Humans have lived on earth for many thousands of years showing kindness, solidarity, and respect to one other showing the good side of their human nature. But at times they have also devoured and destroyed each other revealing the huge potential of evil-type nature within humanity. In this piece, we wanted to reflect on how this dark side of humans is nurtured and protected in our generation creating a huge obstacle for our co-existence as nation of around 90 cultural and linguistic groups (What is commonly called ethnic group).
Note that we do not go deep into the philosophical position that are humans created with good or evil nature and so on. We better think that if good is nurtured in humans, then the result is good. On the contrary, if evil or bad things are cultivated and nurtured, then the human character can be infected with evil nature and act wildly as we saw in recent months in our country. Our goal is to address the elephant in the room so that we all learn to control it and show more compassion and solidarity among one other.
Nurturing is a process
The word nurture is defined as “training or upbringing.” This shows the fact that it takes time and commitment for something to be nurtured. Something we nurture is something we hold dear to us. Webster dictionary defines that nurture is «the sum of the environmental factors influencing the behavior and traits expressed by an organism».
This definition is something that catches the essence of the idea we want to raise in this piece. What kind of behavior are we all showing right now as a nation? Why are we behaving like this? Why are we aspiring and desiring to crush and destroy another human fellow since he/she is not speaking the language we speak or does not exhibit the identify markers of ours? Could it be that this was the result of the nurtured bad character for too long? The sum of every bit of information we share among one other, the sum of every intention and aspiration to control and dominate others who are not in our club of ethnicity, ideology, or party, even at times religion proves that something has gone wrong.
Why is this voice of evil side so loud and dominating? One factor is the fact that we live in the age of social media where each individual person is empowered to share his/her truth, lie or twist in the blink of an eye. Through it, not only the good side but also the evil natures of humans have got the opportunity to be multiplied and magnified at the speed of light. Little by little, the conspiracies, prejudices, and hate spread to the justifications to kill and devour. This nurturing process of evil thoughts and divisions is facilitated day by day by many individuals and groups.
A very good example of the nurturing of the evil side of humans was done by TPLF. Of course, in the beginning, that was not the intention. The call to REBEL (ወይን) was romantic at first, for it was associated with the idea of freedom and liberation of the people from “oppression”. Simple music was enough to recruit you to join the cause. If you dance you showed that you have decided. That was it! Healthy human nature includes aspiring for freedom. So that movement was not problematic by itself.
But it becomes a problem when it delineates a group of people (of one linguistic and cultural group) as an enemy by default in its manifesto. When they get the victory, even if many have participated in overthrowing the Derg regime, they attribute it to their own group only. That was selfishness! They portray their group as a powerful one. That wrongly fed their soul that they are exceptional. It became more problematic when they used the divide and rule principle to cause more friction among the different ethnic groups just to tame the country and stay in power in the country. They nurtured division and enmity among fellow citizens.
After they lost the central power in the country, they used fear as a weapon on the Tigray people. If they only do what the war-mongering people told them, they will get what they want again. They brainwashed them. The young generation of Tigryans is being used as weapon to destroy their fellow citizens in other parts of the country: especially Amhara and Afar regions. Even now, they continue to invoke fear with groundless claims of the people of Tigray being surrounded by enemies. And they should arise and begin a war on all fronts to break out from such a situation. This is a good example of nurturing the evil side of human beings on a continuous basis for over four decades. The overall consequence is a disaster for the same group.
We have considered the wrongdoings of TPLF as an example. But it seems there are many such evil-intents that follow the same path. No doubt, any group who is aspiring to do something like TPLF will repeat the same mistakes again. You cannot expect a different result by doing the same nurturing of the evil side of humans.
Protecting “the evil aspect” Collectively
Now, what is nurtured and built through decades is being protected via different means. Every culture and linguistic group member is forced to think the same. Everyone should stay together, even if they are on the wrong trajectory. This way the evil mindset is being preserved, protected and promoted. The very thought entertained in a group could be wrong, and you may try to voice your concern. For example, you may voice that ethnonationalism is a weaker model of governance. You express your concern that the model being implemented is the wrong one, and its consequence is disastrous. Then you will be labeled as a betrayer, as a traitor, an enemy of that ethnic group you belong to by default. Let us raise other three cases that can address different groups.
- For example, you belong to one ethnic group, and out of passion and concern, you told your fellow citizen that it is wrong to create enemies around you. Then you are categorized as a traitor by that group. But your point is correct. Anyone, with a sound mind, cannot create enemies all around him/herself.
- Or you may say, we do need to respect the officially elected government and we need to be constructive. In such case as well, this group will urge to you that if you are one of them, you have to hate the government by default. Hmmm, was it not via election the government came to power? Why not use your voting right to change the government at the right time. Mr. Trump was elected democratically. Those who were disappointed with him, they had to wait four years for him to go. If the majority wants him again, he may come back to power. Change comes via election. Wait and elect the government that you wanted to stay in power. Even better than that, if you have the ambition and passion of providing a different political party, then organize lawfully in a civilized way and work tirelessly to bring real change in a civilized way.
- Or you may say to people in power that the best way to lead is the fairway. That is sustainable. But those who think their group has power and should take advantage of it, as TPLF did will see you as their enemy. TPLF had a machinery system called EPDRF that helped it dominate the political system for three decades. It used to crash everyone, and anyone who speaks the truth. They protect that together. If you voice your concerns, then you are labeled as an enemy of the state.
We should not bow down to their nurturing work of the evil side of humans. We should not try to protect evil together. Our generation has to wake up to say no to such collusion. Instead, we need to be truthful to our conscience. We need to treat fellow human beings fairly.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
BY DEJEN RAS & HIBONGO DESTA
The Ethiopian Herald 24 May 2022
