ME,YOU AND THEY…..

 

                 More often we talk about equality, equity and egalitarianism. But allow me to ask; how equal is the world? Do all of us reason and conduct ourselves the same way? Are we endowed in equal measure? These are some of the questions that kept knocking my mind when I read of a government minister who went abroad shopping. Then as a matter of entitlement, he decided to purchase a short-sleeved shirt worth several hundreds of dollars.Then came a picture of villagers wallowing in poverty, kids eking a living in the streets due to poverty, grandmas reduced to play the roles of breadwinners for  their  grandkids…..Some of us will argue that it was within his mind to purchase as he wanted. But   what lessons can we draw from this incident?.....Lets  look at humanity and personality..

               Allow me to quote this age-old African philosophy; our existence and successes are tied to existence and successes of others. Humanity  is measured by how we take care of others in vulnerable conditions. Don't expect to see God coming down personally from His heavenly abode to uplift that poor and vulnerable human; he works through us. When we fail to uplift our own then we have failed God. This is wickedness! But as humans and the so called ‘educated’ we’ve sanitized this wickedness by calling it entitlement.No! This is NOT entitlement. This is selfishness. We only gain by giving out.

           Man is the only one to treat not only his actions but his very self as an object of reflection; this capacity distinguishes him from animals which are unable to separate themselves from their activity and thus unable to reflect upon it. This reflection enables us to ‘connect’ with our fellow humans in their needs and aspirations. The Swahili will call this phenomenon ‘utu’.This summarizes the understanding that we are co-workers with God. You are blessed not because you are entitled to it but because we ‘co-work’ and hence have a moral responsibility not to look down upon those who haven’t. Empower one and poverty will be a thing  of the past, only to be seen in museums. And we can do it.