THIS hashtag has now become a household mantra for the past months after the many sad stories that came to light on international news and social media. My article will draw attention to what in my opinion are family basics that need to be present for any family to function well with respect to globalisation which states that the world has become one village, thus one family.
guest column:Nothando Bhila
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “To be yourself in a world trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
The family unit in my opinion is now struggling to remain itself as this saying by Emerson and thus has become an “endangered species” so to speak. Perchance the gospel I am praying be restored is the gospel of family basics with all their sanity that make the world a better place.
“The infinite life manual, the Bible, says in Mark 12 verse 31: ‘‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than this.”
Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. I believe the world should not be the world of temporary solutions as this will only give us relief from the problem and not liberation that deals with the root cause to ensure that the problem does not recur.
Science says, one of the ways in which we learn is through observing and the following aspects I will discuss are issues that may appear somewhat trivial, but are very much crucial in seeing the things we need to address. The Bible says it is when you listen more than you talk that you get to understand what people are made of.
I have seen how if a person faints on the streets nowadays some people are more worried about capturing this stranger on their mobile phones for pictures or videos to share with their friends and family instead of assisting the person out of goodwill.
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The question perhaps we need to ask ourselves each time is if we would like our very action or potential action done to us before we execute it. If the answer is yes, proceed and if no, why do to another person.
If the youth of today can consciously steal from old men or women on the streets in the name of being unemployed, hungry or broke then in my opinion we are still far from #livesmatter, even if it should be from the younger men and women, the act is still unacceptable. How will that old man or woman survive after being robbed? Is it fair for that person to replace what has been stolen from them whether they be young or old?
Another thing I have seen is how people literally collide on the pavements simply because no one wants to give way to the other.
How then can we say we care for each other when we are failing to abide by simple virtues like making way for others as we walk in public areas.
It is these trivial issues I cannot exhaust in this article that have prompted me to appeal to everyone globally to review our actions and renew our minds as it is never too late to change the world like a certain man once sang: “One man can change the world.”
Imagine a world where each one of us decides to be that one man, the world will most certainly change. Indeed, it will not change in a day, but initiating the change is what is most important. The late former United States President John F Kennedy once said: “Change is the law of life … And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
It is with this in mind that I am of the view that a future where we love our neighbour as we love ourselves is very much possible.
As I conclude, my brother Tawanda Ransome Bhila says: “If the idea of working together to build something on the same level makes you realise that because we are depending on each other, the importance of the other becomes apparent, that’s how you build a family with a unified purpose”.
This I believe is true globalisation that recognises that lives matter in every aspect and I believe, therefore, tackles the root cause of our problems.
