Lamin, Absolutely! The elites are not the only ones guilty, we are all guilty in one way or another regardless of our status in society. In regards to every sound human being's ability to distinguish between right and wrong, you are absolutely correct. The reason I focused on the elites here is the level of capacity to make a greater impact. Yes, every sound human mind can differentiate right and wrong... but also human tendency dictates that people weigh the right and wrong in application to their own situation. They can ignore the wrongs for their selfish interest at the expense of their moral conscience or put aside the personal interest and stand up for what is right regardless of the price.

The opportunity that comes with education, certification or elitism through other means - entrepreneurship for example - is supposed to be a measure of our contribution to society. "To whom much is given much is expected" People in this class are far less likely or supposedly so to be easily enslaved and or used. When you have some degree of economic independence by virtue of being able to provide for self and family, you have a greater leverage to resist domination and enslavement than somebody whose daily survival largely depends on handouts or kissing off to leaders to survive. This is the situation many of our citizens find themselves. It is a matter of survival for many.

The elites cannot morally or legitimately claim this excuse. They have the ability to better survive in any society they may find themselves by virtue of their skill sets and or ability to explore. This is where poverty and or lack of education is a crime. So my premise is that if we value so much for what our society accord us, then unless something seriously is missing, we should be able to give back in one form or another. I hope that when we think deep about where we came from, where we are and where we are heading? then we should be able to reflect on the status quo and come to terms that we can do better. That unlike the Chuck we did not get to where we are by historical accident.

Burama (maanyoo) let's continue to challenge the conscience of our citizens and agitate them...hopefully enough for people to look in the mirror and join the call for us to organized and or contribute what we can to help others organize to take back where belongs to us.

Kind regards

Demba

On Sat, Feb 14, 2015 at 2:13 AM, Lamin J Darbo <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Well stated and argued Demba, but elites are about elitism, and elitism and sacrifice are like oil and water.

Violence can constitute an extremely compelling argument, and you only have to look at minority creation of vast empires, formal and informal, to fully appreciate that phenomenon. When the logic of force is applied domestically, the challenges of creating a viable public space become exponentially difficult.

I must say that the elites are not the only guilty ones. What is your take on the proposition that every human being of sound mind has the ability to distinguish right from wrong? Education, or better yet, certification, just affords more opportunities, but if something is wrong, every human being has the capacity to appreciate that. We are a people trapped by our own protectors, and that is quite a challenge in a climate where public-spiritedness can be mistaken for having nothing better to do.

LJDarbo

On Sat, Feb 14, 2015 at 8:13 AM, Demba Baldeh <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Gambian elites, political and civil society activists must realize that we have the power that cannot be found in bullets and guns, but one that is embedded in our patriotism and sense of collective responsibility and pride as citizens. We have the numbers and the resources that when invested wisely cannot be matched by a tyrant who cannot compete on a level playing field. Who relies on our divisions and or vulnerabilities to exploit us. That power lies within each and every one of us, it is power that was handed over to us with an abiding promise to our parents that we will never abandon our nation and the most vulnerable in our society.

Gambia’s political salvation squarely lies not only in the hands of the existing political class but in every citizen particularly the elites who can afford more than three square meals a day. Our country who has nurtured us, gave us the opportunities we enjoy today is dying a slow death; crying for our intervention and history is watching us closely and we will all be judged by our actions or better yet our in-actions and indifference to the realities of our society. When we fail to get involved we have no one to blame but ourselves and when the next generation look back they will shake their heads in shame that they have been left to fend for themselves and to defend what belongs to others and not them...The question would be what were our people thinking?

Read the full article at: http://gainako.com/?p=7828

Your feedback and or critique is highly welcome.

Kind regards

Demba
--
"Be the change you want to see in the World"

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

"Be the change you want to see in the World"