By Moleke Mo-Njie (Simon Mol)
Paper presented at the World Forum of Ciphermatics (Tolerance in the third millennium: The other, time, difference, Villa San Carlo Borromeo, Senago, Milan: 10th-12th June 2005)
Justice is irreproachable moral balance; — an essential lacking constituent in day. It is simply what you and I need. Justice in our today’s world epitomises a captured beautiful, cultured and shy mistress who is under totalitarian custody. Her captor allows her, at his whims and caprices, to be seen by the public only occasionally and partially. Whenever he does allow her to be seen, he does so for the purpose of coaxing the masses in order to galvanise more support to his advantage.
A party in power dictates the constitution of a nation, which eventually becomes law and sets the course for meting out justice. Where true Justice reigns, Responsibility is supposed to reign as well. Power should be a shadow of Justice and not an end in itself. Responsibility should reflect Tolerance. Above all, Justice is the measuring rod that shows just how civilised we are. Yet it is seldom allowed to prevail. And like the captured mistress, Justice remains the most tormented virtue in the catalogue of human philosophies. In the most perverted state of perplexity man questions divine justice and God’s role in creation. Though this isn’t a didactic dissertation, still one can’t help pondering over these things.
The media made the world standstill before and after the death of Pope John Paul II. An event that preceded the passing of the Pope, and which had a similar impact was the Tsunami. That was world media at its very best. Since man’s knowledge and reaction to events are both influenced by information flow, the media is the medium that can change the world for better or worse. As a journalist, I speak from experience. Alas the ethics of the profession are time and again desecrated without remorse.
Cultivating tolerance in this millennium is not going to be helped by the publication of what could be described as hate articles, or spreading news with an aim of maintaining in place century-old divides. While it is evident that science and technology are gaining ground, social philosophies seem to be stuck on the spot.
There are those who are skeptical about the term ‘Tolerance’, which they view as a mark of the ‘snobbish’. If there is lack of a better embodied and pragmatic philosophy to contain ‘empathy’, let’s have ‘Tolerance’ then. But in accepting this we should evaluate what comes with it. Above all, it should be held in mind that ‘The powerful are largely those in a better position to be tolerant towards the less affluent’.
I come from Cameroon, an African Nation that boasts close to 300 ethnic groups. In spite of this huge number of tribes for just about 15 million inhabitants, the tribes live in relative harmony. The secret of this unusual coexistence is Respect for those who are ‘different’ from us and focusing on those ‘things’ that unite, even if they are fewer’, rather than on those that highlight differences. The people of Cameroon seek unity in diversity. Interestingly, the relative political unrest in Cameroon is based more on the fallout of colonialism than on any homebred mix-ups.
We should emulate Nature who tolerates us as we go on plundering and raping the surface of its belly. However, we shouldn’t try Its patience as It has proven time and again that It is so powerful that It can use even our ‘smart inventions’ to smack us with lethal consequences. A recent example of Nature’s wrath in motion was the Tsunami. Though many would wave this aside as a figment of imagination, it could be said that Tsunami had a metaphysical dimension to it. A recall of such a colossal cataclysm, in spite of its fearsome reality, should serve as a cathartic subject of contemplation in trying to avoid historical faux pas, both man-made and otherwise.
The skill and wisdom possessed by past civilisations in coaxing Nature into revealing Its secrets to them is admittedly astounding. This was better displayed in the field of Environmental Protection, where they tapped just enough resources to carry on fairly and daily, without leaving disastrous trails that poisoned the future.
Tolerance should stretch beyond human relationships. It should bring into its fold the Environment that sustains us, as well as animals. Above all, our definition of Tolerance should embrace cultural diversity and make room for Respect towards others. For this to be possible we would need to chew and swallow right information. And though such knowledge belongs to us by right, we still have to convince Time to give it back to us, because, as a result of excessive indulgence in greed we have wrongly traded our inheritance to invading foreign entities from outer spheres, for a few morsels of well-packaged and misleading solutions in the quest of quenching our ephemeral desires. As a teenager did put it to me recently in my dream; Whenever I get what I really wanted, I am left struggling with the disturbing feeling that I made the wrong choice.
Put in the right perspective and made a priority, Tolerance, wedded to Respect, will assure the liberation of the captured, cultured and beautiful shy mistress whose beauty has the valour of healing historical blunders. Otherwise, since truth is such that it cannot be suppressed for ever, the earlier the captured mistress is liberated the better for her captor, because, what is perceived as her shyness, is indeed Divine Justice taking Its time to impose Its indomitable will. Or look at it this way; who can brag of the ability to cheat Nature? While in custody, our ‘Shy mistress’ who has Nature on her side, waits patiently for her emerging wings to grow. Once they have come of age, she will, at a time of her choosing, fly herself to freedom. The prize of her liberation, achieved by personal effort, is so colossal that it cannot be calculated in human terms. And so we are faced with two options; liberate her while time is on our side, or leave her to liberate herself, and face the consequences of her wrath.
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