The self-interest pursuant of human beings sometimes goes against conventional wisdom. People engage themselves in serious criminal activities just to satisfy personal goal fulfilments.
Why should men transport contra-ban substances such as drugs through international borders knowing full well the repercussions lying ahead?
People join the military, with full knowledge that they might be killed in war situations. The balancing act of men across time reveals that, we innately do things with our self-interest in mind at all times. Sometimes personal sacrifices get the wider exposure. (Some Gambians join foreign armies for resident papers and the pay not for freedom or democracy, gambling on serving unharmed until the end of service contract)
Why do people vote for political party A as against B?
Why do politicians go on campaign trails, disseminating the party’s messages?
Why do political parties make promises to electorates and claim that, they will do more for the people than rivals?
The answers aren’t that complex to underpin, however elements of partisan prejudice will continue playing a part in complex political narratives.
Politicians aren’t saints, they hope and wish, just like we all do. The promises that all politicians advance is a way to capture the individualistic/collective self-interest of voters.
In short appealing to our expectations (good roads, health care, schools, jobs etc). Obama’s one word slogans bear testimony to this fact: Hope! Change! Hope for what? And Change for who?
The careers of scores of British politicians went in smoke due to claiming expenses more than legally allowed. This are MP’s who work hard for their electorates, yet the self-interest aspect overpowered them.
Both former Prime Minister Blair and President Bush are enjoying lucrative lecture and private invitation due to the name they attain as politicians.
Why should men be willing to die for others? Is your live less valuable than others? Soldiers are told to obey orders even if it meant shooting a human being. Why should people leave their faith in the hand of another?
For those of us who believe in God and a day of reckoning, killing a person unjustly is a sin which cannot be forgiven.
Dictators don’t go out and about killing people. They recruit ordinary men and women to do the evil act for them. They employ killers; these killers are protected by a sophisticated machinery of civil servants. Sometimes people help dictators without realising it. Many good men/women are helping Yahya Jammeh for instance by covering up for him, brushing up his image, diplomatically working hard to make him look good. Why? Self-interest.
However, the Islamic standpoint is that, not everyone who dies in the cause of good is a martyr. People can die for far complex reason other than for God. Hence we cannot just ordinarily know the real reason people do the things they do. Some of our predicaments are by accidents, unexpected.
The politician in question should be patient and avoid trying mind control Gambians. Some may have allowed themselves to be captivated, giving up their minds unquestionably, that is not the norm, it is a misnorma.
Therefore, let him put to rest the talk of sacrificing for the people. The people should be the judge of that. Self-serving politics is unattractive and self-defeating. Condecending at best!!!!
“Hide your good deeds like you hide your bad deeds” (Abu Uwais) then only God will reward you. However politics is a profession were such is not the case. Everything must be put under the media glares.
Yahya Jammeh came upon us with the claims that politicians are lairs, dogs, evil etc. Yet he is the biggest of them today. His self-interest pursuing has resulted in him curtailing the rights and freedom of Gambians. He has created a nasty entity of the NIA, Green boys and made the civil service his personal slave enterprise.
Gambians are willing to kill for him, torture for him, fabricate evidence for him, harass for him, spy for him, lie, blindly follow him and many other filthy human characteristic are done for Yahya Jammeh, why? Some now even looks at him like a God. People wish to enhance their self-interest through Yahya’s favours.
Gambians who decline to get involve in attacking and exposing Yahya in the open are equally guarding their self-interest. Think about strolling round Bakau beach, taking pictures of Westfield, Kairaba Avenue. Visiting the hot spots and enjoying the delicious local foods. Why should you spoil that for anyone?
Yahya has destroyed his legacy and sadly maybe his relationship with his maker. No amount of charity absolves a tyrant. It is because of the quest to see freedom and prosperity in our country people risk their privileges in exposing Yahya. However, at the bottom it all, it is our self-interest to see a free and better Gambia for all. And for that we are willing to die, a noble cause by all standards.
Sunday, 28 February 2010
THE CONTENDERS part 3
Don’t tell us about the beast
His abomination and vanity
Polluting sacrileges
Undeniable absorption capacity
Mafioso espionage
Ludicrous
Latitudinal practises
Murder instinct and greed immeasurable
Contenders
The simpletons aren’t stupid
Selfishness and lack of hope
Allow men to be infected with
Foul incense
Don’t you under estimate the simpletons
It is no rocket science
Establishing who is destroying the little
Paradise
Who’s the chief architect in the dog e dog
Watch me and i watch you fall
The Contenders
All you are saying
Or will be saying
Have all been said before
The search for real people
With D-plan
A master plan worth our attention
Call it a plot
Ridding the landscape of thorns
Habitual for all
Making hope lives
His abomination and vanity
Polluting sacrileges
Undeniable absorption capacity
Mafioso espionage
Ludicrous
Latitudinal practises
Murder instinct and greed immeasurable
Contenders
The simpletons aren’t stupid
Selfishness and lack of hope
Allow men to be infected with
Foul incense
Don’t you under estimate the simpletons
It is no rocket science
Establishing who is destroying the little
Paradise
Who’s the chief architect in the dog e dog
Watch me and i watch you fall
The Contenders
All you are saying
Or will be saying
Have all been said before
The search for real people
With D-plan
A master plan worth our attention
Call it a plot
Ridding the landscape of thorns
Habitual for all
Making hope lives
Monday, 22 February 2010
A concern Christain reacts to my article: Ultimate Sacrifice
The writer is calling him/herself as Gambiano--- A real name would have been better.
This is the query:
Suntou,
Below is my comment to you peice. Let's practice tolerance.
A quick comment on Suntou Bolonba Touray's column December 2009 in The Gambia Journal:- The Ultimate Sacrifice: Eidul Adha: Man or Animal.
Touray wrote "Also we as Muslims don’t believe that, God sacrifice his own Son for the sin of others to come. Sin even lay people like myself can tell is ever increasing, therefore God sacrificing his only Son for us make little sense".
Bolonba look up the word FAITH. Profess what you believe and NOT what you don't believe when it comes to religion. Because the same way you said it makes little sense to Muslims that God sacrifices his only Son is the same way it makes less sense to Non-Muslims that Mohammed is a prophet and the Quran is the word of God.
If you live in a glasshouse don't throw stones.
Policing Intolerance.
Prisoner of Tolerance.
A. Gambiano
Here is my first response to him/her:
Thanks for your observation Gambiano. Unfortunately you are rather late in the day in terms of religious discourse. Every religion has things which cannot be reconcile with others, thus the difference in belief systems. And to make intellectual comparisons is the bedrock of comparative religion.
I understand from your mail that you are a Christian, if so, I have been exposed to the faith from early childhood in Sierra Leon a country i was born in. I have a lot of respect for the faith and its followers, however, I felt that the difference we have should be shared if the need arises.
I have listened to many Christian talk shows on radio making emphasis on why Christians don't sacrifice animals and Muslims do, it is from such exposure that i did the article explaining the Islamic point of view.
If you see that as an attack on Christianity, then you need to read my piece again and see the deeper conversation i put across. It is a known fact that, Muslims love Jesus (Isa) the Son of Mary and the Qur'an devoted a whole Chapter to the birth and live of Jesus and his Mother plus the disciples. Hence we as Muslims don't disrespect Jesus as some Christians on their part do to Muhammad. Faith is about mutual tolerance and respect, I am very tolerant to different faith groups, I even have books on religion such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, many books on Christianity and the new secular dogmatic believes.
However, I remain a Muslim and once in a while, I do comparative writings on religious subjects. If you follow religious literature's actively, Gambiano you will notice that every day there are countless materials written by Christians against Islam. In fact, the majority of websites attacking Islam are mostly run by Christians. As a Muslim, my central believe is that, there is no need for negative religious propagation, whoever is guided will receive the correct understanding of Islam and may by God's grace embrace the faith, this is why Muslims hardly depict Christianity with negative propaganda materials like Christians do to Islam.
I hope you understand the brief response here, we cannot all be the same in the ways we think and believe.
Suntou Bolonba Touray
The writer reacts again with the following remarks: The writer call him/herself as 'the prisoner of tolerance':
Suntou,
I am solely an agent of tolerance and I rather be late in this discourse than never.
I have many Christian friends that respect Islam, and sadly in some cases more so than the so called Muslims. As you mentioned there are countless materials written by Christians against Muslims or the negative depiction of Muslims by Christians. Equally, I can refer you to many sites on the internet , books and materials that will be quite the contrary. More telling, I sit in the circles of Muslims and their portrait of Christians is not good either. So if you are tolerant, negative propaganda should not be the measure stick for your discourse. Remember we all live in glasshouses.
I do not mean to go back and forth on this topic. My point is we need to be mindful of what we pen. Thanks for being tolerant and I hope you we can be crusaders of tolerance.
Prisoner of Tolerance,
Gambiano
My final response to his reactions:
Gambiano, many take the tolerance moral high ground but actual don't have a shred of it. If you value your opinion and wish to practice tolerance, then you should be comfortable with the views of others. By attempting to play smart and silence me is a Cristal clear demonstration of intolerance. Be comfortable of who you are and then allow others to express their opinions. Counter them if need be, but you cannot hoodwink me in anyway or form.
By the way, use your real name so that i can respect your opinion. Thanks anyway, and good bye.
I don't live in a glass house, and by the way, throw as much stone as possible. Islam is not my property, it is a religion i believed in, hence i don't get offended because somebody write or say things i don't like against the religion. I counter other people's views when i see fit to further intellectual and open discussions.
Suntou
This is the query:
Suntou,
Below is my comment to you peice. Let's practice tolerance.
A quick comment on Suntou Bolonba Touray's column December 2009 in The Gambia Journal:- The Ultimate Sacrifice: Eidul Adha: Man or Animal.
Touray wrote "Also we as Muslims don’t believe that, God sacrifice his own Son for the sin of others to come. Sin even lay people like myself can tell is ever increasing, therefore God sacrificing his only Son for us make little sense".
Bolonba look up the word FAITH. Profess what you believe and NOT what you don't believe when it comes to religion. Because the same way you said it makes little sense to Muslims that God sacrifices his only Son is the same way it makes less sense to Non-Muslims that Mohammed is a prophet and the Quran is the word of God.
If you live in a glasshouse don't throw stones.
Policing Intolerance.
Prisoner of Tolerance.
A. Gambiano
Here is my first response to him/her:
Thanks for your observation Gambiano. Unfortunately you are rather late in the day in terms of religious discourse. Every religion has things which cannot be reconcile with others, thus the difference in belief systems. And to make intellectual comparisons is the bedrock of comparative religion.
I understand from your mail that you are a Christian, if so, I have been exposed to the faith from early childhood in Sierra Leon a country i was born in. I have a lot of respect for the faith and its followers, however, I felt that the difference we have should be shared if the need arises.
I have listened to many Christian talk shows on radio making emphasis on why Christians don't sacrifice animals and Muslims do, it is from such exposure that i did the article explaining the Islamic point of view.
If you see that as an attack on Christianity, then you need to read my piece again and see the deeper conversation i put across. It is a known fact that, Muslims love Jesus (Isa) the Son of Mary and the Qur'an devoted a whole Chapter to the birth and live of Jesus and his Mother plus the disciples. Hence we as Muslims don't disrespect Jesus as some Christians on their part do to Muhammad. Faith is about mutual tolerance and respect, I am very tolerant to different faith groups, I even have books on religion such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, many books on Christianity and the new secular dogmatic believes.
However, I remain a Muslim and once in a while, I do comparative writings on religious subjects. If you follow religious literature's actively, Gambiano you will notice that every day there are countless materials written by Christians against Islam. In fact, the majority of websites attacking Islam are mostly run by Christians. As a Muslim, my central believe is that, there is no need for negative religious propagation, whoever is guided will receive the correct understanding of Islam and may by God's grace embrace the faith, this is why Muslims hardly depict Christianity with negative propaganda materials like Christians do to Islam.
I hope you understand the brief response here, we cannot all be the same in the ways we think and believe.
Suntou Bolonba Touray
The writer reacts again with the following remarks: The writer call him/herself as 'the prisoner of tolerance':
Suntou,
I am solely an agent of tolerance and I rather be late in this discourse than never.
I have many Christian friends that respect Islam, and sadly in some cases more so than the so called Muslims. As you mentioned there are countless materials written by Christians against Muslims or the negative depiction of Muslims by Christians. Equally, I can refer you to many sites on the internet , books and materials that will be quite the contrary. More telling, I sit in the circles of Muslims and their portrait of Christians is not good either. So if you are tolerant, negative propaganda should not be the measure stick for your discourse. Remember we all live in glasshouses.
I do not mean to go back and forth on this topic. My point is we need to be mindful of what we pen. Thanks for being tolerant and I hope you we can be crusaders of tolerance.
Prisoner of Tolerance,
Gambiano
My final response to his reactions:
Gambiano, many take the tolerance moral high ground but actual don't have a shred of it. If you value your opinion and wish to practice tolerance, then you should be comfortable with the views of others. By attempting to play smart and silence me is a Cristal clear demonstration of intolerance. Be comfortable of who you are and then allow others to express their opinions. Counter them if need be, but you cannot hoodwink me in anyway or form.
By the way, use your real name so that i can respect your opinion. Thanks anyway, and good bye.
I don't live in a glass house, and by the way, throw as much stone as possible. Islam is not my property, it is a religion i believed in, hence i don't get offended because somebody write or say things i don't like against the religion. I counter other people's views when i see fit to further intellectual and open discussions.
Suntou
Saturday, 20 February 2010
A discussion with Kankaba Sahko, griout super star
I am runing an interview with Kankaba Sahko at her residence in Paris. Our dialogue will be featuring the classic Mandingo song known in Badibu, Kiang, Jarra, Kombo, Janjabureh, URR and many parts of Cassamance.
The song is Domori woo mman naa domorila, tenkulu wayan.
Here is a link to Kankaba singing the song: The material is nearly ready, but the interview will come later. Enjoy culture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWzQcByQ1Wo
Another Kankaba Song is feature below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqZwPnmeBaY
The song is Domori woo mman naa domorila, tenkulu wayan.
Here is a link to Kankaba singing the song: The material is nearly ready, but the interview will come later. Enjoy culture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWzQcByQ1Wo
Another Kankaba Song is feature below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqZwPnmeBaY
Alhamdulilah ( I thank Allah for everything)
Our creator the Almighty is worth all our thanks and remembrance. I thanks Allah for making many things easy for me. I pray that Allah keep us steadfast and sincere in our actions and deeds.
"patient is at the first instance" (Prophet Muhammad) This statements means that, when we get into difficulty or disappointment at a loss of things we love or hold dear, we should be patient from get go not after saying all sorts and then claim that we are patient.
"patient is at the first instance" (Prophet Muhammad) This statements means that, when we get into difficulty or disappointment at a loss of things we love or hold dear, we should be patient from get go not after saying all sorts and then claim that we are patient.
A FALSE MYRIAD: THE MAKING OF A CAREER POLITICIAN
By Suntou Touray
A Gambian politician claims that he entered politics some twenty years ago seeking only to sacrifice for the country’s poor masses.
By all conventional standards, the obvious conclusion one is oblige to make is that, politicians wish to represent a chosen constituency and to advocate for the enhancement of the electorates. However, in the case of this politician, this known fact doesn’t apply. He portrays himself as the gentle warrior of self-sacrificing Gambians who abandon personal fulfilment at the expense of educating and enlightening the illiterate masses.
The self-sacrificing went as far as holding back personal pleasure and the natural order of fulfilling a matrimonial relationship. Hence he created a mystical legacy that none is able to match so far as demonstrating his willingness to break grounds for the Gambia is concern. A man who is in his early fifty’s, living at times of modernity and all it goes with is seen by his fans as a politician without an equal in many dimension.
His fan base although very narrow, borders on committed indoctrinated elements who after time find it impossible to disassociate themselves from his political errors and short comings. To them, his life alone is enough testimony of a genuine politician who should not be subjected to our scrutiny let alone criticism. An undemocratic notion by all measure, but a necessary evil they would argue.
The facts of life which if apply to him or each and anyone of us, the simple logic of conventional wisdom will break the facade modelled. A master propagandist per excellence, a man who shines light on his every political action, never missed exposing a single significant pre-plan advantageous manoeuvre. In essence all that he has been doing is playing with the emotion and conscience of a young democratic nation.
Self-interest application: (self-interest is the strongest motive of all. A gesture of self-sacrifice: A show that you suffer as those around you do, will make people identify with you, even if your suffering is symbolic or minor and theirs is real. R-Green)
Starting from Priest, Imams, Parents, teachers, lecturers, Journalist, PhD holders, Master degree holders, etc. All categories of us do things because of our self-interest. This could in short be in two fold. For a person who believes in religion and a day of reckoning, the reward expected is either of his life or the hereafter.
Young Gambians today travel thousands of miles to get good education, work and so on because they wish to have a happy and good live. People work hard to get a doctorate degree, masters etc in order to be competitively advantageous over peers, why?
Religious men/women also don’t escape this dogma. Whatever sacrifices they do, either for charity, out of goodness etc is based on the hope of rewarded- by God or fellow men.
Politicians:
What about when a politician who spends half his live soliciting for votes through conventional methods regularly takes the moral high ground of anchoring on self-sacrifice?
Whether one is a socialist, Capitalist, communist, right/left wing, centre right/left etc, the aim is one-- to lead or be in-charge of a powerful political position. Can a politician be wholly altruistic? Not taking credit for anything, you don’t wallow in your reputation and name and so on. Is that possible?
Well, for the politician in question, he never missed taking credit for his actions, neither does he missed inventing politicised slogans for the media or public. This person also operates on the public front than any politician we know. His actions are always out in the open, yet the claims of self-sacrificing dominate his every conversations.
Barack Obama for instance, started his career as a charity social worker. He then went on to his law profession, becoming a senator and finally a president. Did he do the social work purely for the poor or to later in life fulfil an ambition of career in politics? Only he can tell, but if he tries to bombard readers with his altruistic sacrificial social work, many will be wary of him.
This politician on the contrary has a stable income from media business, appearing in conferences, a stint in parliament and the reward of travelling abroad to get paid.
Is he right in reminding us that we should be grateful to him for his sacrifices and support his political doctrines rather than snub him?
Personally I don’t think any politician acts totally for the public good alone. It is a career path; they get advantages associated with the job. Hence they shouldn’t remind us about the sacrifices they engaged in. Doing that only expose the fact that, the deed is not genuinely done for the public good, but rather for recognition, name, respect, power and being in the public eye regularly. That is a satisfaction for some, and may be the politician in question. He needs to remain in the realms of what is humanly possible, enough of outlandish claims.
A Gambian politician claims that he entered politics some twenty years ago seeking only to sacrifice for the country’s poor masses.
By all conventional standards, the obvious conclusion one is oblige to make is that, politicians wish to represent a chosen constituency and to advocate for the enhancement of the electorates. However, in the case of this politician, this known fact doesn’t apply. He portrays himself as the gentle warrior of self-sacrificing Gambians who abandon personal fulfilment at the expense of educating and enlightening the illiterate masses.
The self-sacrificing went as far as holding back personal pleasure and the natural order of fulfilling a matrimonial relationship. Hence he created a mystical legacy that none is able to match so far as demonstrating his willingness to break grounds for the Gambia is concern. A man who is in his early fifty’s, living at times of modernity and all it goes with is seen by his fans as a politician without an equal in many dimension.
His fan base although very narrow, borders on committed indoctrinated elements who after time find it impossible to disassociate themselves from his political errors and short comings. To them, his life alone is enough testimony of a genuine politician who should not be subjected to our scrutiny let alone criticism. An undemocratic notion by all measure, but a necessary evil they would argue.
The facts of life which if apply to him or each and anyone of us, the simple logic of conventional wisdom will break the facade modelled. A master propagandist per excellence, a man who shines light on his every political action, never missed exposing a single significant pre-plan advantageous manoeuvre. In essence all that he has been doing is playing with the emotion and conscience of a young democratic nation.
Self-interest application: (self-interest is the strongest motive of all. A gesture of self-sacrifice: A show that you suffer as those around you do, will make people identify with you, even if your suffering is symbolic or minor and theirs is real. R-Green)
Starting from Priest, Imams, Parents, teachers, lecturers, Journalist, PhD holders, Master degree holders, etc. All categories of us do things because of our self-interest. This could in short be in two fold. For a person who believes in religion and a day of reckoning, the reward expected is either of his life or the hereafter.
Young Gambians today travel thousands of miles to get good education, work and so on because they wish to have a happy and good live. People work hard to get a doctorate degree, masters etc in order to be competitively advantageous over peers, why?
Religious men/women also don’t escape this dogma. Whatever sacrifices they do, either for charity, out of goodness etc is based on the hope of rewarded- by God or fellow men.
Politicians:
What about when a politician who spends half his live soliciting for votes through conventional methods regularly takes the moral high ground of anchoring on self-sacrifice?
Whether one is a socialist, Capitalist, communist, right/left wing, centre right/left etc, the aim is one-- to lead or be in-charge of a powerful political position. Can a politician be wholly altruistic? Not taking credit for anything, you don’t wallow in your reputation and name and so on. Is that possible?
Well, for the politician in question, he never missed taking credit for his actions, neither does he missed inventing politicised slogans for the media or public. This person also operates on the public front than any politician we know. His actions are always out in the open, yet the claims of self-sacrificing dominate his every conversations.
Barack Obama for instance, started his career as a charity social worker. He then went on to his law profession, becoming a senator and finally a president. Did he do the social work purely for the poor or to later in life fulfil an ambition of career in politics? Only he can tell, but if he tries to bombard readers with his altruistic sacrificial social work, many will be wary of him.
This politician on the contrary has a stable income from media business, appearing in conferences, a stint in parliament and the reward of travelling abroad to get paid.
Is he right in reminding us that we should be grateful to him for his sacrifices and support his political doctrines rather than snub him?
Personally I don’t think any politician acts totally for the public good alone. It is a career path; they get advantages associated with the job. Hence they shouldn’t remind us about the sacrifices they engaged in. Doing that only expose the fact that, the deed is not genuinely done for the public good, but rather for recognition, name, respect, power and being in the public eye regularly. That is a satisfaction for some, and may be the politician in question. He needs to remain in the realms of what is humanly possible, enough of outlandish claims.
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
THE CONTENDERS part 2
Shall push through the
Reform agendas
They shall motivate you
They shall persuade your frustration
They shall try to include you
In the conversation and lonely
Parapets
‘We the people’
‘For our country’
‘In our poverty’
‘The living cost is dire’
‘I wish to be one of the people’
The songs will pound on and on
With ingenious sound bites
Looping and sneering
Creating value by monking!!!
False celibacy with real people
Yet ‘i will be one with you’
And now you are away from them
Watch the Gambia watch
Read the Gambia read
A case of tongue in cheek
Latched against the unsuspecting minds
Praise me, damned if not
Haven’t you read about the dragon spitfires?
You evil, hypocrite, vain, vicious, dumb,
tribalist, sad, ignorant, buffoonery, you, you ...
The contenders or their advocates
Twist the finger inward
There lies all the grand deceptions
Reform agendas
They shall motivate you
They shall persuade your frustration
They shall try to include you
In the conversation and lonely
Parapets
‘We the people’
‘For our country’
‘In our poverty’
‘The living cost is dire’
‘I wish to be one of the people’
The songs will pound on and on
With ingenious sound bites
Looping and sneering
Creating value by monking!!!
False celibacy with real people
Yet ‘i will be one with you’
And now you are away from them
Watch the Gambia watch
Read the Gambia read
A case of tongue in cheek
Latched against the unsuspecting minds
Praise me, damned if not
Haven’t you read about the dragon spitfires?
You evil, hypocrite, vain, vicious, dumb,
tribalist, sad, ignorant, buffoonery, you, you ...
The contenders or their advocates
Twist the finger inward
There lies all the grand deceptions
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)