Tots of Thought

We can say, if we like, that it is natural to be artificial. -           G.K. Chesterton. VIII. The Nature of Our Nature Interesting quote. Isn’t it? That’s GK for you. We must always remember that the typical student politician whose actions we dislike now is (or was once) like us - Idealistic, fearless, firm and honest. We must heed the counsel of the scriptures to be cautious if we think we are upright; lest we fall. We must search ourselves for any signs and seeds of all that we condemn in the politicians so that we do not become violators of the same virtues we preach. Don’t say that it can’t be you. Maybe the chances are slim but the truth is that it is in our nature to move towards the paths of comforts and self-interest. As Francis Bacon put it, our true nature is often hidden; sometimes overcome but seldom extinguished. That is how come the true colours of these power-hungry student politicians always betray them. Th...

“If you stand straight, do not fear a crooked shadow.” -Chinese Proverb  VII. The Problem of Paranoia The ambitions of many student politicians and the accompanying fear that they might not make it often result in excessive suspicion and paranoia towards anyone who has a decent résumé on campus. The illusions are usually mild but it can sometimes grow to a bizarre point where fellows who are often seen well-dressed are deemed to be harbouring political ambitions and marked as threats. Goodness gracious me! The Good Book was right in prophesying that in the latter days all that will be required of a potential leader will be a cloak! Exposition: As in all political stratagems, it is reasonable to identify your potential competitors and find ways of beating the competition. That said, however, I am convinced that many student politicians in GIJ are often their own threats. Curiously, though, I have found that their ideas of threats are entirely different.  I...

“There is a world of difference between the fine use of words and the use of fine words.”  – Ravi Zacharias. VI. The Sophisticated Rhetoric One of the reasons I believe I may have been a bad politician in GIJ is that I am usually less concerned about being politically correct. I am more interested, instead, in saying what I know to be true and I do not mince words when this passion moves me. An auxiliary reason for which I do not relish GIJ politics is the circumlocution of idiolect in that sphere. Look at that. What am I even saying? I mean I hate the big useless words they use. When you hear some of these student politicians talk – and they talk all the time - you wonder if clear and simple language is a constitutional crime. They doodle with words and end up cutting the very branches on which their arguments sit. They mistake volume for content and raise their voices when they should instead be raising their case. Now, I have come to accept this as one of the neces...

“Falsehood is invariably the child of fear in one form or another.” -Aleister Crowley.  V. The Invisible Forces One crucial thing that the novice in GIJ Politics must learn quickly is that come election time, cases of unsubstantiated allegations and counter-allegations will increase exponentially thanks to the invisible forces from various political camps. Mark my words, as sure as the sun will shine, there will always be dimwits who would start operating ‘ghost accounts’ for despicable purposes. An extension of the idiocy comes in the form WhatsApp links entreating students to join for fake revelations. There will also be supposed think tanks, propaganda hubs and all sorts of innovative insanity to win power.  Are you not amazed at how imbecility and popular ignorance is flourishing in the midst of unprecedented learning? Are you not bothered by the perennial psychosis that mark our electoral procedures? Granted, we all cannot belong to the same side but w...

“It is good to rub and polish our minds against that of others.” -Michel Eyquem de Montaigne. IV. The Omniscient Ignoramus The title for this piece is intentionally contradictory. How can someone who is truly all-knowing be an ignoramus at the same time? The answer is simple: Pride . The typical student politician in GIJ would rather hug a naked ECG transformer than admit he or she is wrong. For the likes of such, to say ' I was wrong ' or ‘ I don’t know’ is the apex of all embarrassment - a puzzle I have never understood. In a battle of ideas, they resort to all manner of justifications, pile up excuses and insults - if need be - to prove that they are right. When their excuses run thin they run to the fallacious cliché that there is no absolute truth . My eternal response has been to ask if that statement in itself is absolutely true . That almost always settles the matter but let me not bore you with philosophy. Exposition: Socrates said, and I believe, th...

“When we think we are automatically entitled to something, that is when we start walking over all others to get it.” –Criss Jami III.    The Sense of Entitlement One fascinating thing I have observed is the fact that many student leaders in GIJ are courted, groomed and/or recruited as foot soldiers by some past executives with the delightful arrangement and promise of helping them gain political recognition in due season. A situation natural to this process is that, these sidekicks come to think of positions in the school as their inheritance and expect all and sundry to bequeath it to them without question. Having vowed fealty to the powers that be, many such soldiers bask in their buffoonery and traverse the summits of notoriety in the name of allegiance because they know there are big hands behind the political stage that can pull strings to save them from any penalty and reward their fatuous loyalty. Thankfully, God has a sense of humour. Their Commanders-...

“When you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you’re great at something, they will tell you.   – Unknown II.   The Self Promotion Need I say any more? The opening quote summarizes the point excellently. Unfortunately, that is a risk many student politicians in GIJ wouldn’t dare to take for obvious reasons: They are not sure their deeds are enough to carry them anywhere so they carry their deeds everywhere. As early as the first weeks in school, I saw stickers, read posters and received motivational WhatsApp messages from some students and assumed, rather forgivably, that they were students in level 200 or 300. Few weeks down the line, the reality hit me when I gathered from a friend in 300 that the promoted personalities, who were first years, had done that themselves. I was excited as I was astounded. Clearly, some first years had come better prepared.  Admittedly, I was startled but the mere fact that people are going about pasting stic...

“The last act is the greatest treason. To do the right deed for the wrong reason.” – T.S. Elliot I.   The Hidden Agenda During one of the intervening lecture breaks in Level 100, our Class Rep informed us  politely that a gentleman had requested to speak with us so we should all endeavour to grant him audience. We did. Total silence in Level 100B was nothing short of a miracle but we accorded him that. That should tell you how seriously we took him. In the end, it was worth it. This young man had realized that first years had difficulty accessing past questions and had taken the sole initiative to compile past questions into a book for us. We were impressed to an absurd extreme. He made an immediate conquest of our hearts. What empathy! What selflessness! What a guy! As he charmed the class with a fine closing speech and received applause for his thoughtful enterprise, I looked at him with all my eyes.  He struck me as an honest person. He even...

“Nothing so educates us as a shock.” – Will Durant. One of the earliest experiences I had as a first-year student of GIJ broke my heart into isolated fragments and haunted me for a long time. It was an encounter with one enigmatic lecturer (whom I shall leave unnamed) during my very first semester. He was in class to introduce us to the basics of logic, reasoning, persuasion, critical thinking, rationality, the existence of cognitive biases, fallacious reasoning, et cetera. I had seen the timetable earlier and was eager to meet the critical man but something happened on our first date which nearly killed my fondness of the man and my interest in his course. A lecture had just ended and the whiteboard was still unwiped when this man came in. So, as the self-appointed whiteboard cleaner, I offered to clean it for him. Without any pompous ceremony, I did my job and walked back to my seat. A moment of unbroken silence passed and he looked around the class as if to say to the oth...

There was once a couple who wanted to know what their child would become in future so they set up a table and put on it a bottle of wine, a bundle of money and a Bible . Then, from a distance, behind a slightly ajar door, they hid and watched in expectation which of those displayed items the child would pick. According to popular belief, if a child picked the bottle of wine, it was to be believed that he would become a pleasure-oriented person. If he picked the money, it would be agreed that he would be a businessman.   If he picked the Bible, they would conclude there’s a possibility of the ministry. So, well hidden from the little one’s view, mother and father awaited the verdict . In no time, the boy wobbled into the room and swaggered to the table. He took the money, put it in his pocket, picked the bible, tucked it under one arm and picked the bottle with the other hand. And the father said, “Good grief, he’s going to be a politician .” Exposition There ...

My reason for writing this piece has no malice in it And I hope that you receive it in the same spirit. It is simply a journal of my GIJ experience Woven both as an exposition and a defense Against tricksters who devise ploys for political advantage And of nobles who work with integrity albeit backstage. It is to make the student body, old and new, less awed By the student politicians’ cold deception and fantastic fraud For I believe it is high time we set a mechanism in place To distinguish a mask from a face And give, when necessary, due critique or credit To those whose actions must be accorded such merit. This piece will be denigrated but of course We should not be surprised at the source Because those who know themselves guilty of blame Often feel themselves addressed without need of a name. Yet, if I may ask, for goodness’ sake, What does the crab care about headache? I only have a story and this is how I intend to...