FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF OPINION
Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua
In our
primary school days, one of our teachers, Mr. Matthias Eboetse Elogie” was
popularly called: “Opinion Varies” because
he had the inscription written on his brand new “Suzuki bike”. Human beings naturally have varied opinions on
certain issues but some people sometimes believe so much in their opinions to
the extent of allowing anger to take over their minds if some other person contradicts
their opinion with a superior argument. According to Pope Francis, we must
protect ourselves against our own anger. We need a high level of maturity and
the discipline of the mind, heart, intellect and will to accept or reject an
opinion. We need not force an opinion on others if we are credible and
competent. Today the print and electronic media have created a kind of academy
for different views on various issues. Freedom of the press can be liken to a
“federal republic of opinion” to report issues, events and various forms of
opinions.
There
are statements that are official and accepted by a particular religion as
official teaching (dogma). The Church for instance, gives room to personal
opinion even in theological expositions. In expressing opinions, it is expected
that issues and ideas should form a primary focus rather than the person.
People who are intellectually poor leave the matters of debate to attacking the
personality of a partner in the “republic of opinion”. If somebody expresses an
opinion on national issues that may not be acceptable to some other person,
maturity demands that with due respect, the person who has a superior argument
may put his ideas and thoughts forward for further conversation.
This
space that is provided by the media for public debates can be compared to “the
republic” in the academy of Plato and Aristotle. I thank all the media houses
that provide opinion columns, issues, sermon and opportunities for people to
express their views! The reactions to various articles have convince me that
many Nigerians read and participate in intellectual conversations. However,
more maturity is still expected in this dialogue. The radio and television have
gone extra mile to create space for discussions and expression of opinion even
in pidgin and local languages. This indeed is one of the dividends of
democracy.
As early as about 424/423
BC-348/347 BC Plato founded an Academy
(Ἀκαδήμεια) in Athens where sages where trained to express their
opinions through logical arguments and rational debates. Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) studied in this
academy for twenty five years (367 BC – 347 BC) before founding his own academy
called the Lyceum. In the platonic and Neo-Platonist era, the academy was treated
as sacred because discussions about the transcendence were part of the subject
of the sages. Plato started the academy at the age of thirty with his inherited
wealth. This academy was free for those who were interested in learning the
science of wisdom. This school did not discriminate between the rich, poor, men
and women. Two women, Axiothea of Phlius and Lasthenia of Mantinea are
remembered as scholars who graduated from this academy.
Opinion
is an expression of a personal emotion. In the academy, this feeling is
expressed in a logical argument. Sometimes an opinion may be logical yet not
true while at other times the logic of the opinion may be a fallacy and
illogical if put in a syllogism. Sometimes efficient lawyers convict innocent
people for lack of logical reasoning and arguments. Some reporters in our media
misrepresent, misinterpret and confuse issues with fantastic headlines without
the laws of logic. The main concern is sometimes to sell their papers at the
expense of the confusion and damage caused to the people they have reported
wrongly. This is one of the ways the freedom of the press can be abused whereas
truth and reason should take priority above any financial interest in the media
that controls the heart beat of a nation.
Public
opinion is subject to public debate and analysis given that a general opinion
may not be correct at all times. There are some opinions that a group of people
may hold as a dogma yet this view may not be substantiated. There are some opinions that can be compared
to the belief of a monkey. Once upon a
time, it was raining heavily and a monkey decided to take shelter in a forest.
After the rain, the monkey did not know that the rain had stopped since the
water from the leaves was still drizzling. After spending a long time in the
forest, the monkey decided to go out only to discover that it was bright and
dry outside. The monkey told the children that it is forbidden to go into the
forest when it is raining. The children did not ask the mother why. All they
did was to believe because in their tradition
children do not question their parents. Till today, there are some
groups that do not allow questions about their faith. Rational enquiry for some
people is a sign that a person has lost faith and about to fall out of the
group. Once the leader has spoken, or written, everybody must follow even
though what is prescribed may be unreasonable.
We cannot remain in the age of our ancestors without analyzing their
laws and mode of operation in the present context except we want to begin to
dress with leaves and animal skin like they did in their time. Moreover, we
should have the courage to ride on camels and donkeys instead of cars and
aircrafts if we must maintain the ancestral standards.
No comments:
Post a Comment