Page 60 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 24

Re-education
the shadow of death to envelop
existence is not worthy of
recognition. Hope is crucial for
posterity and continuation of
our life – a virtue indeed!
The final virtue we are left
with is charity. The acclaimed
psychologist, Abraham
Maslow in the hierarchy of
human needs and development
places self-realization as the
highest stage characterized by
benevolence towards others
and a greater cause. It is not
odd to see the affluent giving
away their possession to
charity. I doubt if there is a
better source of serenity than
realizing that you have reached
a stage in your life to bring
happiness to others and make
the world a better place. Some
try to delay charity by attaching
it to material richness. I think
this is a wrong assumption.
Charity is not bound by
poverty, race, religion or any
other stereotype. We should
have humanity to see ourselves
in the face of any human
beings; embrace all with a heart
of gold. I heard once from
the words of an Auschwitz
holocaust survival – everyone
has the power to bring light or
happiness to others no matter
how small. So I think charity
can simply be a gesture that
60 | we tell the true afrikan story
shows compassion and pity
towards others. Numerous are
those who try to find a fraction
of solace, and charity is
needed. Thus, it is a real virtue
to be charitable.
Being conscious of all the
aforementioned points, though
I fear it is not elaborate
enough, we should aspire to
make the Seven Virtues part
of our existence. Once again,
I say being virtuous is not just
for eternal life but also for
realizing a heaven on earth.
Now we have reached the point
where we have to examine
the current state of affairs,
specifically to scrutinize how
these sins and virtues are
deemed by the populous. I feel
as though a drastic alteration
has seized our mind to the
point of utterly reversing our
values. Virtue is on exile and
an evil tyrant has reigned. We
have managed to change the
connotation of our words.
The virtuous has become
synonymous with the foolish,
while the immoral has become
equivalent to the creative
and agile. We cannot have a
bright future individually and
societally if we go along this
road. Generations to come
will not even have memory
of virtue unless as our social
narratives are composed
of praises to evil. The U.S.
diplomat and scholar, George
F. Kennan (1904 - 2005) in
his work, Russia and the West
under Lenin and Stalin wrote,
“If we are to regard ourselves
as a grown-up nation...we
must, as the Biblical phrase
goes, put away childish
things...self-idealization and
the search for absolutes in
world affairs: absolute security,
absolute amity, absolute
harmony.”
We must rationally question
everything and predict the
future awaiting us. It is only
then that we can realize the
necessity of the Seven Virtues
to our solitary and collective
existence. I will take my
departure with the words of the
Chinese writer and poet Han
Yu (768 - 824), “The seven
constituents of emotional
make-up are: joy, anger,
sorrow, fear, love, hatred,
and desire. A man of superior
emotional make-up will display
these emotions in a balanced
manner.”