gHANA TODAY; THE NEED TO CONTEST AND UNDERSTAND gHANAIAN EXCEPTIONALISM.

N. B. Andrews

January 22, 2023

There is nothing more irksome to the average ghanaian than when their country's supposed exceptionalism is contested as morally, philosophically and evidentiary unjustifiable.

The basis for this exceptionalism is unclear and is probably best understood as part of a totally misplaced proto nationalistic hubris and or stark ignorance, lack of information or plain delusion.

There has never really been a conceptual revolution in the country along the lines of the Enlightenment experience - even with its multiple flaws; such a thrust has never been pursued let alone sustained by a critical mass of the country's elite.

The country has long been in decline; an unrelenting age of greed and blame. We face real problems now; patently existential ones.

It is not a question of who is to blame. The question is who will step forward to take responsibility and lead a turn around.

The space for public discourse has been influenced by corrupt and opportunistic poliTRIKcians and their poodles in the largely discredited public service; religious leaders of questionable pedigree espousing dodgy and often infantile theories and a cohort of traditional leaders with very little to say on the fundamental questions of modernity and societal progress.

Science - facts, evidence and reason hardly feature in the public narrative and she who dares to bring it up and insist on a rational approach is drowned out in verbiage.

An altogether regrettable consequence of this state of affairs is the assumption that verbosity and frequent public exposure are synonymous with validity of the individual's espoused concepts.

The louder and more often you talk the greater the weight given to your views and pronouncements; and this is even more likely if you have a grandiose title that you honor in the breach.

In a warped way the notoriety of an individual ensures validation of his espoused views no matter how factually incorrect or ethically despicable they are.

Numerous examples abound: they include views on the economy, the social history of the country, marginalisation of certain groups and even questions on health.

Frankly, the mediocrity that is almost always on show would have been imminently risible were it not for the tragic consequences on the society.

Clowns, chancers and looters are present in every society, but here they hog the limelight and public space; we coddle them and sadly they dictate the narrative.

Perhaps, therein lies the exceptionalism that is touted; herein lies the paradox; the joke is actually on he who can see through the perversion.....and no one really cares about the ensuing blight.

Even worse is the ire of those who you would have thought would know better; they will have none of it and rather do not hesitate in castigating the persons who point out clearly the farce that is ongoing.

These often flag emoji transmitting apologists employ rudimentary folk wisdom such as "the need to behave", "pointing to one's village with the left hand", "to leave the country if you do not like it", "a reminder about human institutions and the need for harmony", "Rome and the time it took to build it", "no where cool", "there is always hope" and many other thoroughly useless and inimical statements; statements that turn common sense on its head.

The smug one liners to trenchant and reasoned critique are legion, but hardly ever is there an argued rebuttal to bolster the lame and unsubstantiated accusations that those who offer the critique are engaged in "gratuitous insult" and "are seeking attention".

To surmmarize, the evidence dictates that the exceptionalism that is so loudly touted in this perennially underachieving and annoying place is bogus, embarrassing, and without merit.

Such naivety does not happen where people are seriously engaged in the hallowed task of nation building; such an exceptionalism is not countenanced where the momentum is towards ensuring societal progress.

And progress is certainly something that has eluded this country for many decades.

The current severe crisis facing the country should surely indicate that there is no place nor evidence for ghanaian exceptionalism whether at home or abroad.

What we need to realize is that an honest and fearless appraisal of both the essential problem and status quo wholly contain the means to the solution.

N. B. Andrews

January 22, 2023