Loose Cannons

I am a huge fan of democracy, people exercising their constitutional rights and such. I know many people are going to disagree with me but I have always felt that certain freedoms especially freedom of speech shouldn't be to put it in a nice way, "too free". Is there any such thing as too much freedom of speech? 

Many people advocate for freedom of speech but always forget the responsibility aspect that comes hand in hand with freedom of any sort; it's a package, you can't choose one and leave the other. As Ghana develops, a lot of people advocate for certain freedoms the most common being freedom of speech. Freedom of speech has been abused by journalists, "serial callers", social commentators, politicians and the average Ghanaian. I don't listen to the radio anymore; I just cringe every time I do because there are so many loose cannons on air. Loose cannons are not only annoying and stupid, but are a danger to themselves and the people around them. They are people who seem to think they are authorities on issues they have no business at all talking about. There's nothing more annoying than a semi educated person who believes that by virtue of being a social commentator or a journalist of some sort, he or she is an authority on economics and understands how the economy of the country works. It gets me thinking, "How the hell did they get on air?!!" These loose cannons are the ones who always make senseless, baseless, down right stupid statements that just get everyone thinking, "What the &*$k!!?" And you wonder why and how they have been given the platform to even talk in the first place. 

In a country where people won't take the time to actually understand the true cause of issues and make politically biased decisions, the media and people with access to a broad listener base have the responsibility of educating the masses. Sadly, this hardly happens. The media will gladly perpetuate a bias or a stereotype; I don't know if they do this to keep their listener base or they just enjoy the confusion that occurs. When people are called to account for such unruly comments they hide under the blanket of 'Freedom of speech". If that speech is so free, why hide under that blanket? Own your comments and statements, stand by them and defend them. Others make certain statements too because they feel the statements are true so it's okay to make them. Thing is, it's not just about making the statements; it's about the domino effect those statements can cause. Therein lies the problem. The thing about freedom is that, your freedom can infringe on mine; the loose cannons on air are infringing on my freedom to peace of mind and sensible conversation whenever I turn on my radio. So how do we deal with that? 

If you can't be responsible with your speech, you don't deserve the freedom to say what you like. Period.

Nothing Lasts Forever

I've been away from this blog for far too long! As always I will blame procrastination and not myself :-)

It's rather unfortunate that death has directed me back to this blog. Two days ago I lost a friend and a father. My friend from secondary school passed away after suffering a sickle cell crises and my great country lost our leader and father through a short illness. Although these are very sad developments, I am filled with joy at the outcome. It's rather unfortunate that it takes such horrible circumstances for people to appreciate the important things in life. My great nation has been united in grief after this tragic and very sudden death of our president, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills. As someone who was sick and tired of the juvenile political antics of the major political parties in the country, I am pleasantly surprised at the maturity that has been shown at this time. People have desisted from making the death of the president political and those who have tried have been quickly dressed down. Political parties and their supporters are working hand in hand to keep a sense of calm and stability. It's so refreshing and surprising to see this; however, I wonder why political parties do not work together on important issues of concern to the average Ghanaian. I guess tragedy does make people stop and think about their actions. 

The death of my friend has caused me to pause and think about life and it's brevity.  At least the late president lived his life to a lovely age of 68 but my friend was just 24. Twenty four and just starting life, early twenties; the time when most young people are coming into their own, making grown up decisions, starting to understand life, contributing to their community and just living their lives. The saying life is short is cliche but certainly apt. The sudden and tragic demise of these two amazing people is testimony to the fact that our time here on earth is limited and at time any of us can be told to "Stop work, and come home." Imagine all their dreams and aspirations that have died with them. We must enjoy our lives and the lives of the people we love and who love us; pursue excellence in everything, abhor mediocrity. Really, what do we lose even if we fail at something? Nothing! Our egos will be bruised, yes, but we also gain pride in knowing we tried and can look forward to the next day which will bring an opportunity to try again.  

My condolences to the bereaved family and friends. I pray for comfort and strength during this very difficult time. 

Nothing Lasts Forever; YOLO.