We don't need name calling, we need issues

BY EDITOR

12th September 2015

E

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest -serving First Lady of the United States, who held the rank from March 1933 to April 1945 during her husband President Franklin Roosevelt's four terms in office, is remembered for a lot of constructive issues and ideas.

During her lifetime the former US First Lady, who worked as a politician, diplomat, and activist, once produced what could be described as a brainy quote that remains famous till today.  The quote says: “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people”.

A blogger, author and a freelancer by the name of Ravi Teja Tadimalla, when asked to give a simple interpretation of this quote, simply wrote: “Great minds discuss ideas. For example, there is a problem. Great minds tend to look for the solution. They tend to search for ideas to avoid future problems of the same kind. 
“Average minds discuss events. The people in this category might be more forward in discussing similar instances when the problem had occurred before. They neither tried to find a solution for the problem back then, nor are they trying to do the same now. They are just talking about the problems, but ideas to eradicate the problem? They don't seem to think of that. 

“Small minds discuss people. Well, these people are just fit-for-nothings. They merely talk about the people who had caused the problem, and keep lamenting. All they do is blame the people who were a reason for the problem. Only their mouths open, and not their minds”.

Ms Roosevelt’s brainy quote, to some extent, carries the same meaning  as ‘name calling’ whereby politicians often resort to that technique  during election campaigns or public events with the intention of gaining advantage over, or defending themselves from, an opponent or critic.

As election campaigns continue, the majority of politicians have lost focus simply because the politics of personalities are now overriding issues.  Candidates have deviated from addressing issues to launching scathing attacks against one another.

Candidates of one camp are indulging in discrediting and disqualifying candidates of another camp, completely denying the electorates an opportunity to listen to what each political camp plans to do in case it is elected on October 25. 

Borrowing from Tadimalla’s interpretation of Ms Roosevelt’s brainy quote, one is likely to conclude that our candidates have turned out to be people with ‘small minds’ and this is going to have  negative consequences on the nation because the same people who indulge in these acts are the ones who are going to be our leaders after the election.

This nation faces a number of problems ranging from poor education offered to our children, which is mainly caused by ill trained teachers, poor remuneration, unconducive learning and teaching environment, poor health services, shortage of power, unreliable clear water supply, lack of reliable market for agricultural produce, to poor infrastructure.

With only 42 days remaining before polling day, Tanzanians are eager to hear what the candidates will do for them if elected.  Each candidate would be evaluated by how they plan to take this poor country to the next level.

Useless propaganda will not help this nation. We need politics of issues, not politics of personalities, period!

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN