Recently there was this discussion about current narratives of bygone years and ages. We seem to enjoy talking about the past even when we don’t have the slightest idea of what it really looked like after being marred by relentless smearing of false claims, biased narratives and outright hatred. After all it’s easier to berate, curse, condemn, and drag face down through the dust the past as mostly the real players aren’t around to defend themselves. Believe me there’re real problems around here when it comes to talking about the past. I mean, strangely enough it seems we’ve made some collective commitment not to see the past with clean and clear eyes free of bias, hatred, arrogance and ignorance the likes of which could have made geniuses out of the least informed cave people of the Stone Age or whatever age for that matter. There’s no riddle in our supposed failure to separate the chaff from the grain; it all depends on how we look at things. Sadly, many of our opinions these days are highly influenced by our political, ethnic and other biases. These are things you’d have loved to avoid talking about and yet there is no way to sidestep the issues. A damaging trend that prevents from informed and genuine discussions about the past is the demons of negativity seem to have taken most of the crucial chambers of our brains.
Don’t you, there must be some point of no return where we should decide, Ok enough is enough; we can’t keep beating the dead horses while there are so many current issues that demand our undivided attention and subsequent actions. Some of those issue, unless addressed and while there is still a long way to go to the proverbial ‘eleventh hour’ could turn into existential threats! None of us genuine citizens seeking the good of the country, its people and by extension all of humanity wants to end up cornered into the narrowest of corners like this one, do we? (“A stupid question!” you’d say, and this writer has to agree! hmm…) As we seem to be fond of slogans or things that sound like slogans I could have suggested one for the discussion I was telling you about, “Down with the Past!” Yes, that’s all it was about.
You know what the strangest thing of all is, there’s nothing that comes to anything close to universal agreement on any single issue of the past. What or who one condemns is applauded by the other. That, dear readers, is the vicious circle we’re in. As you might have guessed by now, yes, politics dominated the talk and the comments would have left you with all sort of ailments, physical and mental. The guys weren’t even decent enough to choose their words while ‘criticizing’ individuals and groups. To be frank, most were neither criticisms nor comments; they were outright character assassinations of prominent individuals and groups. No past Ethiopian king, president, prime minster was spared.
What bugs me is why even those expected to be the most enlightened using words and terms you’d expect even in the foulest of watering halls.
“Had it not been for them we wouldn’t have been in the position we’re in.”
“They and their stupid politics are responsible for all our problems.”
It is rather to hear the enlightened make comments like, “If so and so hollowed this political road rather than the other one all what’s happening would not have happened.”
We are bickering amongst ourselves about the past when everyone is moving forward. Our attention is turned towards yesteryears while that of much of the word is cast towards the future.
The guy you knew for so long all of a sudden becomes unfamiliar; of course, everything appears to be fine and dandy. But something is very wrong. It’s the way he’s carrying himself. You know, all of a sudden he sounds as if he’s the last arbiter of things past. What can one do except quiz oneself how supposedly nice and reasonable people could slide so low? But maybe we might try to reason out the whole thing with, “Well after all, change happens.” Yes indeed, CHANGE HAPPENS!
“A new book is out. Have you seen it?”
“What book? I haven’t been to bookshops for quite a while.”
“It’s a book by an official of the former military government.”
“What! You mean you read books written by those people.”
“Yes. I do. Why shouldn’t I?”
“Those people have so much blood on their hands. And now they’re writing books!”
“Don’t you think it’d be better to know about what they’ve to say about events?”
“I don’t believe you’re saying this. What’s wrong with you?”
“Look, I’m sorry if you feel that way about me. But I assure you it’s still the ‘me’ of yesterday. The only thing is that I think the reasons we aren’t agreeing on any issue of the past is maybe because we know only one side of the story, which I’m sure you’d agree is only half of the story.”
Anyways, unless we take time to think twice and work at regaining our common sense, beating the dead horses would take us nowhere.
Ephrem Endale: Contributer
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 24 APRIL 2022