Silo’s words at the First Annual Celebration of Silo’s Message
Punta de Vacas, Argentina May 4th, 2004

Dear Friends.

We have failed… but we keep insisting!

We have failed but keep insisting with our project of humanizing the world.

We have failed and we will continue to fail not just once but a thousand times again, because we ride on the wings of a bird named Intent, that soars above frustration, weakness and pettiness.

The force that gives life to our flight is faith in our destiny, it is faith in the justice of our action, it is faith in ourselves, it is faith in the human being. 

Because this is not the end of History, nor the end of ideas, nor the end of mankind; neither is it the definitive triumph of wickedness and manipulation. And for this reason we can always continue on in our attempt to change things and to change ourselves.

This is the intent worth living because it is the continuation of the best aspirations of the good people who came before us.  It is the intent worth living because it is the precursor of future generations who will transform the world.

Two great souls who struggled against discrimination and injustice accompany our gathering.  Inspirational guides of non-violence: Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, who both knew failure but never slackened in their intent.  Today they are very much present in our minds and in our hearts.

In this unfortunate world where force and injustice reign over the countryside and the cities, how are they thinking of ending the violence?

Perhaps they think they are an inspiring example for new generations when they rant against the world in the guise of a video game; when they threaten like the worst kind of bully; and when finally they send their children to invade, to kill, and to die in distant lands.  This is not a good path, nor is it a good example.

Perhaps they think that returning to the primitive practice of the death penalty will set a great social example.

Perhaps they think that by increasingly penalizing the crimes committed by children,  crime will disappear… or the children will disappear!

Perhaps they believe that by applying  “iron fist” tactics on the streets, the streets will become safe.

Certainly these problems exist and are today multiplying, but peace will not result from a violent approach to violence.

Peace will not be achieved from a zoological vision of life that promotes the struggle for survival, the struggle for the domination by the fittest. That myth will not work. Peace will not come about by manipulating words nor by censuring genuine protests against all abuses and all atrocities perpetrated against the human being. At this point I will be careful not to mention “human rights” because these have also been emptied of content and falsified in their meaning.  Nowadays, defenseless populations are bombed so that their human rights may be protected…

Peace will not be achieved from that zoological vision of life that encourages a social order based on reward and punishment, transferring animal domestication to the honorable citizen who begins to be trained in mistrust, accusation and the marketing of affection.

“Something needs to be done,” is what you hear everywhere. Very well then, I will tell you  what must be done, but nothing will come of it because no one will listen.

I say that at the international level, all who are invading territories of others should withdraw immediately and comply with the resolutions and recommendations of the United Nations.

I say that at the internal level of each nation, an effort must be made to make law and justice function, as imperfect as they may be, before making laws tougher and enacting repressive measures that play into the very hands of those who now obstruct law and justice. 

I say that at the domestic level people should practice what they preach and leave behind the hypocritical rhetoric that poisons the new generations.

I say that at the personal level each person should strive to make their thoughts coincide with their feelings and their actions, shaping a coherent life and thus escaping from the contradiction that generates violence.

But nothing of what is said will be listened to. Nonetheless, events themselves will succeed in making the invaders retreat; will cause the tough guys to be repudiated by the people, who will demand the simple observance of the law; will result in children rejecting the hypocrisy of their parents; and cause each person to reproach the contradiction that they generate in themselves and in those around them.

We are at the end of a dark period in history and nothing will ever be the same as before.  Little by little, the dawning of a new day will come. Cultures will begin to understand one another; the peoples will experience a growing yearning for progress for all, understanding that progress for the few ends up being progress for no one. Yes, there will be peace, and out of necessity it will be understood that the outline of a universal human nation is taking shape.

In the meantime we, the unheard, will work from today on, all over the world, to put pressure on the decision makers, to disseminate the ideals of peace based on the methodology of non-violence so as to prepare the way for the new times. 

Yes, it is worthwhile that this Message and that this Universal Humanism gain strength. It is worthwhile for young people to swell the ranks of this Moral Force as a variant of History… so that this current becomes unstoppable and its murmur heard in all the languages of the Earth. Then the new generations will begin to teach the adults with new affection and new understanding.

Finally, my friends, I want to share with all of you this profound certainty that says: “The Sacred is within us and nothing bad can happen in this profound search for the 
Un-nameable.” I believe that something very good will happen when human beings find the Meaning, so many times lost and so many times found again in the twists and turns of History.

Friends, I would like this Message of the Profound to be heard. It is not a strident Message, it is a quiet message that cannot be heard when one tries to trap it. 

Friends, I would like to transmit the certainty of immortality. But, how could what is mortal generate something immortal?  Perhaps we should rather ask ourselves, how it is possible for the immortal to generate the illusion of mortality.

How good it is to be here and together considering the present and the future. How good it is that at this moment thousands of friends in different latitudes are witnessing this gathering.  On the other hand, these words reach very far and we no longer need to seek out of the way places in order to express ourselves without giving offense. Therefore, it becomes necessary to apologize to those who might have felt attacked by our words. Words which have not been intended to be taken personally, but rather refer to specific situations and historical moments.

As our words die away into the calm, our looks take their place…

Our looks find one another and are deeply understood. 

We greet all of you, from heart to heart.

Silo.