Margaret Mead and successful persistence

1. Veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas answered an innocuous question in a blatantly anti-semitic, anti-Israel manner [1]. Soon after, she resigned; and retired [2].

2. Yahoo displayed separate weather homepages for West and East Jerusalem [3], thus assigning the weather a gratuitously political significance. Soon after, it reverted to a single Jerusalem weather homepage [4].

3. CNN’s Senior Editor of Mideast Affairs Octavia Nasr publicly professed her respect for the recently dead Lebanese Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah – an extremist sheikh and the spiritual father of Hizbollah [5]. Soon after, CNN sacked Nasr [6].

4. British Ambassador to Lebanon Frances Guy blogged her adultation for Fadlallah, on the official Foreign Office blog [7]. Soon after, Guy replaced the said blog post by one professing trenchant contrition [8].

5. The Daily Telegraph used a January 2009 photo to illustrate a story about mid June 2010 Gaza. Soon after, it replaced it with a recent photo [9].

Margaret Mead (1901-78) (pictured) was an America cultural anthropologist [10]. She was responsible for several memorable quotations [11, 12]. Perhaps the most famous one is ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has’. How true. When the odds appear overwhelming, a few people acting persistently to change what they believe is unjust and wrong, can achieve the seemingly unachievable.

Never, never, never, never give up

After six days away, on Monday I returned to a hill of work. Not a mountain let alone an alp, but a daunting pile nonetheless. So much so that yesterday morning I had trouble getting out of bed to face it. But I did. All through yesterday I persevered – because I knew that if I didn’t, the hill wouldn’t get flatter. By evening, I’m pleased to report, it was almost gone. It’s amazing what you can achieve when, though not in the mood, you’re determinedly persistent [1].

That’s enough about me. But continuing on about persistence, I publicly pay tribute to darling Kate and Brendon. Last Thursday marked nine years since they moved to Daylesford – equipped with lots of dreams and not much knowledge. What they’ve achieved over the subsequent nine years is astounding. But don’t take my word for it – for I’m unashamedly biased – read what the Weekly Times says [2]. Despite my Farmdoc moniker, I’m not a real farmer. Because I earn my living from doctoring. But I know enough about farming to tell you, with conviction, that farming’s a Murphy’s Law enterprise if ever there was one. Self evidently persistence’s paying off for Daylesford Organics. Happy birthday to that ‘amazing little farm punching well above its weight’ [3]. Long may you prosper. I am so proud of you.