*Fact VS Factoid

I may not be the first to see glaringly clear that the popularity of the infant democracy has waned in Ethiopia even before it has flourished enough. In fact, this trend seems to be consistent throughout the passing years. Sadly, the other African nations, who were in a similar path of flourishing are also seen choosing the same downward movement. People, especially the young, in this country, seem to have become severely myopic and intolerant with one another in this process of building democracy. Instead of trying to analyze the facts from the factoids, they simply label people based on a totally irrelevant yardstick. I don't want to blame them as they learned this from their predecessors. Let me give you an instance: if one comments on any nationwide issue or a politician’s speech in a social media, (s)he’s to be immediately pigeon-holed. (S)he would NOT be evaluated based on the merits of his/her suggested ideas, but rather on whose race or creed, or color (s)he belongs to. The sad fact is that we have been obliged to become our ‘race’ (as if ‘race’ was unadulterated) before we are free human beings, or even by far, citizens of a country. Our current “elites” whose such paranoia emanated from, were the product of a three decade’s collapsed higher education institutes. These universities and colleges have been directed to intentionally rewire their minds so that their products would take a diminishing role, i.e., for their race, creed, district, and region rather than serving the big picture - their nation, continent and the world. In order to instill this kind of rewired thinking, governments used a couple of unreliable information that were reported and repeated so often that they become accepted as facts (factoids), rather than the real happenings (facts). In other words, these ‘elites’ and their followers were in a systemic way exposed to echo the factoids. This way governments or politicians have been able to divide people so that they could rule them for as long as they wish. What comes next was that the divided people waged wars of different kinds on each other. Hence, country folks started seeing each other as enemies rather than brothers and sisters. The fact is common folks have lived intermingled with one another in many ways for centuries. However, with the three-decades’ lapse of time, the long-lived relationships, compassion and strong bond of race and creed has been eroded by these few advocates; the impact of national psyche has then become horrendous. Political parties are comprised of those institutions' products - mostly racial and primordial champions, succumbing to the pull of ethnics and ethno-regionalism, hatemongering conspirators. These people have seen others who don't belong to their camp as adversaries. As we saw a few months ago, we were obliged to experience the unnecessary executions and atrocities. In short, we became what they rewired us to become -we all became victims and fell from grace. Is there any way out from this terrible mess? Of course, there is, I guess. Nevertheless, as they took 3 decades to make such a bad product, it might take some time if not the same number of years to produce good ones that stick to the facts and say enough is enough to factoids.