Morality, oftentimes, tends to speak for itself. It is naturally embedded on hearts of all humanity, and always convicts us in whatever we do. Even serial killers have their good consciences which always knock at the doors of their hearts every moment they shed blood.
Sometimes in life, driven by circumstances, a human being is supposed to abandon his strong principles and adjust to change for the sake of progress. There is no progress unless one has allowed himself to engage into other ‘innovative’ aspects which were not peculiar to them in the first place.
Change always brings something new; but the most significant thing that counts is assessing what kind of change is morally acceptable. There are instances where change – even if it was not being approved in the first place – gets accepted and becomes an axiom of morality. This is solely because a human being is a social being who needs to adjust according to the dictates of circumstances while not committing an offence against himself or the society within which he lives.
However, still more, sometimes if some kind of change is necessary, but the majority does not hold with it, the minority needs to strategise so as to persuade the majority to adopt the new ‘development’.
In fact, without change, history would be meaningless. It is because humans and nature as a whole go through different levels in their lives that there is the need to preserve that which happened long ago. If that was not the case, it would be just as significant to look at what is happening now, for it would not be any different from what happened yesterday.
Governments change, generations change, natural elements go through processes of mutation and nothing remains the same forever. Above all, the world always changes and nothing in it will remain forever, for every change that it undergoes is a catalyst for changes of everything within it.
Yet in Malawi, it appears some people (pardon my bluntness) are still stuck in the past with so much stubbornness and tradition that to them every kind of change appears to be “a Whiteman’s concern”. These attitudes and behaviour that are characteristic of some Malawians are not conducive for development.
During the transition process from one party system of government to multiparty politics, some people could not just accept that such an aspect in Malawi politics was a very needful thing. They kept on worshipping the former president, the late Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, and went on to argue that they were not ready “to live without Dr. Banda at the helm.” This was just a manifestation of rigidity to change.
They had gotten so much used to Dr. Banda’s cruel system of governance that it had finally become part of their lives. To them, that which they had lived with for so long was better than something that they were not aware of. Yet, everything about multiparty politics had been advocated for times without number.
They were ‘safe’ in following the culture of ‘nurturing’ what they had instead of adjusting to that necessary change. In other words, they got so much used to the culture of suffering that to them, it was not necessary to have freedom. Such kinds of mindsets are perilous as long as development is concerned.
Sometimes, we take some of the things that would otherwise improve our lives as “those of Westerners” because of a culture of exclusion and self-segregation. It is high time we began to consider adjusting to change. However, scrutiny is always necessary; but stubbornness should never be welcome!
It is mostly true that culture is a powerful human tool for survival, but it is supposed to be a fragile phenomenon. It is supposed to be constantly changing and easily lost because it exists only in our minds. And, therefore, it is only when we change our mindsets that we may adequately develop.
But, what does it tell us about adjusting to change when a girl almost goes nude in public? What does it pumps into the deep recesses of our hearts if a Malawian girl accepts that her humble body be the centre of public attention simply because it is not properly covered? What does it mean for us when Malawians shoot porn movies which are finally uploaded them on the internet? What does it tell us when a man ravishes his own daughter?
Perhaps, all these and many more immoral tragedies rocking Malawi speak volumes about why change has to be always scrutinized before it is accepted. They tell us that there are still some deviants of society who would never adhere to the conventional principles of how human beings are supposed to behave.
That is why an “Action Girl” had to have the pleasure of taking a picture of herself with only a scanty top and a wallet covering her private parts and sent it for publication in the Weekend Times of today. Whether it is for want of money or not, the girl’s action is just disgusting. She may have a right to do whatever she wants, but she has to take to heart that every right remains a right only if it is morally right.
In his book titled ‘At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry’, Steve Gallagher writes and I quote: “Unless you are at least 50-years-old you probably do not know what it is to live in a culture that isn’t obsessed with sex. Prior to the late 60’s, illicit sex was only confined to the seedy underworld or simply non-existent. It was rare for a man watching TV to come across anything racier than a couple kissing or a vague suggesting comment. Pornography addiction amounted to nothing more than a playboy magazine hidden under the bed.”
Steve wrote this with reference to the American society. However, if we are to apply this in the Malawi setting, we may say “at the beginning the second millennium” instead of “prior to the late 60’s” because issues of sex and pornography rocked Malawian societies first during the period.
Now, it appears we are living in the deep recesses of a dangerously sexualized society; a society that has put sex as the overriding passion of human survival. It is a society that has completely lost its values. Human wisdom has been utterly poisoned and those who advocate for a return to our roots lack all conviction. In regards to morality, our humble nation, is heading towards a horrible ‘head-on collision’ unless positive change is effected immediately.
Now there are social sites like Facebook, Mxit, Waplog and many more. The sites which connect people from different parts of the world have become places where youths think they can express their sexual desires and meet people whom they can interact with sexually.
In most cases of pornography, men are the ones who mostly appear to ‘institute’ everything due to the Malawian tradition that a woman can rarely propose to a man. This is argued against the background of the fact that women are mostly the ones who entice and lure men. Coupled with the nude pictures of women which addicted men may view, like that of the Action Girl, is the skinny dressing of most contemporary girls.
While a man will go out during hot weather like the one Malawi is experiencing putting on a short and a vest, a girl will find an opportunity of exposing herself by putting on ‘classy’ clothes like low-cut blouses which, as if the fact that they are low-cut is not enough harm already, do not even cover up the navel. Nowadays, most young girls simply understand that if they have to be noticed (by men, of course) they have to be scantily dressed.
Now, a man who might have spent a lot of time thinking of how to act out his lust will immediately ‘pounce’ on the scantily dressed girl who will rarely ‘protest’. Here, the man himself is to blame as much as is the girl after they succeed in sexualizing our culture, for it really takes two.
To another extent, it appears sexual captivity has undoubtedly affected different socio-economic and ethnic groups in Malawi. The idea of a Malawian girl going out almost nude and engaging in illicit sex being an immoral human being is fast fading into oblivion.
Well, whatever the case, we need to examine our moral standing once again and perhaps strategise to return to our roots. We are moral human beings who can easily navigate away from any sort of immorality. Our change should be for the better not for the worse.
The author is a final year student at Chancellor College, majoring in Literature in English. You may also follow him by visiting www.alickponje.blogspot.com.
For feedback, write to ananiyaalick.ponje@gmail.com
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