Lets not lie, lets not steal (Ka ma puro, ka ma jale) = I grew up in the era when the most popular candy was what we called goody, goody. During this period, I was with my grandparents. They used to have a lot of coins - 5kobo, 10kobo. Some of which I happened to have helped myself to because of the desire for goody, goody. If they knew that some of the coins mysteriously disappeared, they never took up the issue with me. This was why with the benefit of hindsight, I was glad that I returned to my Mum timely enough to avoid “evolution” into something worse. The popular admonition then to discourage lying and stealing was: whoever lies will steal. The elders of this era perceived a strong connection or enduring linkage between lying and stealing; in fact they see stealing as the natural next level to lying. However, this admonition suddenly became the natural plea bargaining platform for the cornered guilty. Let me illustrate. When you are caught red-handed, with hands in the cookie jar, the natural default is to attempt a denial not minding the limitations of the lie. When you suddenly realise that the “lying” tales do not appear to dislodge the prospects of a heavy beating or such other punishment that must follow, you now resort to this practical “plea bargaining” introduced with, “Kama puro, ka ma jale, I did it…(whatever the it was)”. But of course, we are now in a day and age where there seems to be a collective loss of time-honored values; where the pressure to become rich (quick or die trying) or celebrated for good or bad reason is on; where no one appears interested in how you “earned it” so long as you can flaunt it; where those that value the morals of old or who can impart same appear to be diminishing or have become “old school”; where remember the son of whom you are has become a quaint admonition and those who should render this admonition appear tainted already or no longer give a damn. Values make the man. This is why the life of man should not consist mainly in the abundance of his possessions but in the values he stands for or represents.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 16:03:42 +0000
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