>From: Hamjatta Kanteh <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: What Makes And Breaks The Collective Spirit >Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 03:22:57 EDT > >In what was or must be the most unfailingly enlightening passage of his >Discourses, Machiavelli commented: "A multitude is strong while it holds >together, but so soon as each of those who compose it begins to think of his >own private danger, it becomes weak and contemptible." > >Indeed, time and again, we always run the risk of such private fears running >amok and causing the collective will to suffer. The single most important >contributory factor for breeding such private fears within the Opposition is >when some Opposition members collude with certain APRC elements within our >midst - like the evil Pa Modou Gassama - and begin to second-guess the >monstrosity or lack thereof, say, a future UDP gov't - especially one which >is allied with a resuscitated PPP. What is the premise of this? Some always >clog their mental horizons with phobic images of PPP corruption and abuse of >power to the point that they can't even tell what is and ain't a legitimate >demurrer given the expediency involved in getting things to move ahead and on >time. I have since the early days of the abrogation of Decree 89 warned >against the futility and dangers involved in playing political punditry and >second-guessing the motives of Decree 89 politicians. Indeed, i forwarded the >argument that an Opposition Alliance is the safest bosom and bet for the >Decree 89 politicians. There was never the need to perversely and arrogantly >slight any Decree 89 politicians to publicly make a committment to the >Opposition Alliance. > >Therewith, the only group that gains from any post-mortem of Decree 89 >politicians is the APRC and the insincere ones within the Opposition. For if >you bring up inconsequential academic stuff that arise out non sequitur >arguments, it merely succours the APRC in its false belief that it was right >in hijacking power in the first place. Such non sequiturs like the >eligibility of Jawara or lack thereof have the effect of us arguing back and >forth over issues that can never be settled whilst the mortal enemy of all >Gambians - as it happens, Jammeh - still has the wherewithal to inflict >damage on innocent Gambians. A pity it took correspondence upon >correspondence for my compatriot, Kebba Dampha, to bring home such a salient >point. Jawara has no powers to harm Gambians; Jawara can only help aid and >complement our legitimate efforts to bring back Gambian sanity and decency >back to that hijacked country. More's our pity that in pointing out this >fundamental moral truth, you are caricatured as a PPP hired Stalinist >re-writer of Gambian history to the effect that those of who see sense in >Jawara's return back home are ready to excuse or approve everything that >chanced during the Jawara days. This was never the point. Point always been >that we've recognised the chief mortal enemy of all Gambians as Jammeh and >we prescribed a medicine of folks putting aside past moral and personal >arguments and join together to combat this mortal enemy and all he stands for. > >Issues certainly were not helped when some of the second-guessing involved >disparaging the motives of those Decree 89 politicians who have not publicly >committed themselves to the Opposition Alliance. Imagine a Ms Diop pouring >scorn with such perverse arrogance on the likes of Dibba on the false premise >that his [Dibba's] and others' silence denotes greed and other malevolent >personal agendas. How does disparaging Dibba in this abominable manner help >bring him on board? Especially, if the disparaging is so perversely >misinformed to the point where you engage in moral excoriations about the >highs and lows of Decree 89 politicians during the First Republic? Nor is >matters further helped if you arrogantly argue on such morally slippery >premises like saying all parties should throw their weights behind the UDP >because it has garnered more votes in the last elections; it had persistently >campaigned for the abrogation Decree 89; and that the party's leader has >sacrificed a career to fight Jammeh. Once such perversions enter the >negotiations, all bets for a collective spirit of cooperation are off and a >flotsam and jetsam of personal stuff gets in the way. > > These are precisely the ingredients Machiavelli had in mind for the breeding >of private fears which ends up reducing the collective will to the >contemptible and consequently flunking in such collective endeavour and >spirit of pragmatic political cooperation to combat a common mortal enemy. In >order to move on to the great task that lies ahead of us in this march in >solidarity and collective will, we simply have to get a grip and snap out of >this funk. All hands on deck doesn't mean individuals retain the moral high >ground to slight and bash those they perceive of as uncooperative. All hands >on deck means we positively and diplomatically work together to win the >support of those constituents and players we need in our struggle to >decapitate a common mortal enemy. > >Admittedly, negative engagements by Opposition members with the collusion of >our mortal enemies have dented only benignly the collective spirit to >cooperate. This is all partly due to the wisdom and patience exercised by >Decree 89 politicians as they were thrown every unsavoury epithet that can be >found in the book. Decree 89 politicians have shown great equanimity given >the pressure and the unproductive comments and misgivings expressed about >their role or lack thereof in the scheme of things since the abrogation of >Decree 89. If anything, Decree 89 politicians has shown during this very >brief period of their emergence as polititical forces to be reckoned with, >the extent to which one negotiates or enters in political negotiations to >reach pragmatic political compromises. Pragmatic political compromises are >not reached because some self-righteous person engages in a perverse tongue >lashing of political constituents and players who need to cooperate to combat >a common mortal enemy. Such self-righteous and perverse moralising are what >breaks the collective spirit. Pragmatic political compromises are reached >only when constituents and players are enthused enough and or made to realise >the common grounds of mutual cooperation they share in their struggles to >avert similar predicaments. That is what makes the collective spirit. > >As things stand, we could do well by emulating the noble manner in which >Decree 89 politicians comported themselves since the abrogation of Decree 89. >We must exercise restrain and patience in the long haul to October. Singling >out politicians and making perverse demands on them helps no one in the >scheme of things; it will only help alienate some major constituents and >players. Matters are not helped either when we second-guess personal motives >and begin to drive underground the social ethics of seeking a pragmatic >political compromise to combat a common mortal enemy. Or worse, perversely >waxing lyrical and indignant about inconsequential academic stuff that arise >out of non sequitur arguments only serves to give allure to our common mortal >enemy - especially in its misguided belief that it has every right to hold >Gambians with such ignoble contempt. > >Hamjatta Kanteh > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html >You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] >if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. >----------------------------------------------------------------------------