The great American educator, William James, in his famous treatise “
self-reliance” points out the importance of independent living in American way
of life.
The overall educational, occupational, and social philosophy is shaped by
this noble concept to some degree. To take an example, the automation in
industrial field of running machinery , the study of motivation in
ego-psychology, and the struggle for acquiring life skill in rehabilitation domain
suggest how the subjective (cognitive) and objective (material) aspects of
our real selves are patterned after this great ideal as long as circumstances
beyond our control are detrimental in realizing our cherished goals.
The Anglos, inspite of their faith in God had long realized the dynamic
nature of initiative in personal life as you hear them say: "God helps those
who help themselves," or "help yourself " in social encounter. knowing
this, the book industry publishes countless manuals on “Do It Yourself” or “
Self-taught” written materials. However, one may be more intrigued by the US,
the champion of “self-reliance” while acting contrary to its national
creed by engaging in the dirty business of politics.
Someone pointed out earlier as if the concept of "self-reliance" is a
threat to the US interest in the world market. Is that so? If so............,
it is an utter hypocrisy while denouncing the welfare mentality in ones
society. This is also a denial to the great message of President Kennedy who
presented it eloquently and sensitively during his inaugural address as
the following:-
" To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to
break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them
help themselves, for whatever period is required—not because the Communists
may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the
few who are rich."
I gather that the American policy makers are not aware of the Eritrean
world view when it comes to “self-reliance.” We have the same value as the
American public, except we don’t denounce it selectively to suit our national
interest which is ethically and morally wrong. In our everyday expression,
we say: “zeynatka ‘aytblaE” meaning don’t take advantage of other people
as long as you can earn by the sweat of your labor. Furthermore, it is
worthy mentioning how Teweldino, the famous singer of mid sixties explained it
beautifully in his song:
Oh boy........
Who is standing by
the mountain of aKrya
Or the lake of may baHrya
If your really call
My dear lover
Whose name is Amleset
I will give you in return
A fried cereals.
Furthermore, according to the old adage: derho 'ntezeySaHteret dKa
'ntezeyzore Somu mHadere. It means if the hen doesn't scratch the ground in search
of something, or if the poor doesn't walk out from his home , both of them
are likely to sleep hungry. It is something like saying: a rolling stone
gathers no moss or: if you have time to lean, you have time to clean. It
suggests us to keep working in order to stand on our feet conductive to
building a positive self-image. In this case, no room may be left out for those
who embrace patronized attitude or superiority complex at the expense of
fellowmen.
This piece of song tells us the importance of reward for doing something
as opposed to corruption in our pragmatic society. It is the same as saying
"hard-earned money" in Eritrean society where work is highly valued as this
catchy phrase goes “seriHka blaE” meaning eat to live, but don’t live to
eat. Of course, such idea is rooted in Judeo-Christian doctrine associated
with the original sin of man committed in the garden of Eden.
In short, thus self-reliance is deeply engrained in our culture, and it is
a mark of our national ethos resisting any handouts in the dark chambers
of beggar nations.
The culture of dependency is uneritrean. Period!
Haile Bokure
Received on Wed Nov 19 2014 - 12:23:23 EST