‘Talking by heart?’

The tap on my shoulder was gentle. When I turned, I was welcomed by the broad smile of Prof. As he extended his hand, I instinctively stood up for a warm handshake. As though acting on a cue upon seeing what transpired between us, the chairman asked the new arrivals to do a self-introduction.

Prof.’s introduction was simple - “My name is Kwame, and I taught this General.” The applause was spontaneous.

I stated, “Prof. was a fantastic teacher.” There was another round of applause. The mutual respect between the two of us was obvious.

Emeritus Professor Kwame Gyekye, my subject, for many years taught Philosophy at the University of Ghana, Legon. He was also the first Dean of Graduate Studies at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC).

The occasion was a meeting of the Ghana Association of Writers (GAW) at the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) House at Roman Ridge, Accra.

I have had absolute respect for Prof. Gyekye as my teacher, as is the case with students for their teachers at all levels.

Talking by heart?

As I listened to radio that morning, I heard a man say that the Prof. was his lecturer at the university. His next statement caught me flat-footed.

Reacting to a comment he said was made about him by his Prof. which displeased him, the man stated that the Prof. must not “talk by heart”.

Talk by heart? I could not believe my ears, because I know that anything done by heart is done without much thought.

It is certainly not a positive comment. If the man had not said in his introductory remarks that the Prof. had taught him at the university, my shock would have been less.

Indeed, when he stated that he was the Prof.’s student, I expected cordiality similar to that between Prof. Gyekye and me.

My immediate reaction was to disbelieve what my ears heard and give him the benefit of the doubt.

However, when he repeated the same statement, all I did was to sigh heavily.

Education

When Bill Clinton became President of the United States of America (USA) in 1994, he was asked by a journalist what his priority was.

“Education, education, education,” was his answer. Incidentally, the same question put to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher earlier had elicited the same response.

The United Kingdom (UK) and the USA are two countries with some of the most educated citizens in the world, yet education continues to remain a top priority for national development. Not surprisingly, teachers are some of the most respected members of such societies on account of their role as educators.

Correspondingly, they are very well remunerated. Why are our teachers are so poorly paid? The authorities, please pay them well!

The gentleman who produced the first English Language dictionary, Dr Samuel Johnson, in 1876 said this about education: “The supreme end of education is expert discernment in all things; the power to tell the good from the bad, and the genuine from the counterfeit; BUT above all, to prefer the good and the genuine to the bad and the counterfeit.”

Without doubt, formal education is very important in all aspects of life, with a direct correlation between the general level of education and national development.

Refinement?

In Ghana, does formal education alone produce a refined human being needed for national development? In an argument with a colleague some years back over a faux pas on his part, he shot back at me, saying, “Look, you can take me out of the ghetto and give me a PhD, but you can never take the ghetto out of me!”

But no culture teaches former students to insult their professors!

Nuclear family

Every society operates on its values. It is these values that feed into the culture of a society. For any society, the upbringing of the individual is paramount. Here, I cannot over-emphasise the importance of the nuclear family, because charity, they say, begins at home.

Home is the starting point of socialisation for every person. So for an individual from a broken home, violence and the use of intemperate language are more likely to erode the benefits of literacy.

Assuming your teacher insults you, will insulting him back be the best way of redressing your grievance? It is like a child justifying hurling insults at a parent because the former insulted him or her first. In the Bible, it is said; “Honour your father and mother, so that you may live long…….” Our teachers may not be our biological parents, but they are mothers and fathers to us all, and must be respected.

Epidemic

In recent times, there is an epidemic of insulting language at all levels. The values of decency and respect which were inculcated in us as children have disappeared completely.

Sometimes, I wonder if some of these experts at invectives are really Ghanaians. This is because the violent and acidic language they use on others is un-Ghanaian.

Unfortunately, some even fuel their outbursts to hate language like “………if they do this, or fail to do that, blood will flow…!”

War-torn countries

Such people did not see Rwanda in 1994. They did not see Cambodia, Liberia, Sierra Leone or Ivory Coast, where blood flowed in the 1990s.

In any case, whose blood must flow and why? After the flow, what? Certainly not the blood of their friends and relatives! Other people’s blood must flow so that they can have and enjoy power forever.

Like spoilt children who must always have their way or sulk, users of such fiery language only read about such warravaged countries the way they read about poverty in our own country.

Oliver Cromwell

In 1666, Oliver Cromwell, using very aggressive speeches, led a group to kill the King of England, Charles 1.

Cromwell’s aim was to replace the monarchy with a republic. Years after his death, his skeleton was exhumed and tried. He was found guilty, stripped of his rank as a Colonel, and sentenced to death. His skeleton was decapitated, the modern equivalent of execution by firing squad. To this day, Oliver Cromwell remains a very controversial and divisive figure in British history. After killing the king, he became a despot himself.

While some revolutionaries hail him, moderates hate him. What he gained in life using fiery hate language, he lost in death and history. It is said that truth is like a cork. It may be suppressed under water for a long time; but eventually, it will come out after lies have dominated for a period.

In Rwanda in 1994, use of insults and hate language led to the death of 800,000 people in 100 days. So why can’t these insult consultants learn from this?

Taming the tongue

A lot has been written about the tongue. Proverbs 15:1 says; “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Another quote states that, “The stroke of the tongue breaketh the bones. Many have fallen by the edge of the sword; but not so many as have fallen by the tongue.”

What the insult consultants fail to realise is that society gives them as much respect as they give others! Respect is reciprocal.

Bad language is un-Ghanaian. Let us go back to the decent society we had where we could disagree harmoniously, respecting different views.

Children must be taught that there is nothing positive about defying parents and adults rudely and violently. Let us teach our children to talk less and think more, as advocated by the French philosopher, Montesquieu, and use decent language even in disagreement.

That way, no matter how aggrieved we are by a comment made by our professor, leaders will be humble enough not to accuse them of “talking by heart”.

dkfrimpong@yahoo.com