Ignorance is the root of many evils

Ignorance is the root of many evils
By Editor
Saturday August 02, 2008 [04:00]

ONLY people who are known for their honesty, ability, dedication, and concern for the welfare of all deserve to be leaders. We agree with outgoing British High Commissioner to Zambia Alistair Harrison's observation that honesty in public leadership is one of the most important attributes that Zambians should look for in leaders.

We need honest leaders, because consistently practiced political honesty is a road that leads a human being's mind and will to do good, to avoid vices and abuses, to hate corruption; for if someone said that all roads led to Rome, today it can be stated that all roads of honest thinking and actions lead to a more just, fair and humane society.

And as High Commissioner Harrison has correctly observed, Zambia has done well in the fight against corruption because there has been a high degree of honesty in President Levy Mwanawasa's leadership. With an honest leadership, regardless of its deficiencies and inadequacies, a lot can still be achieved.

Levy has not necessarily been a highly-talented or skilled politician and his knowledge of economic matters is not something one can boast about. And his management style could be said to be just average. But still, he has been able to achieve more because of his honesty.

And because he has been honest, Levy has not pretended to know what he doesn’t know. This being the case, he has been able to use the knowledge and experience of other citizens more effectively.

We should appreciate that it’s not genius, nor glory which truly reflects the human soul - it is honesty. Of course, a deep sense of identification with the downtrodden, the ability to hear their cry, an acute awareness of the realities of poverty, a personal anguish at the suffering of fellow human beings also matters a lot in a leader.

Selfishness, greed and vanity lead to corruption. And corruption can easily destroy a country. Corruption is destructive and can lead a country to self-destruction.

We can destroy our country through corruption. And if that happens, we should blame no one but ourselves. We can destroy our country if we are not capable of fighting and stopping corruption. We can destroy this nation if we are not ready to put an end to many vices - a great deal of theft, a great many diversions of funds.

And that's why there is need for a total change of attitude towards corruption and abuse in our country. We must change yet again, because we have had very difficult times - inequalities have been created, injustices. We must change that without committing the slightest abuse. And eradicating corruption is a perfectly achievable goal because no one was born corrupt, no one was born a thief, no one was born crooked. These are attitudes and habits we pick up or acquire along the way. And as such, we can all change for the better.

There should be greater and greater participation and we should be a nation with a holistic, unified general culture - being cultured is the only way to avoid corruption and to be free. Without culture, dignity and freedom are impossible.

We say this because how can a person live in this world without a holistic general culture? The world could not be saved.

That is why we also have strong reservations, strong criticism of neo-liberal globalisation, a system that causes people to go hungry. Living in self-delusion, in lies, sowing egotism, creating consumerism - what for? So that people can reach this condition, when they haven't even been able so far to guarantee their survival.

We still have to show whether we are capable of surviving. Since we are optimists, we do have hope that this world will survive, because we see it react, we see that humankind, despite its errors and its millennia of history - several millennia, three or four - in one century has multiplied its knowledge. But many aspects of that progress have served to sow poison, served to transmit false ideas, transmit erroneous information.

We try to analyse where we made progress and where there were setbacks, where we fell into routine and where we fell into the habit of copying. A few qualities like the habit of not copying, trusting in the country itself. One country is not better than another, one people is not better than another - they all have their national, cultural characteristics.

One sees that in Europe the Finns, the Hungarians - people who speak languages that are really, really hard to learn - are all coming together; the Germans, the Italians and all the rest, a continent that was at war with itself for 500 years.

Well, they should be congratulated, despite our sometimes critical opinions, for the degree of unity they have achieved. And we must say that it will be to the benefit of the entire world if they are successful. Now then, we have to see how it goes, because the problems, in this period of neo-liberal globalisation are very complex.

But we shouldn't forget that ignorance is the root of many evils we face today and have to endure. Knowledge must be the fundamental ally of nations that aspire, despite all their tragedies and problems, to become truly emancipated, to build a more just, fair, humane and better world.

We have no sensible alternative, but to continue fighting corruption wherever it rears its ugly head. It is not possible for us - in this poor country of ours - to build a more just, fair and humane society when public resources are being stolen, squandered or abused.

Therefore, honesty should be emphasised in all that we do. Honesty is a virtue that should be inculcated in all our people and in all our leaders. The spirit of honesty must be inculcated in all our young people at school, at church and indeed in the family.

Virtue must be nourished but vice springs up spontaneously like weeds and grows by itself. We bear that in mind. If we do otherwise, we are simultaneously paving the way for vice. That's a reality we mustn't lose sight of.