Wisdom of the unschooled

THE EDITOR: In this time of covid19 the issue of right choices can mean the difference between life and death and it is amazing how the inspiration for same can come from sources we are likely to ignore.

Recently I observed a clip on YouTube of how the 99-year-old mother of Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, may have impacted his political life with the exhortation, first and foremost, that he should “never take bribes” during his tenure.

To date, according to the clip, he has not been officially accused of any corruption, and it is likely that her motherly influence may have also been the inspiration for his “maitri” programme in its humanitarian effort to assist countries with the vaccine in this time of covid19.

From this, it dawns upon me how the issue of worthwhile choices can emerge from the mouths of the simple and the unschooled (which the clip suggested would have been the case with Modi’s mother) to which we should pay heed, especially at a time when the good, old, positive values of honesty, integrity and godliness seem to be giving way, especially among politicians, to an egomania devoid of discretion and diplomacy, good will and fair play, intended merely to serve the self.

Like my old lady, now deceased, daughter of the indentures, living in the sugar barracks, working in the cane fields, reprimanding us as young ’uns whenever we were found wanting or were wayward, waving her finger in almost prophetic fashion with the admonition that “everybody have to paddle their own ‘conoo’ (canoe)!”

Her meaning eluded me then for I was “harden” as all youngsters living that kind of community life in the barracks, but now as an ardent exponent of critical thinking both in the book I have written on the subject (Critical Thinking for Tertiary Level – A Self-Instructional Course) and in my lectures at UTT and Cipriani Labour College, I have now come to realise how that single statement encompasses all the fundamentals of this discipline, which to my mind, if integrated into our mode of thinking, can solve many of the problems we now face.

For what is critical thinking but to interrogate the world and not merely accept it at face value, looking at it in all its complexity instead of with a jaundiced eye in a purely one-dimensional fashion and in terms of simple black and white. And out of the multiple perspectives emerging from such interrogation, to try to find balance in this diversity, leading to rational, intelligent choices on any given issue or idea.

And if you have to “paddle your own conoo,” as my old lady used to say, is it not a poignant metaphor of being the architect of your own destiny through the questions you ask and the choices you make?

For the “conoo” you must paddle is the vehicle of your life’s journey and how you “paddle,” whether zig-zagging or on a straight path, or with too much haste without the moderation that would provide the balance necessary, or carelessly pointing the bow to the precipice rather than the shore, will determine the final outcome, good, bad, or ugly.

And in this time of covid19 this tenet is especially applicable for if as an individual you make the wrong choice of being overly liberal or complacent about your social life or virtually lay yourself down and die when the ravages of covid19, like job loss or the sudden death of a loved one, hit you when you should be resilient and pick up the pieces and try to move on, who knows what tragic outcome is in store.

Similarly if as a government, in your concern for the “numbers” you inadvertently fail to find the right balance between protecting the people and slowly strangling them, like with the children still out of the classroom or small businesses yet to be fully reopened or to receive the “stimulus” packages, inter alia.

Wisdom is never the exclusive province of the schooled, especially the politician! Even in the lowliest there is so much, like a “violet under a mossy stone/half hidden from the eye” (William Wordsworth), and even with our pretensions of being modern and knowing much more, it may be worth the while to pay heed to some of these seemingly innocuous jewels of wisdom from our elders from time to time,

It may make a world of difference in the long run!

DR ERROL N BENJAMIN

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