The 2008 presidential election has thought me so many lessons, one of which the act of turning the other cheek is a key part of and I wish to share this with you.
In my curiosity, I consulted oxford dictionary on the definition of ‘morality’. Apparently, ‘Morality’ is the principle concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour. Charles Dickens said “The most important human endeavor is the striving for morality in our actions. Our inner balance and even our very existence depend on it. Only morality in our actions can give beauty and dignity to life”. In the words of Charles Stanley Lee “turning the other cheek is a kind of moral jiu-jitsu”.
I remember the first time I read a part of the bible that teaches eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. I quite liked it because I’ve always liked the idea of ‘justice’. You hit me, I hit you back. You stab me in the back, I stab you back (well, that’s if I survive your first stab). I have to admit that I didn’t quite like the new testament of it that says when someone slaps you on the right cheek, you turn the left. I used to ask my Sunday school teacher, turn the left and receive another or do what exactly? From where I came from, they call people who do that “Mumu”. That simply means a moron and a fool of the highest order. But then the more I studied the bible the more I discovered that Jesus didn’t teach us what he could not do, he was a “Mumu” of the highest order in order to be the wisdom of the Highest God. But then one might say, that’s Jesus…
This presidential race has brought the human side of the 2 candidates to test in so much that you don’t need a microscopic eye to see through them anymore, neither do you need to be a psychologist to know who is who. Over the years, the belief has always been that when the going gets tough for politicians during a campaign, to get a bit of momentum, they have to turn a bit dirty and negative. And if you look at the trend, when one party turns negative, the other follows suit and the whole thing becomes what it is, politics.
6% down in all the major opinion polls across the country and 30 days to go before arguably the election of the century, the McCain camp “rightly” did what a “normal” political party would do, looked for all the skeletons their opponent’s cupboard and tried to convince the voters that their opponent is a human carnivore. They dug out names, history, associations and sat to discuss what they were going to do with the findings. From that point, they were already playing with the boundaries of morality. They began to lose sight of the reasons why they set out to run for the election in the first place. They set out to do as much damage to the image of their opponent as possible. And you know what, going by history; it has worked over the years. This is politics!
What was surprising however was the reaction from the opposition. Please understand that what happens in a political campaign is mostly decided by the top man. So if the top men (Obama and McCain) decide to go pound for pound on negative campaigns, their respective camps will follow suit as we saw in the case of McCain. McCain went out with full force, Sarah Palin followed, and so did the whole Republican Party faithful. The attacks ranged from name calling; terrorist, Muslin, Arab, etc, to the point that some shouted “kill him” when Obama’s name was mentioned. Again remember what I said earlier on, this is politics, it’s all part of the game. Some say they were pushing it, others say lets wait and see how Obama reacts… Indeed!
Ladies and Gentlemen, what happened next has changed my life and the way I react to allegations and criticisms, and that’s why I’m blogging on this. In the mist of all of that, right at the centre of that kind of dirty of politics, Barack Obama said and I quote “They can call me all they want, but this election has never been about me, it’s about the American people”. What!!! I yelled at my at TV set. I was like Obama…. You’ve got to be joking, you will lose this election Obama, you need to fight back and talk about McCain’s dirty past too - like the “Keating Fund”, “dirty days as a fighter jet pilot”, “8 homes?” etc. “Come on Barrack you have to hit him back”, I exclaimed, but this guy simply turned the other cheek.
Admittedly, maybe he didn’t want to do the dirty job himself and wanted to let his wife do it on Larry King live. It really was Michelle’s opportunity to respond to Cindy McCain’s allegations, Sarah Palin “Palling with the terrorist” connotation and John McCain’s Bill Ayers saga. What did Michelle do? She said she respects them all; it’s just a difference in opinions….
Friends, at that point, I saw a potential United States of America’s first lady. A graceful woman. An absolutely class-act and a true example to all. The indelible impression that left on me will remain for the rest of my life whatever happens in this election. That in all of those personal attacks, these two key figures remained true to who they are, what they are made of and what they believe in (Morality), that my friends is what I call turning the other cheek.
Why am I blogging about this?
Well it’s because sometimes we are barraged with all sorts of allegations and negativities and really the “right” thing to do is to defend ourselves by fighting back. But silence is the most powerful answer an old Chinese proverb says. Silence my friends is not a sign of weakness, it’s a true sign of inner strength. Saying nothing sometimes says the most, another proverb says. Can you imagine if Obama had gotten dirty with McCain? I bet the world would not have been able to separate the wheat from the chaff. So the next time they slap you on the right cheek, turn left, lets teach the world the act of turning the other cheek!
In my curiosity, I consulted oxford dictionary on the definition of ‘morality’. Apparently, ‘Morality’ is the principle concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour. Charles Dickens said “The most important human endeavor is the striving for morality in our actions. Our inner balance and even our very existence depend on it. Only morality in our actions can give beauty and dignity to life”. In the words of Charles Stanley Lee “turning the other cheek is a kind of moral jiu-jitsu”.
I remember the first time I read a part of the bible that teaches eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. I quite liked it because I’ve always liked the idea of ‘justice’. You hit me, I hit you back. You stab me in the back, I stab you back (well, that’s if I survive your first stab). I have to admit that I didn’t quite like the new testament of it that says when someone slaps you on the right cheek, you turn the left. I used to ask my Sunday school teacher, turn the left and receive another or do what exactly? From where I came from, they call people who do that “Mumu”. That simply means a moron and a fool of the highest order. But then the more I studied the bible the more I discovered that Jesus didn’t teach us what he could not do, he was a “Mumu” of the highest order in order to be the wisdom of the Highest God. But then one might say, that’s Jesus…
This presidential race has brought the human side of the 2 candidates to test in so much that you don’t need a microscopic eye to see through them anymore, neither do you need to be a psychologist to know who is who. Over the years, the belief has always been that when the going gets tough for politicians during a campaign, to get a bit of momentum, they have to turn a bit dirty and negative. And if you look at the trend, when one party turns negative, the other follows suit and the whole thing becomes what it is, politics.
6% down in all the major opinion polls across the country and 30 days to go before arguably the election of the century, the McCain camp “rightly” did what a “normal” political party would do, looked for all the skeletons their opponent’s cupboard and tried to convince the voters that their opponent is a human carnivore. They dug out names, history, associations and sat to discuss what they were going to do with the findings. From that point, they were already playing with the boundaries of morality. They began to lose sight of the reasons why they set out to run for the election in the first place. They set out to do as much damage to the image of their opponent as possible. And you know what, going by history; it has worked over the years. This is politics!
What was surprising however was the reaction from the opposition. Please understand that what happens in a political campaign is mostly decided by the top man. So if the top men (Obama and McCain) decide to go pound for pound on negative campaigns, their respective camps will follow suit as we saw in the case of McCain. McCain went out with full force, Sarah Palin followed, and so did the whole Republican Party faithful. The attacks ranged from name calling; terrorist, Muslin, Arab, etc, to the point that some shouted “kill him” when Obama’s name was mentioned. Again remember what I said earlier on, this is politics, it’s all part of the game. Some say they were pushing it, others say lets wait and see how Obama reacts… Indeed!
Ladies and Gentlemen, what happened next has changed my life and the way I react to allegations and criticisms, and that’s why I’m blogging on this. In the mist of all of that, right at the centre of that kind of dirty of politics, Barack Obama said and I quote “They can call me all they want, but this election has never been about me, it’s about the American people”. What!!! I yelled at my at TV set. I was like Obama…. You’ve got to be joking, you will lose this election Obama, you need to fight back and talk about McCain’s dirty past too - like the “Keating Fund”, “dirty days as a fighter jet pilot”, “8 homes?” etc. “Come on Barrack you have to hit him back”, I exclaimed, but this guy simply turned the other cheek.
Admittedly, maybe he didn’t want to do the dirty job himself and wanted to let his wife do it on Larry King live. It really was Michelle’s opportunity to respond to Cindy McCain’s allegations, Sarah Palin “Palling with the terrorist” connotation and John McCain’s Bill Ayers saga. What did Michelle do? She said she respects them all; it’s just a difference in opinions….
Friends, at that point, I saw a potential United States of America’s first lady. A graceful woman. An absolutely class-act and a true example to all. The indelible impression that left on me will remain for the rest of my life whatever happens in this election. That in all of those personal attacks, these two key figures remained true to who they are, what they are made of and what they believe in (Morality), that my friends is what I call turning the other cheek.
Why am I blogging about this?
Well it’s because sometimes we are barraged with all sorts of allegations and negativities and really the “right” thing to do is to defend ourselves by fighting back. But silence is the most powerful answer an old Chinese proverb says. Silence my friends is not a sign of weakness, it’s a true sign of inner strength. Saying nothing sometimes says the most, another proverb says. Can you imagine if Obama had gotten dirty with McCain? I bet the world would not have been able to separate the wheat from the chaff. So the next time they slap you on the right cheek, turn left, lets teach the world the act of turning the other cheek!
1 comment:
I like this article....why? it's something have been learning to do recently - turning the other cheek, remaining silent........it seems like an irony but silence is actually very loud. So loud, it throws the other party in a state of utter confusion.
Post a Comment