Features
Dangers of passive permission and relaxing principles
Negativity yields no positive results
Continually there comes before us the question of tolerance. Men, after all, are individuals, and none thinks alike, otherwise we would find ourselves in hopeless friction and fighting without sincere tolerance to allow the give-and-take of living side by side with differing ideas and people.
There should be no tolerance for intolerance. However, there are some things that do not deserve tolerance. There should be no tolerance for corruption, no tolerance for lawlessness and no tolerance for tyranny. Instead we should look critically at the type of so-called tolerance that possess more of laziness and complacency than it does of honest open-mindedness.
If wouldn’t tolerate a vicious animal or dangerous epidemic why then should we tolerate influences which are dangerous to our morals and manners or to the principles on which freedom is founded? It is not only a privilege but it is our inescapable obligation to rise in righteous resentment and rigorous resistance when the law is being flaunted, when outlawed evils are invited in, or when reprehensible practices are passively permitted. Perhaps there have always been those who would flaunt and defraud; but when a society begins to look upon such things with cynical acceptance, when men begin to justify things that nobody should do on the assumption that everybody is doing them, then we have cause for concern.
It isn’t only the fact that an evil deed is done, bad as that may be, but the fact that it doesn’t meet more reaction, the fact that it is easily tolerated; that should be a serious concern. Diseases, germs and viruses are everywhere and will always make inroads where there is an opening. And the greatest danger comes perhaps not in the presence of the germs bad as that may be, but in the lowered resistance that permits them to enter in and do their damage without meeting effective antitoxins.
Basically, there are no new evils in the world, and age, society, or city, is without evil but the critical issue comes when evil is met with cynical acceptance or passive permission just as it is done with Galamsey.
Today there are some people in this country with a disposition that the means justifies the end, no matter how drastic or deceptive that may be. Superficially, and in isolated cases, this may sometimes be true, but it is never true where fundamental principles are compromised, where truth is ignored or where human rights are set aside. For those who would sacrifice human rights to achieve allegedly desirable ends, it should be known that “While they promise liberty, they, themselves are the servants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought into bondage.” II Peter 2:19.
In these perilous times we need to learn that two essentials for a good and effective life are flexibility and firmness; flexibility in some things and an absolute immovability in others.
Frequently, we hear that times have changed. Young people say it. Others do also. In some ways it is true. But it is a statement that can be seriously deceptive. Many things have changed, either for better or for worse. There is a new process, in packaging, promotion; travel, fashion; tools and techniques. Almost every outward aspect of life has changed, and those who attempt to do business as it was once done in the past would not likely stay long in business. The pace of life has changed. We live in a faster and different world, both a worse and better world, and in some ways we have to adjust to the times and be flexible enough to face realities.
The pace has changed; yes. But not the purpose or the principles. Let no one be deceived about flexibility as to fundamental principles. We cannot afford to be flexible in matters of honesty and land degradation. We cannot afford to be flexible in matters of virtue, old-fashioned as the word may seem. Flexibility must not mean setting aside considerate manners, sound morals, honourable obligations, or setting aside the commandments or tampering with the basic laws of life.
We must discriminate as to change and know when it is safe to be flexible and where we must be firmly fixed. To change the facing and the fashions is one thing, but to tamper with the foundations is another.
The age-old, God-given rules of honesty, morality, responsibility “commandments” if that’s what we want to call them, and even the inner voice called conscience, are still what they have always been, no matter how times have changed, how modern we feel or how flexible some things may seem.
God bless our homeland Ghana and make us wise to save it from ourselves.
Email: samueleghan@gmail.com
By Samuel Enos Eghan
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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