Ompha Malima |26 July 2020
Different interests, different opinions
Whenever there is a crisis or a serious issue there has to be a lot of voices trying to make sense of that issue, complaining and coming up with solutions. There has to be a movement of ideas and thoughts. Surely, different groups which have particular interests will have different opinions (whether uninformed or informed). That is totally understandable because people view things differently. It might be because of race, religion, ethnicity, geography, socioeconomic status, age and education. These different categories put people into different interests and motives. For instance, educated people may be concerned with getting a promotion at work while people in rural areas may be concerned about access to clean water.
Difference vs indifference
Surely there has to be a way to dialogue with different opinions without undermining differences. Humanity is beautified because of its differences which act as balances for different things. It is like with talents, people have different talents. Some have the ability to sing, while some have the ability to crunch numbers. There is no curse in this but a blessing of differences which support each other.
It then becomes a problem when difference is seen as an anti-ism and brings hatred to the fore. The only time a difference should be seen as anti-ism or wrong is when we talk about ethical issues. If you do not see the dignity of another human being, that is not just a difference of opinion but rather a difference of ethics, it is indifference. There is no neutrality in ethics, it is either good or bad. But on questions of a general nature especially when we have not taken an ethical position, we need to engage in a conversation or a dialogue of opinions to find a way forward.
A dialogue of opinions
Why is this ‘dialogue of opinions’ necessary? What is the means and ends to this? These are important questions that are dealt with in this discussion. If we do not deal with the question of dialogue we will end up moving in circles without finding solutions. We will end up fighting over ideas which never see the light of day because they have never been proven to work.
There needs to be a point of agreement or integration of different ideas in order to come up with practical solutions. There is really no point in clashing over ideas that are not going to be used. Arguments should have a purpose for any society. If not, we are engaging in proving points of who says what better. It might be nice to prove points here and there but it must not be normalised. If we continue to normalise such we will continue fighting because of religion, education, ethnicity etc., we will continue crying for peace and yet doing the opposite – fuelling conflicts, unnecessarily so.
An undemocratic democracy
Major parts of the world are democratised in this day and age, or they claim to be so. A democracy is founded on the ideals of equality, freedom and justice. We often hear people taking pride in the spirit of democracy: ‘I have a right to’ do this and that. History has shown us that these rights are recognised when they benefit specific groups , mostly the oppressor. Already there is a contradiction of living in an undemocratic ‘democracy’.
How do we try to move away from this ‘undemocratic democracy’? We firstly need to look at ourselves and our position in relation to others. We need to question our own interests, privileges which blind us towards self destruction and selfishness.
It is impossible to engage in honest conversations while we are blinded by our own interests and not aware of others’ interests and positions. If we are really interested in a peaceful humanity, one capable of dealing collectively with societal problems for good, we have no choice but to engage in these painful but necessary exercises.
Ompha Malima
Seeking solutions: Learning and unlearning
Learning to bring about solutions is not easy, it needs us to look not only at others, but firstly ourselves. It is not a blame game, that is why all sides need to be aware of their environments to make things better for the good of all. The point of learning and coming together is not to confirm biases and what we think we already know. It is to challenge what we know, test it and empower us to know more.
Without learning ourselves and others, we will not get anywhere because we will only engage with those who agree with us. Arguments will end up being about who agrees with who and who does not. It will bring more hatred, pain and division. If we find a way to have honest conversations, we can teach other other without disrespect and negativity. This will enable ways to come up with solutions. We throw away ideas which do not work, we take in new ideas and if they work, we keep them or improve them.
omphilosophical 