celebration of freedom and rejection of colonization

The celebration of independence was initially about rejecting colonization, control, and celebrating freedom. It was a symbol of the country’s determination to chart its own path and stand on its own two feet. Over the years, the celebration has been used to commemorate the country’s fight for independence and to remind its citizens of the sacrifices made by their forefathers. The celebration has been an occasion for the country to come together, reflect on its history, and renew its commitment to freedom and independence.

III. The Shift in Relevance

A. Dependence on the world

Over the past 75+ years, the country has become more dependent on the world than ever before. Despite the initial celebration of freedom and independence, the country is now more interdependent with the global community. This shift raises questions about the relevance of independence day and its celebration in modern times.

B. Does the celebration do more harm than good?

As the country continues to evolve, some argue that the celebration of independence day may be doing more harm than good. The constant reminder of the country’s past struggles and dependence on foreign powers may perpetuate a culture of blame and a focus on the past rather than the present and future. Additionally, the celebration of independence day can be costly, both financially and in terms of the country’s ego. These costs and the impact on the country’s sense of independence raise questions about the relevance and value of the celebration in modern times.

IV. Importance of Shifting from Independence to Interdependence

A. Moving past blame culture

Shifting from independence to interdependence is important in order to move past a culture of blame and procrastination. By focusing on the present and future, the country can work towards a greater future, free from the shackles of the past.

B. Building a greater future

Interdependence allows the country to build a greater future, one that is not limited by the constraints of independence. By embracing interdependence, the country can work with other nations and communities to build a better future for all. Interdependence encourages collaboration and cooperation, which can lead to a more prosperous and harmonious future.

C. Embracing the global community

Interdependence also means embracing the global community, recognizing that the country is part of a larger network of nations and communities. By working together, the country can leverage its strengths and resources to achieve greater outcomes for its citizens and the global community. In this way, interdependence represents a step forward for the country, one that is not limited by the constraints of independence but instead, is open to the opportunities of the world.

V. Politicians Using History as a Tool

A. Nationalization and division

Politicians often use historical events, such as independence day, as a tool to nationalize people and divide and conquer. By emphasizing the country’s past struggles and independence, politicians can create a sense of national pride and unity. However, this can also be used to divide the population by emphasizing differences and perpetuating blame culture.

B. Manipulating the population

Politicians can use the celebration of independence day and the emphasis on the country’s history to manipulate the population. By presenting a skewed version of history, politicians can control the narrative and shape public opinion to suit their own interests. This can lead to a distorted view of the country’s history and the perpetuation of myths and misinformation.

C. The danger of a single narrative

The danger of politicians using history as a tool is that it creates a single, dominant narrative that may not reflect the diverse experiences and perspectives of the country’s citizens. This can lead to a distorted view of the country’s history and the marginalization of certain groups and perspectives. By presenting a single, dominant narrative, politicians can control the population and shape public opinion to suit their own interests.

VI. Moving Past the Blame Culture

A. Complain Culture

A complain culture is one where people are more focused on criticizing and pointing out problems than finding solutions. This culture undermines progress and can lead to stagnation. Moving past the blame culture requires breaking out of this complain culture and instead focusing on finding solutions.

B. Procrastination

Procrastination is another aspect of the blame culture that can hinder progress. By blaming past events for present struggles, people may feel a sense of hopelessness and may not take action. Moving past the blame culture requires breaking out of this cycle of procrastination and taking action to make positive change.

C. Focus on Fixing Problems

Moving past the blame culture requires a focus on fixing problems, not just complaining about them. This means taking concrete steps to address the challenges facing the country, and working together to find solutions. By focusing on fixing problems, the country can move forward and build a brighter future for all its citizens.

VII. Planning the Sunset of Independence Day

A. Resistance to the Idea

It’s understandable that there might be resistance to the idea of sunsetting Independence Day. People may have a strong emotional connection to the celebration and view it as a crucial part of their national identity. However, it’s important to consider the long-term benefits of moving past this outdated tradition.

B. Gradual Decline

To minimize resistance and make the transition as smooth as possible, the sunsetting of Independence Day could be gradual, with a target year of 2100. This would allow for a slow and steady decline of the celebration, rather than a sudden discontinuation.

C. Cost-saving Measure

Sunsetting Independence Day can also be seen as a cost-saving measure. The costs associated with the celebration, such as parades and fireworks, can be significant and redirecting these resources towards more pressing issues can have a greater impact on the country.

D. Reduction of Nationalist Rhetoric

Finally, sunsetting Independence Day can also help to reduce nationalist rhetoric. The celebration can sometimes lead to a divisive and exclusive national identity, but sunsetting it can promote a more inclusive and cooperative sense of national identity. By moving past the celebration of independence, the country can focus on building a more interdependent future.

The worst feeling is when you’re given the taste of freedom, then have it ripped away, like learning to play a piano then having your fingers cut for playing

This is the reality in Afghanistan in the coming months. They struck when the nations were at their weakest, the Americans coming out of COVID 19 and worst democratic failure in their history since the civil war. The UN too strained by COVID other struggling nations. They struck when people were too invested in taking care of their own before thinking of anyone else

Some would say that’s strategic, but I’m not trying to win sympathy for Afghanistan, I’m saying this can happen anywhere including right here. Sri Lanka today has not gone into a lock down even when death is at the highest toll since this pandemic began, we now have the 4th highest death rate per capita.

It shows that we too are vulnerable for a hostile takeover be it the LTTE, ISIS or BBS. Weren’t we told that our country is a breeding ground for terrorist training and recruitment. So I am asking everyone to stay home and stay safe. But also remember that our liberties, our freedoms are so fragile.

One day we are listening to our favorite Taylor Swift song or Milton Perera, next day we’re being burnt alive for being immoral under someone else law and judgement. We think it’s their reality but that will be ours if we are not careful, our freedom is our fight and it is always, always under attack

It was the 1996 World Cup!, oh bullshit!, not it was not. I don’t even like cricket. In fact I don’t like sports that much at all, ever since I was a kid I used to be a non sporty person, yeah at school we had a basketball team and I was part of it, but I was benched most of the time. Basically I was only there because they needed a reserve to participated in inter school tournaments.

I remember the only season we won, it was the time I participated in the tournament, once again benched but I still have a medal for some reason. A lot of people use come up to me and encourage me to do more sports. I would ask them why and there would be many reasons all of them which seems reasonable at face value

It builds character. builds stamina. build team working and social skills. Helps you cope wins and losses. Oh but here’s the thing…. All of the above has an umbrella term for it, sportsmanship. Sports build sportsmanship. But I’ve never seen it, no seriously, I have never witness sportsmanship in my whole life.

When you look at sports on an international level, you can see the underlying politics and the drama like with FIFA or the ICC. When you look national teams pretty much the same. and when you look at the suburban, urban teams and rural teams, apart from a few friendly matches. most would end up in some sort of fight a relentless need to win, not mention imported teams and rule bending.

So I have walk upon the earth for 28 years and not witnessed a great sports moment. It changed however when I was at an RCL Meeting.

A little back story, it’s the year 2021, we live in a post apocalyptic world, normally that’s intro to every horror/zombie movie, but not this time. The COVID 19 Pandemic spreading out through out the world. Sri Lanka already had two waves, but we were finally coming out of it again, but disaster was boiling up with the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year.

So RCL it stands for the Rotaract Champions League, yearly held sports event that gets Rotaractors excited, participating and active. Pretty much a 1000 people sign up for and participate for it. Now I went into help the committee organize for RCL, I showed up at Ahamed’s house with flavored essences like a crazy aunt and started making tea, and the occasional ice cream. I also contributed to people’s OCD by drawing numbers on bibs, only to have them redraw it.

While they pain painstakingly packed, repacked and verified every tag, every band, every number. The utmost dedication by everyone in the team, and the team was big, almost the entire district steering committee showed up during the full day during the weekends and weekdays in the evenings.

The last person to leave each day normally left around 12/1 in the night. It was hard work with a lot of passion. This year we had shifted the focus of RCL from a club to club competitive concept to a house to house concept to increase the cohesion with the clubs, with more fellowship among the clubs, and it distributed the so called ‘high performance’ clubs with the so called ‘average clubs’, which means now they would work as a team to win.

So we are now four days away from the event, and we start to notice a pattern of increasing COVID 19 cases, rumors of new variants in Sri Lanka. No matter, we were ready to push on no matter what, because that’s the game right, the game is to keep playing. Except it wasn’t. So just three days before the event, the team had gathered at the Friend in Need Society. Everyone is planning for the big announcement in the evening which is the toss, and the draw for the events.

During the course of the day we saw the COVID Cases go up and the Rumors being confirmed one by one, by the end of the day just over 45 minutes before the big meeting, we have a group call. After much deliberation and consideration we come to a conclusion we are going to cancel RCL this year. There was silence after Kasun uttered those words, I had an ADRR Visit with KDU, I postponed it because I knew where I had to be. I had to be with them.

When I came, Kasun was making the announcement to the rest of the clubs, letting them know, it was an emotional moment, but to me it was a different feeling entirely. all those years of never seeing a true act of sportsmanship, and suddenly I am witnessing one in the making. The team had fought for this, worked hard for this, considered everything for this moment and when presented with the loss/worse scenario accepted the loss with grace. So the greatest act of sportsmanship to me was this moment.

I think that moment set the tone and beacon for all future sports directors for RCL, it showed what decision need to be made and why, after the announcement the team shared their emotions but ultimately everyone agreed it was the right call, we did a bit of post announcement logistics, including a few venue cancellations.

The team ended the night with a dinner outing, because a loss is just a moment in life full of fleeting moments, and there were other battles to be won and other moments to look forward to.