So, E.T. on returning to earth asked me a question. "Why do Africans have high moral standards and Westerners have high living standards?"
I was stumped for answers, but in true African logic redolent of my co-religious, co-traditional values and co-cultural norms with the great people of Africa whose decency far exceeds that of Westerners that there is no vice, corruption or deprivation in their societies, I foolishly averred :-
"Maybe Africans prefer hell on earth and Europeans prefer heaven on earth."
E.T. was puzzled, he felt that moral standards did not seem to be helping Africans at all, in fact, he thought Western high standards were borne of a greater cause to humanity that is it is almost considered immoral for a Westerner to live in the kind of low living standards that Africans have decided to embrace in thumbing their noses at the West with regards to aid when it comes to same-sex marriage.
Much as I was quite ready to agree with E.T. it became evident to me that Africans will rather eat their religious books, live with their culture, sleep in their norms and gather to lynch the people that are different than work to improve their living standards.
Maybe Africans are ready to lead a new global moral crusade, it does not seem the rest of the world will be following that great exodus back to the Dark Continent.
E.T. really got me thinking but I knew he will never get Africans thinking about what is really right for them today; and that is a great shame.
2 comments:
This idea of high moral standards, was referred to in this post.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201111170691.html
The author was full of the righteousness of Africans.
I posted a response here.
http://thingsifeelstronglyabout.blogspot.com/2011/12/homo-what.html
In short I don't feel Africans or Caribbean peoples are more righteous. They could even be viewed as worse, due to the blatant disregard for those who don't have a voice.
I don't feel it's right for anyone to go about thinking they are more righteous than anyone else. By what standard is this measured? On closer inspection you will see that African societies of today can in no way be considered better than those of the "morally decadent" West. Sitting on one's high-horse achieves nothing.
Dear CodLiverOil,
Anywhere I have spoken out these words to fellow Africans it has forced a rethink of the stances we take on some issues.
However, I tried to write this in third person, at least in terms of the questions in order to divert any ire draw towards E.T.
The false premises upon which we seem to build all our views of morality, culture and tradition will be taken apart over time with very simple conversations as these. I think.
Regards,
Akin
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