Day of Unity Featured
DAY OF UNITY
Yesterday it was our HEROES DAY, today it is our day of UNITY.
Today we are seeing many things – tribalism, religion and politics – being used to try and divide our people, our country.
Abraham Lincoln gracefully said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
There are 19.6 million people within our homeland, each with uniqueness and opposing view on fundamental aspects of life. Normally, dissimilarities create division and occasional conflict. However, we tend to forget that we all have one common goal – the betterment of our country and its people. This is what brings forth unity.
Opposing views are okay, it is quite easy to agree with others but it takes real strength and courage to respectfully disagree. We truly gain more from unity among opposing views as there as twice as many opinions, three times as many skills, four times as much information, five times as many opportunities and so one.
We learn about extended experiences, values and traditions. This means that the most uniting forces are not laws, constitutions, organisations, roads or buildings but people and their willingness to unify.
One Zambia, One Nation, means that Zambia is an independent nation but we are not independent of each other. It takes unity despite opposing views to run your household, to make your businesses function, to create programmes to teach in schools so why would you expect any less from a country and its people? Successful entities hire people with different specialities, different backgrounds, different kinds and levels of education and with all that diversity, it thrives. It builds tolerance towards the different and even the difficult.
Without unity, there is no growth, integrity, freedom and definitely no patriotism.
No team has ever won a game without team spirit with a united front. We want our football teams to excel yet we don’t independently practice what it takes for a country to win.
Unity equals good guidance, proper growth and true development. It provides a constant source of positive motivation and greater accomplishment.
While many factors contribute to the overall development of a country, national unity is the most vital. “Unity is Strength” and “United we stand, divided we fall”, are common phrases and are true to their every word. Can you really love a nation without loving all its citizens?
This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.
It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.
Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both.
One Love!
Fred M’membe