Introspection

Usually, we become disengaged whenever we are being counseled against our moral wrongs, oversights, and weaknesses. So we say: you know what, live and let live, judge not, each to his own; even to the sincerest of reminders. And the one reminding us is seen as smugly moralistic. We are so blind yet so confident that we have all the time to live rowdy and wild, and as if our longevity is assured, myself included.

Suddenly tragedy happens, especially one involving loss of souls that we were so closed to. Then we want to re-assess our living, become a lot more religious, out of fear than faith, more like. My type will start to contemplate marriage, at least to have children to be remembered with, you know... anyways, may Allah's mercy be with the beautiful lady that just passed, and with all departed souls. May He continue to guide us and not cause to die unprepared.

The slave...

In fact, Kunta Kinteh and the others weren't slaves per se, they were subjugated. A crime was committed against them and I don't think I care if anyone disagrees. According to me, a slave's innately slavish. A slave's that person who by his conduct is everything but a freeman, yet thinks he's acting on an unforced choice, simply because he has no shackles on him.

A slave's one whose devotion to another person is as if he's the property of that person; someone whose thoughts and life is subject to someone else's volition; someone who has absolutely no power of resistance, even when resistance is all what's required of him; someone who is ever ready to act on another man's services even against his own will, and against the wellbeing of the people he claims to love.

A freeman will respect his spiritual leader. He is demonstrative of his sense of duty to work and to the one he works for. He's reasonably dutiful to his elders and to honourable political figures, but he bows not to no slave master, because at the end of the day, he sees everyone as a human being. That's why the Rastaman is a freeman. Be free, man!

Growing up...and now.

Growing up, my crew wasn't a model of propriety, I know that. In fact, we almost never bowed to conventions of society, often berated and alienated for being so. But one honourable thing about us was that we remained an undivided entity; we had principles. Ours was a brotherhood founded on sincerity and trust. We rode, even where the ride was for a fall, without hesitation from anyone, because each was genuinely regardful of the other, leading to a greater sense of faith that each will always have the others' backs no matter what.

Today that I have grown into... this, all I see is the politics, ruthless schemes, expediency above principles, self above service, of professionals who can tell the difference between right and wrong yet act like they don't, who'd make calls against their consciences because they wouldn't want to jeopardise their personal ambitions, standing for causes that they don't even believe in, calling each other friends when times are good, only to fall out when things get difficult or problems crop up, y'know, faithlessness in the people that we expect to know/do better... but, perhaps it's normal; maybe it's just me that's not built for it.

Word!

Before you leap, look. Before you speak, think. Before you retort, overstand. Use context to construct meaning and don't just assume. Where the context isn’t as straightforward, ask for clarification. If the speaker means well, it shouldn’t hurt to clarify.

I am saying this because every now and then, our prejudices tend to goad us to misinterpret people’s remarks, and then we feel unreasonably offended, when in fact the problem was lack of overstanding. May we all be afforded the gift of grasping context. It’s important.

And another thing:  All who keep exciting consciousness of guilt in people, just to embarrass them, or to injure their dignity and self-confidence, and only to feel good about oneself, though under the guise of genuine criticism is a bully and oppressive.

Just thought I should say this...

It's not uncommon to have someone, some friend, partner, or family that you think you're stuck with, someone who seeking to uplift requires so much endurance, strength, and patience that I can only imagine.

I know, it can be so demanding if not annoying. But before you quit on this person, I'd ask myself: "what if I'm his or her only hope?" See, wouldn't you rather just hang in there and manifest some hope in humanity?

Random thought...

It’s not as unique to your area as it may seem. As a matter of fact, from New Zealand to Swaziland, from Langley, Virginia to Ecowas Avenue, The Gambia, and from Walmart on Georgia Avenue to J-mart Furniture & Carpets on Kairaba Avenue, anywhere you go, you’ll find self-serving snitches, volunteer rats, servile flatterers, and lowlifes willing to use people than their intelligence for advancement. Wherever you find them, this is what you do: DO NOTHING, because they’re already self-destructing - social suicide in the long run.

It's doesn't always have to be painful to be gainful...

In this our era that's characterised by the increasing importance and availability of information, especially by means of computers and the internet, except for the passionless, all who seek shall find, and as fast as unlike previously that you'd be caused to travel hundreds of kilometers to know. Today, you look up information for instance, within a minute you're there, with links suggesting further readings, and that's education for you: access to information.

But because the above seems fairly easy, some say it has no Barakah, because we're so addicted to hardship that acquisition of any kind has to be slavish to be perceived as beneficial. So an apprentice stays at one mastercraftsperson's, running errands and brewing Warga like no one's business, receiving all sorts of insults, and cannot complain because that mastercraftsperson went through the same or worse. How's that serving to educate or even progressive? But then even our cures, the believe is, if it doesn't hurt, it doesn't heal.

This was why once upon a time, you set out to acquire knowledge, say knowledge of Islam for instance, you'll be caused to trek the whole region before you can finish the 30 Ajiza of the Qur'an. After every Juz, your mentor will refer you to another guru. You finish that, you're sent further into the wilderness to learn the Hadith, then even further to learn Fiqh or some other course.

In all these places, your pursuit is coupled with servile obedience and hard labour, and because our gurus are that stingy with knowledge (reason why our graveyards are full of men with unshared knowledge). Now, before you're recognised as having completed the requirements of your studies, you're 35 but looking like 46 already. You come back, all the fine girls are married, and you'll be offered the community's reject, under the guise that a lady her physique is good omen. But why wasn't she taken?

Man will always be governed somehow...

But I think it's common knowledge that no society can operate ungoverned. Now whether your preferred system of government is called an emirate, a caliphate, a republic, a colony, a kingdom, an empire, or some 'cracy' ending noun, the superintendence of communal affairs must be trusted to the care of some system somehow, usually geographically relative, and all systems are corruptible.

So if your revolutionarity, anarchism, or your mental emancipation drive is all about labeling every society's power structure as corrupt, repressive, unjust, and all political systems as similar in evil as a 6 is to a 9, like I see many a contemporary radical change advocate do, you're advocating for a systemless, most probably a lawless society, and that'll be so absurd.

I have nothing against revolutionary mindedness. In fact, I admire catalysts for change, but really, if you're gonna try to change what is, you gotta offer more than just glorified hypothetical speculations - you know, not just charging all systems of owing allegiance to some foreign power, without solid reasons or facts, and suggesting very slippery utopian alternatives... that kinda radical mentality isn't as balanced either, if not more jaundiced in judgment than the standing mindsets that it seeks to change.

Salvation is God's...

They say where the owner of the house is bountiful, it is not for the steward to be mean. Y'all heard? It's not for any of us to see another servant as a soul of damnation.

God didn't sign any powersharing deal with anyone, at least not one that I'm aware of. Who's to be saved (from hell) is entirely His, so leave that to Him.

In fact, as bountiful and as merciful as He is, collective salvation may not be too far-fetched a desire if we can just wish each other well. I'm sure there's plenty of room in Heaven for all of us.

Fate...

Man proposes, God disposes: we (humans) can only will and invest our efforts to our wishes. But "except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." - Psalm 127:1...  Vybz Kartel knows that.

Ours is to make effort and then hope. It's the Lord who permits success. So when that which you seek isn't permitted yet, it's one of three: it's not the right time, you're not the right person for it, or the seeming rejection is in fact redirecting you to your true calling. Whether one accepts this or not, it's always for best reasons. The good Lord doesn't oppress.

Some fundraising is just fund firing...

And when you say these things, you’re said to be jealous, usually by those who mooch off such events, and those who take advantage of the free food and free entertainment therein, and perhaps the opportunity to take tons of photos in some high-class washroom to be uploaded on social media the next day.

Like seriously, today, while there are honourable ones, generating funds to support causes round here is not unlike robbing Peter to pay Paul, because Paul claims he wants to be of assistance to Peter. So illogical! But most politically and commercially motivated affairs are illogical anyway, and unfortunately on shaky ground - considering the frequency, our sickly economic situation, and the fact that majority of the target sponsors are public enterprises that are supposed to be austere with public spending under the circumstances.

So, any pen pusher can wake up one morning, pandiculates like: “Ooooahhh, what can I do today to be in the good books of these men in white Khaftan or grey suit? I get it! Let me make plans for some fundraising event, or perhaps launch something in honour of someone.” Before long, some promotional partner is identified, and an event is thought up, but only in imitation of one before, or the ones before that - zero novelty.

Next, some big business is identified as main sponsor, either to offset some of the cost or to foot it entirely, and it’s usually some megabyte-thieving GSM company, one that’s probably not had any salary increase for its staff in a long while. But even if fatigued, they have to do this because it’s a “corporate social responsibility.” Then the other sponsors are left to decide on the remaining class-discriminating options, depending on what they think they can afford.

Usually, it’s not even about what they can afford. Some invitations are such that they’re blackmailing. Like those under the “distinguished patronage” of some powerful man in Khaftan, and with grounds invented to lend legitimacy and authority to the event, and to cause spending officers to donate against their will, either because they fear not taking part, because it was a misleading obligation,  or out of guilt that sister enterprises are taking part. But just like problems, every nonsense has an expiry date.

Random thought...

You don't know Wuli Foday Kunda, you don't know how many Karantabas are in The Gambia, you don't know the village called Prince, you've never even traveled beyond the Brikama LGA. I bet you don't even know what that acronym stands for - I know, it's prolly none of your business. Yet you taunt another or call one daft or ignorant for not knowing where the Senegambia Strip is? Eh! Yowe waneh wulo; ana golo ka xasteh darr-darr?

Teams...

One of many things I love about the game of Basketball is that when we win, all stats count and are sung. My slam dunk, your free-throw, and someone else's field goal or three-points shot are as valued as any other team member's rebound, steal, block, turnover or assist.

One lesson that all teams, be it athletic or corporate should emulate, and to value supporting players and backstage crews just as they do the direct/visible contributors. It will help maintain morale at an all time high. They say if you want to build an enterprise, build the people and the people will build the enterprise.

Who's the hypocrite?

Before the beginning of the demise of intelligent civilisation, a hypocrite used to be the two-faced - one who feigns or claims to be more than is the case. Today apparently, and especially on here that some of us worship our feelings, I have observed that the hypocrite is anyone who refuses to conform to trendy desires just like that; more like being a hypocrite for not being a hypocrite.

Let me rephrase that:

Today, and often self-contradictorily, we tend to pervert the term hypocrite to describe anyone who refuses to ally him/herself with ours, or differs with us in opinion or belief. So if you're independent minded, or you often remark against what you deem oppressive, regardless of your relationship with the oppressor, you'll more than likely be called a hypocrite; so a badge of pride than of shame actually.

We all live natural...

If not for being self-pressured into society's artificially elevated expectations, people mostly like natural. So, it often takes a rude awakening to realise that the us that we hide is in fact more likable than the us that we pretend, because the us that we hide's truly us.

It is perhaps one reason why most of us may do formal, or engage in things associated with the upper classes just to evince class, but deep down, we all enjoy casual, because causal is simple, natural, factual, and is ralaxing. In fact, class that we tend to be uptight for is attitudinal not outwardly.

Gambia and the government blueprint...

"Blueprint"- the latest buzzword. My opinion: I'll rather a government that keeps me on a need-to-know, but gets things moving, keeps ticking right boxes, not trying to do everything at once, than to be romanced with speeches and promises not intended to be kept. I have had too much of those already: Poverty Re(pro)duction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), Vision 20-somethings that kept changing, the decelerated Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment (PAGE), the digitised oil on CD, and other acronyms unending.

Perhaps the reason why the “New Gambia” Government is yet to provide the highly craved blueprint is because they're trying to overstand why most of the neatly blueprinted schemes in the past didn't work, and to avoid a 'dankong-dorong' typa plan. If so and I hope so, that's fair enough. We don't want to start from bloom to gloom. Misdoing is tabling a national blueprint just to stop the public outcry, but without commitment; you know, one that'll just pass the time, and end up being just another false-hope-raising tired arse wish.

Choose you wars wisely...

Today that things and situations aren't as black and white, the most efficient way to lose a fight is to pull your shirt for one that hasn't reached you yet, or to join one without knowing the true motive nor the enemy.

But if you must be a proxy warrior for someone else or because some fight is trending, make sure you're not being conned. Make sure the alleged end is as gracious. If not, you'll end up so screwed, and be caused to cross so many lines that crossing back may not be as easy.

Plastic Rice...

No matter how logical or smart you think you’re with sensible reactions, anyone can fall for a fake news or hoax, especially when it affects your wellbeing. It’s neither naivety nor folly, it’s just human. And so the reason why some of us felt fairly stressed out about this whole plastic rice thingy.

Go ahead and claim ultra-intelligence, claim all the pseudo-expertise you want, and paint all of us as stupid or naive, but the truth about all human beings is that we are all emotional creatures; before we rationalise, we emotionalise things first, particularly where we are not experts.

So plastic rice may seem absurd, but given today’s level of evil and artificiality, and for want of details as to plastic density and all, you don’t just pass everything off as yet another outrageous theory and that’s it – especially when you read seemingly credible articles like this: Plastic Rice

Not all of us can have a path as swift...

I had an interesting conversation with one bigwig, about the bad joke that I thought some jobs are. He agreed, but then he shared his with me - how he came from America and grabbed his first job of planting trees for an agriculture department that was at the time afforesting a certain forest; kinda menial for an American degree holder. Fast forward today, if you see him, you'll think the angel, man and jinn are all conspiring to make him great.

You see, qualification regardless, not all of us can have a path as swift as those highly paid young urban professionals on Wallstreet. However, nothing lawful you do for a living, and like your future depends on it should be seen as an embarrassing use of your education. Inspired by his story, I came to terms with reality, and the fact that some will go against rocky times and odds before they could break out. But with hope and due diligence, anyone can climb up the social ladder and create a new identity for oneself. So keep pushing; by God, it shall be well.