The Commonality of Humanity; the Things that make us ONE! (4) – Our Conscience!

Every religion talks about it. Philosophers have spent ages debating about it. Psychologists, neurologists and other scientists have tried to explain it. Eminent jurists, lawyers and different national constitutions try to relate with it. Writers of all ages have written about it. We hear it in music, art and motion films. Some called it the ‘voice within,’ others say it’s the ‘inner light.’ Albert Einstein called it the ‘inner voice.’ I’m talking about the conscience. It is something we all have in common. There is no simple definition of it but to guide us on what the conscience is, Wikipedia.org states:

‘Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong.’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscience)

That means that one who has a conscience has the capacity to decide on what is considered right or wrong. All humans have this capacity and to that effect, the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights states:
‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood’
—United Nations, Universal Declaration on Human Rights Article 1
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscience)

The conscience is recognized legally. That is why, a person who refuses to serve in the military on the basis of his faith, his conscience and freedom of thought is called a conscientious objector and anyone arrested on the basis of that and other related issues is called a prisoner of conscience.

Some people reason that if we all have a conscience, then why do many commit horrendous crimes like what happened in US yesterday. Why on earth would an adult male shoot point-blank on kids that are aged between 5 and 10 years of age? Does such a man have a conscience? The fact is that we all have a conscience. That conscience can be modified and altered by exposure to a host of personal and environmental factors. Why do armed robbers, assassins, mass murderers, etc take hard drugs, alcohol and other mood-modifying agents before going out on such missions? They do that because they want to dull or numb their conscience. Some undergo spiritualistic rituals and take blood oaths because they know that people can change their minds on the basis of their conscience and then fail to follow through on their assignments. Some carry out their missions not because they don’t have a conscience but because they are afraid of the repercussions of a failed mission. Sergeant Rogers of the infamous Death squad once said that of those he killed, there was one lady who pleaded dearly for her life. At first, he hesitated. For a moment, his conscience was at work. Later, when he thought of what will happen to him if he failed, he decided to carry out the mission regardless.

There is also the issue of mental illness. There are several mental health conditions that can make the sufferer lose his inhibitions and thus do things that are unconscionable. Even at that, if it’s a treatable condition and such individuals receive the needed help, they can regain their insight and the ability to exercise their conscience. Many of these persons suffer for long upon a realization of the harm they've caused. Soldiers are trained to cope with the agony of war and the kills. They are trained to withstand whatever comes their way. Yet, in spite of that training, many still have post-traumatic stress disorders. Why? They have a conscience. The conscience can be compared to a light bulb and a switch. When you turn off the switch, the light goes off. It does not mean there is no power. The power is there and any time the switch is turn on, the light comes back. Some people switch off their conscience, so to speak. That doesn't mean they don’t have one. Later on, whether they like it or not, the switch is put back on, and they suffer miserably from the guilt of their conscience.

No matter where you are on the earth, when we hear about the horrible deeds of others, we are terrified and shocked because we have a conscience. Even in the midst of wars or disasters, people risk their lives to save others because they have a conscience. Many persons have shown remarkable courage, stood up to dictators, fought against the norms of their society on the basis of their conscience. We are not robots. We were created with free will and with that a conscience that will guide us in the exercise of that free will.

People of all races, nationalities, tribes, religions and from whatever background have a conscience. It is that conscience that has guided people who live even in seclusion from modern civilization to enact laws to protect those who are vulnerable. It is that conscience which God created in all of us that makes us liable and accountable for whatever misdeed we commit. Ignorance of the law is no excuse because we all have an inherent and intrinsic conscience that guides us to distinguish right or wrong. God can call us to account because he created us with a conscience. One conscience! One God!

The Commonality of Humanity; the Things that make us ONE! (3) – Our Blood: Red Gold!

There has been a lot of effort on the part of racially inclined individuals to explore the differences between their race and that of others. For many selfish reasons, some persons over many centuries now have stuck with whatever theories or propaganda they can lay hands on to explain the superiority of their race. Some centuries ago, the idea of the ‘blue blood’ was propagated. To quote directly from an online source:

"It was the Spaniards who gave the world the notion that an aristocrat's blood is not red but blue. The Spanish nobility started taking shape around the ninth century in classic military fashion, occupying land as warriors on horseback. They were to continue the process for more than five hundred years, clawing back sections of the peninsula from its Moorish occupiers, and a nobleman demonstrated his pedigree by holding up his sword arm to display the filigree of blue-blooded veins beneath his pale skin--proof that his birth had not been contaminated by the dark-skinned enemy." Robert Lacey, Aristocrats. Little, Brown and Company, 1983, p. 6.
{Online link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleanliness_of_blood}

Simply put, those individuals promoted the idea that they were superior to others on the claim that their blood was blue. That erroneous notion was partly helped by their light coloured skin which made their veins look visible and bluish. For many centuries, this was used to advance their selfish course and to perpetuate the erroneous belief that they were better than others. Now we know the truth. To quote another online source:

“In vertebrates and other hemoglobin-using creatures, arterial blood and capillary blood are bright red, as oxygen imparts a strong red color to the heme group. Deoxygenated blood is a darker shade of red; this is present in veins, and can be seen during blood donation and when venous blood samples are taken.” - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood
“Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals,and birds.” - (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertebrate)

This implies that all humans on earth, other mammals, birds and many other living creatures have the same blood colour: red.

Why is this relevant? Remember, we are focusing on the things that make us one; the things that we all share. It does not matter whether you are male or female, black, white or brown, rich or poor, educated or illiterate and no matter your religion; we all have the same blood colour. When other people look down on you and make you feel inferior, just remember: the same blood flow in our veins.

Yes, there are some differences in some micro-contents of our blood: blood types or groups etc. Such micro-differences may reflect our genetic make-up, geographic origin and the environment we live in, but those things do not alter the macro-appearance of our blood. If blood is withdrawn from an individual or there has been an accident and blood is on the scene, you can’t look at the blood with your bare eyes and say: ‘Oh, that’s a white man’s blood or that is Blood group A or B or that is a blood of a person from so and so religion.’ Don’t get me wrong, when our body is exposed to certain poisonous substances, it can temporarily change the colour of the blood but if that individual survives that ordeal, his/her blood colour returns to the universal colour. If a man is sick and he’s anaemic or cyanotic, it changes the colour of the blood. After treatment, his blood colour returns to normal. These temporary changes are indicative of the ills and deficits of the wicked world we live in.

Nevertheless, these things don’t take away the fact that we all are the same. The colour of our blood is another proof that we all have a lot in common and one of it is our red blood, a red gold that flows endlessly throughout the body of a living being in testimony to our One Creator.

The Commonality of Humanity; the Things that make us ONE! (2) – Our Birth!

Sometimes, we place so much emphasis on what sets us apart; the focus is always on what makes a group of people different from others. As a result we forget that we have so much in common: the commonalities of humanity. Starting yesterday (written some time ago, i'm republishing it), I began this new series to highlight the things that make us one. This is part 2.

Every human being on earth today was conceived and given birth to naturally or was delivered through a surgical procedure. There is no human alive who just materialized from nowhere. No one came to life by binary fission of the parents or by chemical concoction in a science lab. We were all born. We all are the product of the union of an egg and a sperm; whether this union took place naturally or in a tube. We all developed to full form in a human abdomen and at the length of time we were born or extracted into this world as living humans.

In discussing the use of an ultrasound in determining the age of a pregnancy (gestational age), Dr Anthony O. Marinho, a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist wrote in the book, ‘Contemporary Obstetrics and Gynaecology for Developing Countries’ edited by Prof. Okonofua and Dr. Odunsi (Page 31): “Ultrasound is most accurate early in pregnancy when most fetuses are the same size of age regardless of sex, race, genetic, nutritional and other environmental factors. Later in the pregnancy, these factors cause babies conceived in the same day by different couples to have different biometric measurements.” What this implies is that at conception and in the early stages of life, we were all the same size irrespective of who we are or where we came from.

Why is that important to my discourse? It does not matter whether my parents were rich or poor, black or white, tall or short, educated or illiterate, able or disabled; I was not different from others at conception and at the early stage of my life. Yes, later on, life happened and I changed more and more to reflect my heritage, my upbringing and the environment I lived in. Nevertheless, at the point where life began, at the beginning of the beginning, we looked just the same. The next time someone looks down on you because you are not as endowed as he/she is, don’t despair. Just remember: we all came from the same place and traveled the same route and then life (which was beyond our control) happened.

This is testimony to the fact that we were created by one Mind, one God. We are not a product of some random evolutionary mischief. 7 billion people on earth today came to life through the same process. That is not chance. That is a product of a deliberate action; the realization of one set of ideals, one set of goals, one set of visions and one purpose. Indeed, One Creator!

The Commonality of Humanity; the Things that make us ONE! (1) – Sleep!

Today has been awesome. We pray that tomorrow will be better. Life with all its intrigues, complexities, struggles and all sorts. No matter what you've done throughout today: school, work, play, dance, you name it, at the end of the day we all share the same fate. We get exhausted, worn out and as night falls we drag ourselves to sleep. The commonalities of humanity! One of the things that makes us the same, black or white, rich or poor, learned or not, after all the struggles, we get fagged out and when the sun sets and night comes, we all look for a place to lay down our head to sleep. The very few who can't lie down and sleep will come down with all sorts of illnesses. There is no group or class or caste of humans who do not fall down to sleep. Even the animals fall asleep. It's universal. It's one proof that we all were created by one Mind, one God. Sleep is a gift from God. It's not a waste of time as some would have you believe. It's like eating food, drinking water, and breathing in air. It's part of our wonderful make-up. Have you seen a newborn baby, after the initial cries and squirming, he lies down peacefully to sleep. How adorable they look in their sleep! Precious in deed! I thank God for this amazing gift. May we wake up tomorrow refreshed for a brand new day!

A word a day … (05-01-13)

A word a day … (05-01-13)

When you do something excellently well the first time, it can be called a fluke.

When you do it well the second time, others can still call it a fluke.

When you do it well the third time, there might be doubts still.

But if you keep doing it well repeatedly and continuously, be rest assured that 

it’s no fluke. It’s a talent. You need to accept it and own it.

A word a day… (04-01-13)

Power not only reside with those who can command security forces; enormous power resides in a group of people who have the will, the unity of purpose and the mental capacity to forge together and pursue a common goal

A Joke a day keeps the doctor away! (04-01-13)

Sometimes, I forget things quickly, no matter how important. I forget, just like that. One day, I went to turn my changeover switch after putting off my generator. After a short while, I forgot whether or not I've turned the switch. So I went out to check only to find out that have done that already. As usual I started this conversation with my changeover switch:

Switch: O boy, you don dey old oh! (Man, you are getting old!)

Me: What?

Switch: Nor be na na you change me. (You came here a while ago to make the change.)

Me: So?

Switch:  kwekeee! (No equivalent in Queen’s English. It’s an exclamatory expression.)

Me: Shut up! Take your time oh! (Be careful!) Otherwise, I’ll scatter scatter you. (I’ll destroy you.)

Switch: Me, I’m not worried oh, I know you will soon forget what I said.