ጠ/ሚ አብይም ይህንን በትክክል አስረድተዋል። ጠማማ አያት ኣን አባት ያለው ልጅ ከጠማማነት ውጭ ነኝ ማለት አይችልም። ማለቱ እራሱ ያለውን ችግር ይገልጻል! ትህትና እና እራስን መመርመር ብቻ ነው መፍትሄው። ተሳስቼው ይሆናል እነሱም ተሳስተዋል ግን አልፈርድባቸውም ነው ትክክለኛው አስተሳሰብ የሚመስለኝ።
ስለዚህ ጉዳይ ዘጠኝ ዓመት በፊት ደሳለኝ አስፋው የጻፈውን ልጥቀስላችሁ። በዛን ወቅት ልደቱ አያሌው እነ ኃይሉ ሻውል፤ ብርሃኑ ገጋ ወዘተ እየወቀሰ ፖለቲካውን ለኛ ለአዲሱ ትውልድ ተውት እያለ ነበር…
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Is The New Generation Really Better Than The Old?
In his essay, "Civility and Political Discourse in Ethiopia: Time to Change the Guard," Dr. Yacob Hailemariam makes two broad points: 1) The Marxist-Leninist upbringing of most Ethiopian politicians has resulted in a dysfunctional political culture lacking civility and compromise; and, partly for this reason, 2) it is time for the younger generation (presumably untainted by Marxism-Leninism) to take over the political landscape.
Solomon G. Selassie, in his comment on Dr. Yacob Hailemariam's essay, addresses Dr. Yacob's first point. He illustrates that even those groups (and individuals) far from Marxist ideology - Medhin, EDP, AEUP, UDJ, etc. - suffer from the same dysfunctional traits as the ex-Marxists. This suggests that Marxism-Leninism is not the only problem. Ato Solomon suggests that cultural traits - specifically, a militaristic and uncompromising tradition - have also played a role in our dysfunctional politics. Needless to say, I agree wholeheartedly with him.
Here in this article, I would like to briefly comment on Dr. Yacob's second point. Certainly he is right to say that there must be a culture of 'passing the baton' in Ethiopian politics. No doubt about it - the old personalized, patron-client politics must come to an end, giving way to healthy, strong, and stable institutions. Nobody would disagree with this.
What I have trouble with is the (perhaps unintended) assumption that the inheritors of the baton, the 'younger' generations, will do a better job than their predecessors because they are unburdened by Marxist-Leninist thought. I would counter that not only can we not assume that the younger generations would do better, but there is a good possibility that they would do worse.
Let me offer a couple of small anecdotes. I remember a video of an EDP meeting taken during the difficult months in 2005 when the opposition was under intense pressure. In the video, a young party member stood up and ranted against "diaspora PhD's, tired of eating Big Macs in the West, coming to Ethiopia to tell opposition activists what to do." As I watched his speech, I thought that I could close my eyes and picture any 'old guard' politician making the same sort of dysfunctional remarks.
Another example is of course Lidetu Ayalew, who in his book YeArem Ersha (The Weed Farm) wrote about this very topic. No matter how empathetic one is towards Ato Lidetu, it would be hard to say that his behaviour is markedly different from his elder colleagues. Perhaps on a superficial level, perhaps in the way he talks. But when it comes to fundamentals, especially when it comes to the great weakness of Ethiopian politicians - their incapacity to manage conflict - he is no different from his predecessors. The apple does not fall far from the tree.
Why might our younger politicians have the same or perhaps even less ability than their elders? Well, it is quite simple - if we assume that the old guard of Ethiopian politicians are a troubled, dysfunctional lot, then we have to say that the new guard, their children in essence, have had a terrible childhood! They have been brought up with poor or no role models and exhibit the resulting symptoms - identity crises and rootlessness, inferiority complex, fear, rebellious character, etc. In addition, they have been brought up in a toxic political environment. They need healing, and in order to heal, they need good, positive role models and mentors. They need a positive connection with the past. They need the guidance of elders who have learned from the past, such as Dr. Yacob, to help them avoid making the same mistakes as their predecessors.
In my opinion, those members of the older generation who have some connection with and appreciation of the past glories of Ethiopia, but yet have learned from past errors, who know what introspection means, who know to say sorry, and who have a burning desire for positive change are few and far between and therefore invaluable to the democracy movement. If they leave the political scene, they are leaving it to their peers who remain unchanged and dysfunctional, and to younger colleagues who are lost, having not had the benefit of positive inter-generational guidance. This, I think, presents a grave danger to the state of Ethiopian politics.
Dessalegn Asfaw can be reached at dessalegn_asfaw@yahoo.com
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