A little girl and her father were crossing a bridge. The father was kind of scared so he asked his little daughter, ‘Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don’t fall into the river.’ The little girl said, ‘No, Dad. You hold my hand.’ ‘What’s the difference?’ Asked the puzzled father; ‘There’s a big difference,’ replied the little girl. ‘If I hold your hand and something happens to me, chances are that I may let your hand go. But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will never let my hand go.’ In any relationship-be it at individual level or at national level the essence of trust is not an option, it is a must thing.
There is no question that trust among citizens has a key role in building the nation. Whenever there is lack of trust and concession among them, the probability of conflict, unrest and chaos is obvious. Having a trust like that little girl over her father is a kind of trust that Ethiopians need.
In a traditional society, there are unwritten rules and regulations that guide the social and political interaction of the society. These unwritten rules, regulations and customs are bridges that help a particular society to cross the river without any doubt. This trust includes giving one’s life to the community or the rulers. As it was witnessed repeatedly in Ethiopian history, it was the trust of the people among each other that led them to scarify their priceless life and safeguard their country from invaders. Whenever rulers or chiefs order the people for battle or to perform a certain task, they have followed that path with full heart because of the trust they put in them.
Motion Consultancy and Training Center, Deputy CEO, Birhanu Rabo, said, trust is the binding force for every move. This is specially in building a strong nation.
Every society has its own value system, says Birhanu. He/she inherits this value system from families, neighbors, friends or school. It is obvious that people tend to adopt the character of their families, neighbors or relatives. Depending on the nature of their environment there is always a probability of reflecting similar characteristics. This affects the nature of social and political interaction of the nation. For instance, people who live in violent neighborhoods tend to believe that violence is the best way to achieve goals. In the same token, those people who lived or grew up in an environment where discussion is the only way towards peaceful coexistence, violence has no place in their heart. In most cases, children are victims of this pattern. They prefer to copy, adopt and live what they observe around them.
According to Birhanu, conflict and intolerance among citizens may result from the aforementioned reasons. In addition, absence of interest to respect the value systems of others has also an adverse effect in the peaceful co-existence of any community or country. “Life is not all about respecting or adhering to one’s value system by undermining the values of others. It goes beyond that. The moment an individual gives value to his/her culture or identity, he/ she must also learn to respect others` value as well. This is what selflessness means. When an individual learns to respect others’ value systems, he/she will also earn the same respect.
Respecting the value system of others includes those minor elements which seem invisible or worthless to others. When people value the strength and the weakness of others` there will be harmonious coexistence between them. This give and take principle is not only confined to at the individual level. It goes beyond that. The more people learn to value others` identity, the more they will develop trust among each other. This in turn cements tolerance among citizens.
The reverse is also true. People who undermine the socio-cultural values of others will always end up with conflict. Giving oneself a higher place at the expense of others will cost a society or a country a lot. Things that are considered minor have always a devastating impact in the future.
Failure to respect the value of others does not only have social or political impact. It also has a serious economic impact on the nation. The more people tend to lose trust among each other, the more they weaken the economic progress of the nation. Suspicion will dominate the system and it will totally cripple social integration of that particular society or nation.
Trust has more power than coercion to have a stable environment. Force is not always a solution to rule people. It may have a temporary effect to earn respect or to be feared. The problem is it will not be sustainable. People who were once subdued by force will wait for their turn for revenge. Sustainable peace and development comes through respect, love and trust.
When there is trust among citizens or between citizens and the government the path towards peace and stability would become very smooth. Trust surpasses hatred or revenge. The more people develop a sense of trust among each other the more they will develop positive energy within their heart. This enables them to live in harmony and tolerance. The more people tend to trust each other, the more they will bear fruits of tolerance and forgiveness which is capable of overcoming hard times. Which means, they will transfer a nation to the coming generation whose heart is pure and committed to the interest of others.
BY LEULSEGED WORKU
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 28 APRIL 2022
