Notes From The Gutter

A nation that abuses sympathy

Respected Republicans, our nation glorifies mediocrity. Many of our endeavours run more on sympathy than logic, and that is where we all lose it.
For instance, come to think hard and long about how some fellow Republicans in our cities and towns have decided to go to despicable lengths of earning a living out of relatives’ physical conditions.

I have in mind some strong muscular guy who spends the whole day pushing a little girl on a wheel chair around a traffic intersection in Lilongwe, begging for alms.
From layman’s diagnosis, the little girl has a set of symptoms that suggest she has some syndrome which has retarded her faculties.
Sadly, this guy employs all his effort to ‘sell’ to motorists the girl’s misfortunes. In pushing the wheelchair around, the boy tries to look just as hopeless too, taking advantage of the girl’s condition to find his way into drivers’ wallets and handbags.

Like many Republicans abusing sympathy, the guy would like the world to believe he does his daily task out of love to help the little and vulnerable girl get necessities.
But help me out in case I am wrong; what love is there in getting the girl baked in the sun seven days a week? Isn’t all this as bad as forcing the girl to earn on her own?
What are the risks of zig-zagging such a busy traffic spot? What about the girl’s need for rest?

For me, true love would be for this guy to leave the girl home and work the hardest elsewhere to put bread on the table for her.
On the street, where does the girl answer the call of nature? Isn’t she denied the precious socialisation and learning that would come from association with family and friends?
Couldn’t she be attending school, with the introduction of special needs education in our local schools?

Republicans, can we for once show some true love, and not taking advantage of the culture of sympathy that has congested our air.
Some road intersections have our brothers and sisters with physical challenges crawling about for alms. It kills my soul to see how usual it is to have vehicles nearly missing them in what would be sad and very devastating accidents.

I know Malawi is so deep into empty sympathy many will even mistake my line of thought for sheer madness and lack of consideration. Time will tell.
But I will hate the day people will want to sound wise. Think of how sad a day it will be [God forbid] should a motorist run into these beggars.
Well, can’t we run a stitch in time? 

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