Heard last week on the news bout Governor Parkop’s vision to clean the city and the people’s mindsets by the year 2012. He posed the question to a workshop of certain middle level bureaucrats “How do we get people to change their mindsets and attitude?” (or words to that effect). Indeed how? is the million dollar question.
Mindsets and hearts and attitude cannot be legislated against or brought in line by rules and regulations. That is why I think the freedom of conscience is the most precious freedom, more than life and liberty. Leadership, I heard from Myles Munroe, is the ability to influence human behaviour. It is the ability to influence conscience. So real leaders are those who influence the attitude of people.
All these considered, I have concluded who the REAL leaders of this nation are: they are the LOCAL SONGWRITERS, ARTISTS AND THE STORYTELLERS. The majority of this nation listens to music and words accompanying the music. Much of our local songs are songs of self-pity; un-inspiring and narrow-minded songs that limit our ability to dream and aspire for greatness. Lacking positive messages. Politicians can deliver speeches once in a while but they do not dwell in our minds as much as singers and storytellers. Artists and their music, and stories continually play in the minds of the people, shaping mindsets without us even knowing it. We believe what we listen to so many times that we start to act on it. Our attitude is shaped by what we constantly listen to, see and read.
If there are songwriters, artists and storytellers out there reading this message, you have more power than you know. Use it well.
Heavenise Week!"
Thoughts and Ideas for and regarding Papua New Guinea, the country I love.
I totally applaud the Hon.Governor Parkop for all his efforts to make NCD a better place for all of us.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't think we can get people to stop bad habits overnight, its just impossible.For instance, the chewing of buai.
Perhaps what our leaders should do is get to the root of the problem. Work with the law to put a ban on buai coming into NCD and have checkpoints on the highways, wharves and airport.
Pass a law such that you must pay a certain fee to bring in buai to NCD and selling should be banned in NCD.
Buai brought in will only be for personal consumption with a maximum of say, 50 nuts per trip.Just ban the sales of buai totally.
Port Moresby looks terrible with buai stains everywhere and our leaders should be saying,'enough is enough' and get off their backsides and act now!
Thanks Ilma,
ReplyDeleteI don’t think the law will change anything. The people need to change from the inside out. Not the outside in. The law is an external constraint.
In any case there are currently rules banning the sale and spitting of buai in public places but no one listens. Worse thing is people charged with enforcing such rules are themselves terrible perpetrators of the crime (spitting everywhere). If they cannot follow the rules and respect people then they will not get anywhere in improving the people’s attitudes with laws and rules. Nothing works that way.
What bugs me more is that us Christians and Educated people are no different. You can’t tell a Christian or educated person from the simpleton on the street. All are spitting and uncaring towards the country. If these two groups won’t shape up then what is the hope of getting our grass roots to shape up. Like you said it is impossible. Impossible overnight but possible over time…
We can change…
Chewing of buai is part of our culture, we cannot change that, nor do I want to see it change, it is our identity.However, the spitting of buai every where is without doubt a disgusting habit. I believe what Patriots PNG stands for - the change starts with us. If we can first make it a goal for us to stop spitting every where, then talk to others, persistantly, all the time, we will start to influence others around us. I believe, if we set out to do this, everyone will benefit, i.e. both the chewers and the sellers.
ReplyDeleteI am not a betelnut chewer and have never been one - what I am saying here actually works, it worked for me in my house, so I believe it.
As concerned Papua New Guineans what better time to put this into practise, so we can have a beautiful POM when the time comes for the 2015 Pacific Games.
Liklik tingting tasol...
Thanks Faye
ReplyDeleteYes buai chewing is ok...but the spitting is a curse. I think it is a sign of lack of patriotism and care for the country.
No one spits on something they love. Yet here we are spitting disgustingly on our own country.
And yes we really need to shape up before the Pacific Games...
The typical PNG mindset (as far as I am concern) has been conditioned to 'follow the examples set forth by people of stature'. Right now there is a lot of hypocrisy amongst our more prominent citizens; exhibited publicly for all to see. 'If the minister is breaking the law, I don't see why I can't do it too?'; this is the very mentality that a typical street person would have. Coupled with the current economic situation where nearly everyone employed can not afford a decent living
ReplyDeleteMy notion is that, if we remove these prominent citizens from public influence/power and replace them with people with impeccable character and true convictions to improve this impoverished nation then maybe our people would have a role model that can radiate positivity to everyone else.
People like ourselves (the bloggers) are in the unsilent minority. All we can to is cry about on our websites for the world to see and thats it. Our biggest challenge now is how do we get this discussions on our blog sites/facebooks/forums/etc offline and onto the streets where the silent majorities are?
The 'Offline' world is a very painful world especially when your ideas goes against the perception of a normal life as already accepted by everyone else. When everyone else is afraid to make such move simply because it might their lives in a way that worsen their current situation
What we should campaign for is making people vote the good people into Parliament come 2012. More people like Powes Parkop. Maybe then, this would re-instill confidence in ourselves that there is hope for better changes. Otherwise we can go on and on over the Internet as long as we want but nothing will ever happen.