Only those who dare to think, dare to ask! Tantum qui audent cogitare, audent rogare!
Only those who dare to ask, dare to think! Tantum illi, qui audent rogare, audent
cogitare!
To dare seek truth and reality. Audere
quaerere veritatem et rem.
Dare to ask and to
think for yourself. Aude petere
et cogitare pro te.
To dare ask and
think for yourself. Audere
petere et cogitare pro te.
Drudgery of
primeval me, here and now mentality; Me primaevae, hic et nunc mentis taedio
Only those who have
grasped the essence of “doing unto others as have them do unto you” truly
appreciate the critical importance of the law and upholding the rule of law.
Those who have failed to make this quantum leap, remain trapped in the drudgery
born of the primeval me, here and now mentality.
THE Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) has described the country's voter education as inadequate because some citizens are not aware of registration and voting processes.
ReplyDeleteDuring a Twitter space discussion yesterday, which was facilitated by the Centre for Innovation and Technology on electoral issues, ZESN regional officer Ndodana Ndlovu said there was need for formal voter education programmes because most citizens were misinformed and had no information pertaining to electoral issues.
In 2008 73% of the 5 million voters voted for MDC but the Zanu PF vote rigging machinery intervened before the results were announced and whittled down Tsvangirai’s vote to 47% to force a run-off. During the run-off the nation was subjected to some of the worst election violence in history. The blatant cheating and wanton violence should have been addressed by implementing the democratic reforms but as we all know not even one token reform was implemented.
It is therefore sickening to hear some people pontificating endless about voter education and yet say nothing about the elephant in the room – the blatant rigging and wanton violence! If you don’t want to talk about the real problems affecting real people, then please shut up and stop insulting us with your appeasement grovel.
By Owen Skae
ReplyDeleteAssociate Professor and Director of Rhodes Business School, Rhodes University
“We live in a world that romanticises crises. This gives rise to the false prophets, the smooth operators, the gangsters, and the demagogues who would have us believe that we need them to lead us through the crisis, to save us, to show us the way.”
These are the words of Elizabeth Samet, Professor of English at West Point Military Academy in the United States, who cautions against the pervasive tendency to conflate leadership and crisis.
John Adams (1735 – 1826), an American author, lawyer and the second President of the United States. All that time ago he cautioned against leaders who capitalise on difficult situations to have us believe that our destiny and salvation lies in their hands.
Adams wrote that the United States would not improve until people begin
to consider themselves as the fountain of power. They must be taught to reverence themselves, instead of adoring their servants, their generals, admirals, bishops, and statesmen.
The absence of self-reverence and self-leadership invites a worshipping of not only religious leaders and wartime or warmongering generals, presidents and electoral candidates, but, in the same vein, of so-called captains of industry and of the world’s wealthiest.
In a country like Zimbabwe, ruled by fear and ignorance, we have misleaders in all the various spheres of society and hardly any true leaders; certainly, far less than the 10% Andre van Heerden predicted. The trouble with countries like Zimbabwe is that the people are so naive and gullible – born out of fear and ignorance - we always place our leaders on such high pedestals they are demigods. Misleaders relish the worshiping and quickly become so big headed they not only believe they are infallible but behave accordingly demanding absolute power for themselves.
Good leaders are like crops, they demand love and attention and lots and lots of hard work. On the other hand bad leaders are like weeds, turn your back and they will take over. They are a pain to get rid of and readily seed, ready for the next generations!