Opinion / Columnist
Rejecting the voice of people is mocking God
06 May 2018 at 04:47hrs | Views
1 Thessalonians 4:7-8: For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.
Blessed Sunday to you all. Remember, "The voice of the people, is the voice of God". He who rejects, refutes and thinks is bigger than the people, thinks he is bigger than God. Let me share a lesson about the Greek philosopher with "someone" and "some people" this week.
It goes like: As Socrates sits in prison, calmly awaiting his execution, he is visited by his good friend Crito. In obvious distress, Crito begs Socrates to not let himself be executed. Socrates, not having any of this, disputes every argument Crito lays before him.
By this point Socrates has embraced and accepted his fate, and in my opinion, he was looking forward to his death. I believe that because of his stubbornness to dispute Crito, he uses some counter-arguments that are ill constructed.
At the same time, because it is a very sensitive situation, and because Crito admires Socrates greatly, he doesn't put up much of a fight.
There are many arguments that Socrates lays down that are obvious masks for the fact that he has already decided he is ready to die, and will not change his mind.
One of these arguments, which I will be discussing in this article, is Socrates's disparage of majority opinion. Socrates believes that majority opinion shouldn't matter. I believe that not only does majority opinion matter, but it is more important than individual opinion regardless of how you perceive yourself as an engine or energy behind the Restored Legacy.
I invited inspiration of this article from the first few pages of "Crito" in the "Golden Age of Greece" book, and nothing more, in order to analyse and dissect the misplaced view of those who are rejecting "the Voice of the People" by denying the outcome of the primary plebiscite.
I will be bringing up topics such as calculating the value of opinions, how those opinions affect you, how majority opinions make up our democracy, and how we shouldn't ignore those opinions regardless of our view of them.
Allow me to begin by referring to "Crito", Socrates friend who in this instance is you and me to those "Hugewigs" who have fallen by the way side. I, Crito, have bestowed the responsibility upon myself to advise those who assumed that the masses owe them and the verdict of the masses is "erroneous".
The ballot resolution exhibited by the Zanu-PF Primaries is what is referred to as majority opinion.
Embarrassment, shock and Political Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is common during such processes, expressly when one has tall expectations in a political competition. "Someone" and "some people" have rushed to discredit majority predilections, electing to reconstruct the meaning of "The People".
In no time we have heard and seen them shifting allegiance from the Institution, its memory and ideologies to claimants of disqualifying a democratic process, something the first Secretary of the Revolutionary party has declared to be respected.
Respecting the exaltation of the institution and the necessity of November 2017's outcome, one should be celebrating that power has moved from individuals to the people, which was what Retired General Constantino G N Chiwenga predicted on that epic 14th day of the historical month.
Despite the limitless calls for respect of the "Voice of the People" by the First Secretary of the Patriotic Party, someone and some people are thinking they are bigger and clever than the "People" and forget that "The Voice of the people, is the voice of God" — ok, let me get back to Crito's lesson.
The conversation of majority opinion begins when Crito expresses his concern of what will happen to himself once Socrates is executed (Socrates is those someone who rejects majority opinion).
The majority opinion will be that Crito and the rest of Socrates's friends wanted him to escape, live and continue serving as a fountain of knowledge. Crito is afraid that the majority will blame him for Socrates's death. By this point, the power of the majority is already quite apparent, they had bestowed a mandate on Socrates and this was the majority's view on him.
Socrates responds to this by saying "why should we care so much about what the majority think?
After all, the most decent ones, who are worthier of consideration, will believe that matters were handled in just the way they were in fact handled." This is the first of Socrates's ill constructed dodges.
Socrates does not value majority opinion because he thinks one should only take into consideration opinions of those who are "decent" or worthy.
Well, the issue in this thought process lies in the form of value.
To attach this to those rejecting the "Voice of the People" let me hasten to say that opinions do not have a universal, measurable value should "Someone" assume that they are more learned than the masses. In as much as the value of each opinion is designated by the person hearing the opinion, every single opinion is given a different value by everyone who posits it.
Because each opinion has a varying set of values, as defined by each individual, it is impossible to define which one is "decent" or worth listening to.
The decency of each opinion is entirely subjective. It is the same reason that it is impossible to give a set definition for any single word, as every person has their own unique meaning of each word, however in this case, the meaning of the majority opinion in the Primaries is that they elected to give their mandate to someone who is not you which is what makes their opinion precede your assumptions which only qualify those who believe in you.
Socrates also mentions that "the most decent ones, who are worthy of consideration, will believe that matters were handled in the way they were in fact handled." I can't imagine that this answer provided much comfort to Crito.
The point Crito was trying to make was that Socrates dying (in this case, digging your own political grave) made his life more difficult because of the way the majority would respond to this incident. It is not a matter of which opinions are better or worse, it is a matter of how the opinions affect you.
What is apparent is that you have ceased to see yourself as part of a "People" but made yourself and your opinion "The People". You have told us that without you, "The People" are not, which is ultimately wrong — That is not how democracy works.
Democracy ceases to be if it does not serve majority mandate, if an individual self transforms into his own institution, then democracy has failed. Some people are threatening "The People" and holding the party at ransom. The question is, what should "The People" who are The Party do?
I am keen to say that democracy and institutional continuity is shaped entirely by majority opinion.
Even great individuals, whose opinions we often given much value to, would not be admired had they not taken majority opinion into account in seeking their goals. Even when an individual doesn't commonly deal with the majority all at once, even the opinions of the people he encounters will more often than be the same or similar to the majority.
No one is bigger than "The People" and the test of that quote is a direct challenge to God who's "Voice" is in "The People".
Let us learn of once 1985 President of Brazil, Tancredo Neves who during the Presidential campaign said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency.
It was reported that he really did get the votes, but, a day before he is took office as President, he died because of surgery complication that he underwent a few days before the inauguration.
Comrades, do remember Thomas Andrews the builder of Titanic the Ship who after the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be. With an ironic tone he said: "Not even God can sink it", I need not say what happened to the ship and Andrews just after four days of sailing.
Just like the above greats who mocked God, Indeed, if the 'Voice of the People is the Voice of God" then we shall sit back and watch as history will re-write "someone".
As I always say. #2018willtell
Yikho khona lokhu!
Blessed Sunday to you all. Remember, "The voice of the people, is the voice of God". He who rejects, refutes and thinks is bigger than the people, thinks he is bigger than God. Let me share a lesson about the Greek philosopher with "someone" and "some people" this week.
It goes like: As Socrates sits in prison, calmly awaiting his execution, he is visited by his good friend Crito. In obvious distress, Crito begs Socrates to not let himself be executed. Socrates, not having any of this, disputes every argument Crito lays before him.
By this point Socrates has embraced and accepted his fate, and in my opinion, he was looking forward to his death. I believe that because of his stubbornness to dispute Crito, he uses some counter-arguments that are ill constructed.
At the same time, because it is a very sensitive situation, and because Crito admires Socrates greatly, he doesn't put up much of a fight.
There are many arguments that Socrates lays down that are obvious masks for the fact that he has already decided he is ready to die, and will not change his mind.
One of these arguments, which I will be discussing in this article, is Socrates's disparage of majority opinion. Socrates believes that majority opinion shouldn't matter. I believe that not only does majority opinion matter, but it is more important than individual opinion regardless of how you perceive yourself as an engine or energy behind the Restored Legacy.
I invited inspiration of this article from the first few pages of "Crito" in the "Golden Age of Greece" book, and nothing more, in order to analyse and dissect the misplaced view of those who are rejecting "the Voice of the People" by denying the outcome of the primary plebiscite.
I will be bringing up topics such as calculating the value of opinions, how those opinions affect you, how majority opinions make up our democracy, and how we shouldn't ignore those opinions regardless of our view of them.
Allow me to begin by referring to "Crito", Socrates friend who in this instance is you and me to those "Hugewigs" who have fallen by the way side. I, Crito, have bestowed the responsibility upon myself to advise those who assumed that the masses owe them and the verdict of the masses is "erroneous".
The ballot resolution exhibited by the Zanu-PF Primaries is what is referred to as majority opinion.
Embarrassment, shock and Political Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is common during such processes, expressly when one has tall expectations in a political competition. "Someone" and "some people" have rushed to discredit majority predilections, electing to reconstruct the meaning of "The People".
In no time we have heard and seen them shifting allegiance from the Institution, its memory and ideologies to claimants of disqualifying a democratic process, something the first Secretary of the Revolutionary party has declared to be respected.
Respecting the exaltation of the institution and the necessity of November 2017's outcome, one should be celebrating that power has moved from individuals to the people, which was what Retired General Constantino G N Chiwenga predicted on that epic 14th day of the historical month.
Despite the limitless calls for respect of the "Voice of the People" by the First Secretary of the Patriotic Party, someone and some people are thinking they are bigger and clever than the "People" and forget that "The Voice of the people, is the voice of God" — ok, let me get back to Crito's lesson.
The conversation of majority opinion begins when Crito expresses his concern of what will happen to himself once Socrates is executed (Socrates is those someone who rejects majority opinion).
The majority opinion will be that Crito and the rest of Socrates's friends wanted him to escape, live and continue serving as a fountain of knowledge. Crito is afraid that the majority will blame him for Socrates's death. By this point, the power of the majority is already quite apparent, they had bestowed a mandate on Socrates and this was the majority's view on him.
Socrates responds to this by saying "why should we care so much about what the majority think?
After all, the most decent ones, who are worthier of consideration, will believe that matters were handled in just the way they were in fact handled." This is the first of Socrates's ill constructed dodges.
Socrates does not value majority opinion because he thinks one should only take into consideration opinions of those who are "decent" or worthy.
Well, the issue in this thought process lies in the form of value.
To attach this to those rejecting the "Voice of the People" let me hasten to say that opinions do not have a universal, measurable value should "Someone" assume that they are more learned than the masses. In as much as the value of each opinion is designated by the person hearing the opinion, every single opinion is given a different value by everyone who posits it.
Because each opinion has a varying set of values, as defined by each individual, it is impossible to define which one is "decent" or worth listening to.
The decency of each opinion is entirely subjective. It is the same reason that it is impossible to give a set definition for any single word, as every person has their own unique meaning of each word, however in this case, the meaning of the majority opinion in the Primaries is that they elected to give their mandate to someone who is not you which is what makes their opinion precede your assumptions which only qualify those who believe in you.
Socrates also mentions that "the most decent ones, who are worthy of consideration, will believe that matters were handled in the way they were in fact handled." I can't imagine that this answer provided much comfort to Crito.
The point Crito was trying to make was that Socrates dying (in this case, digging your own political grave) made his life more difficult because of the way the majority would respond to this incident. It is not a matter of which opinions are better or worse, it is a matter of how the opinions affect you.
What is apparent is that you have ceased to see yourself as part of a "People" but made yourself and your opinion "The People". You have told us that without you, "The People" are not, which is ultimately wrong — That is not how democracy works.
Democracy ceases to be if it does not serve majority mandate, if an individual self transforms into his own institution, then democracy has failed. Some people are threatening "The People" and holding the party at ransom. The question is, what should "The People" who are The Party do?
I am keen to say that democracy and institutional continuity is shaped entirely by majority opinion.
Even great individuals, whose opinions we often given much value to, would not be admired had they not taken majority opinion into account in seeking their goals. Even when an individual doesn't commonly deal with the majority all at once, even the opinions of the people he encounters will more often than be the same or similar to the majority.
No one is bigger than "The People" and the test of that quote is a direct challenge to God who's "Voice" is in "The People".
Let us learn of once 1985 President of Brazil, Tancredo Neves who during the Presidential campaign said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency.
It was reported that he really did get the votes, but, a day before he is took office as President, he died because of surgery complication that he underwent a few days before the inauguration.
Comrades, do remember Thomas Andrews the builder of Titanic the Ship who after the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be. With an ironic tone he said: "Not even God can sink it", I need not say what happened to the ship and Andrews just after four days of sailing.
Just like the above greats who mocked God, Indeed, if the 'Voice of the People is the Voice of God" then we shall sit back and watch as history will re-write "someone".
As I always say. #2018willtell
Yikho khona lokhu!
Source - sundyanews
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