Author:-Essa Bokarr SEY.
Our Opera Shocks-Banjul's High Voltage.
Once upon a time a man called Martin Luther King Jr, taught us not to judge the appearance,it is better to judge the contents of the character. Are philosophers scarce near us? Not at all! Once upon a time Bob Marley said this:".....One good thing about music is,when it hits you feel no pain!...." Oh yes! Music is one of those hidden conductors of feelings! What a powerful string of wise words,Bob! Feelings are like water. He holds the glass determines what to add in it. Water nourishes,water kills. Water makes tea,water makes poison. Hmmm....isn't water a reflection of feelings? Today we can turn Bob's string of wise words upside down and say:"....One bad thing about dictatorship is,when it hits you feel more pain!...." Aha! we are God's children who are made to know before nodding. Do not nod your head if you do not know what is being said or spread out there! How many of you are nodding their heads where explanations are so thin? Stop that! Do not swallow pebbles where there are green beans. Why swallow these pebbles where there are green beans? If you are ignorant means you have chosen to ignor education! There is a high voltage within our streets these days. It shocks,paralyses and sparks. If I were to cook a dish for every mind,the list on my recipe would never miss the word,education.
Sometimes I think about it more than it thinks about me. Education is the frame we use to contain the contents within the volume of our characters. Educate yourself and stay away from mental torture. When will life grant some of our wishes as concerned citizens? When we decide to stay put and study life. This is a pertinent question where living and loving are just so uncommon during this opera of ours.This opera certainly shocks,it sucks too. There are powerful lies that shock. This is not anaesthesia,this is worrisome and deadly. We do not feel but we not numb. Something is just not doable here. Are we dumb then? I hope not? The more these shocks pour on our heads,the more we realize that we have been left to shiver. Who can deliver the goods here? Who cannot deliver the goods here? These will ever be questions spiralling over our heads. There is a time in life when I heard a wise man say this:-"......When the blind lead the blind,signs are not meant to help......" Sound can be heard where signs cannot be seen. This is why "Jaw-Jaw" precedes "War-War". This is also why negotiations always come after bitter wars. Why not we start from the last part then? Why would any soul rush us towards doom when we can brood and escape these gloomy days? Would it be better to use signs or sounds before a blinded soul? Thats another puzzle. Blinded souls and minds have eyes but cannot see. Hmmmm...there comes another new way of doing things! We are not listening to wisdom,that is why insanity is blindfolding us as sane people. Wolof says:"Jaar-Jaar du gaccheh daffaa jangalleh"-meaning:"Experience is the best teacher"
How many times have we been seeing and feeling without reasoning? What are the causes of these feelings? Why are all these feelings so hard? Feelings are conductors therefore they transfer things from one point to another. Feelings touch us! Do we see them? We don't! How about when Bob Marley said:".....In the abundance of water,the fool is thirsty....." Hey! the King of Kinsgton was not talking about evian bottles! Marley was talking about wisdom! Use this wisdom and see the picture. This pictures shows us how deception is nibbling the sweet part of our national cake. Bob said:"....Life is a long road with a lot of signs when you are riding on it don't complicate your mind...." Okay! here I am inviting radicalism into the field of philosophy. So many times we quote Socrates and others. How about Bob too? Who the "chapeau" fits let him wear it! Today I will equate Bob's wise string of words with this one. "......Life is a long road with a lot of pools and mirages, when walking along the road do not muddy the pools ....." Choices and chances are here to guide us. "Ah-baa!" this is what a Hausa man said when he met a complicated situation!