Politics and the Weather

There are two things I don’t trust in this world: Politics and the weather. My good friend, Cathy Longworth, a Canadian, once asked me whether I refer to the African weather or the Canadian one. I answered: Both. In retrospect, I was probably unfair to the African weather. Cathy and I had the Saskatchewan weather in mind, but she has not experienced African – Ghanaian – weather before. I have lived in Northern Ghana where we have extreme heat and cold during respective dry and rainy seasons. In Saskatchewan, however, the extremity applies to daily situations. A beautiful sunny day in summer could turn very cold without warning and leave sun bathers shivering. If you live in that Province and love wearing cotton fabrics during summer, be careful, because you might think yourself properly attired in the morning but find that you are poorly dressed by evening time, and if you have to take the bus, you may be shivering by the time you walk into the warm comfort of your home. When it happened to me to me, Dr.  Yaw Adu-Gyamfi, a family friend who had visited our home advised me: “Always keep a light jacket in your office for flighty weather”. Yet, one can always look upon a weather experience and have a pleasant laugh.

Politics, on the other hand, can get extremely nasty, whether it is in Africa or North. America. If I had any doubt about the general nastiness of politics, it disappeared during the contest between Mrs. Hilary Clinton and Mr. Donald Trump. It amused me when an American commented on BBC Radio, before the third debate, that “the mudslinging was over; they should talk about polices and real issues”. They never really did. It hit me that the Ghanaian politician had not monopolised chicanery. The accusations and counter-accusations that have been bandied between the two contestants really highlighted the perverse nature of politics.

The refreshing aspect about American politics is that literate electorate vote on the basis of strong or good policies rather than ape for daily bread. The damaging effect of Mrs. Clinton’s e-mail issues, according to opinion pools, and the reverse situation upon the announcement by FBI that there was no criminal conduct gave strong proof that the American electorate makes intelligent choices in selecting leadership. I can live with that type of sophisticated group. Those I detest are the ones who sacrifice all human interests for repulsive self-gains. No one community has monopolised sycophancy, but some practice it with some sense. The American system puts some measures down to check sycophancy a bit, so that it does not completely destroy its political processes. In spite of all their faults, American do not worship their political leaders, so they check them: Think of the late President Nixon. Think of former President Clinton. 

Ooh, that I could say the same about the Ghanaian electorate! It is during election time that one really gets proof that ours is an illiterate society, perverse too. Politicians can present bizarre policies that have no chances of seeing daylight, yet Ghanaians would champion such issues. The pragmatic ones they will ignore or trivialise. Shamefully, serious questioning does not feature in Ghanaian politics. Now, it’s not even policy; get a brass band, play music and politicians draw huge crowds. They’ll parade the streets and receive something for the pocket, I have been told. The electorate is satisfied with the pittance they receive from politicians, during campaigning times only. Instead of insisting that the elected use tax money for community and national development, they extort money from politicians in exchange for votes. The youth is a prime culprit, but they take their cue from others in the state.

The average Ghanaian journalist would not help to discuss issues that are presented to the electorate. Their studios are regularly filled with party people who either are for the government or belong to the opposition, and they argue strictly on those lines, regardless of topics under discussion. Sycophancy at its ultimate! Indeed, politics in this country is sickening! Politicians can lie and get away with it, because journalists will not investigate pressing national issues and report to the electorate. The latter will not question behaviour or leadership. The few press folks that prioritize investigative journalism tend to be marginalised or become pariah. In such an environment, delinquent leadership thrives and humanity dignity vaporizes.

Yes, politics and weather I do not trust, because they can always pull a fast one on residents. Fortunately, one can take some precaution and protect oneself against both. Only the inexperienced and the poorly-discerned will make themselves continuous victims of the two elements. The resistant are the dignified ones. So as disenchanted as I am with politics, I can appreciate a system that makes effort to govern itself with appreciable sense of pragmatism.

The world expects Americans to be pragmatic and elect a candidate who offers appreciable equilibrium, not only to America, but to a turbulent interconnected world. Equilibrium! Is that a relative or an absolute reality or a utopia, especially from a state that has vested interests only? My interest is that Americans are not using their stomachs, but their brains, to elect. That gives them dignity on whatever scale they err in their choice of a leader today.

Dinah Amankwah
Lecturer, Communication Skills
Takoradi Polytechnic
Takoradi