
Viewpoints | Nov 21,2020
Sep 21 , 2019
By Tsion Fisseha
The first memory I have of the Prime Minister’s Office is driving past it with my dad when I was very young. I had clear and seemingly weird instructions: do not point toward it, do not try to wave to anybody around it, and most importantly, do not attempt to stare at it.
The office of whoever was running the country at that moment in time was like an eclipse for me, you can look at it, but it came with a lot of instructions and it was best if you did not look at it at all.
These set of unwritten rules played a significant role in the way I viewed politics, politicians and the entire system of government and governance in and outside the country.
I believed, and still somehow believe, that politics should not be played with. I also believed that it was a one-way street that never allowed people to go back once they were sucked in.
This affiliation of people and “lords” was never one that runs smoothly due to how we were raised to think about it and how we should act toward and around it.
Politicians, no matter how loved or hated by the people, were and are still somehow viewed as less human and more system. A web of technical entanglement with little to no emotion attached to their being. Like being a body of sorts who made and broke the rules for the benefit of themselves and sometimes the people. They are viewed as untouchable and unbreakable.
This rhetoric, for me at least, has been shattered into pieces by the most personal interview Ethiopia’s Prime Minister gave recently. An interview that broke years of believing that conversation that entailed politics and policies were the only types deemed to be fit for people like the prime minister of a country. It was an interview that allowed the premier to be someone more than just a leader. The interview challenged the old belief about politicians as it is an interview that took people by surprise in a positive sense.
It all surpassed the common norm and made it bluntly clear politicians are human too.
Scott Simon says politicians are human too. If you prick them, they will bleed. If you pet them, they’ll lick your hand. They’re filled with anxieties, contradictions and duplicities, but I wonder what groups, including journalists, salesperson, hammer dulcimer makers or Franciscan priests, are not.
I could not help but wonder of the change in the minds of the youth if this aspect had been made clear. If everyone believed that they could freely express themselves and be understood by their prime minister or local leaders, then the idea of being a part of the system will not scare the living politics out of them.
The truth is, politics is a dirty game most of which is not understood by half the people watching it. The game show host explains every bit of the rules, but somehow everyone is lost at some point in time. And it is scary to know that you could be swallowed whole by the rules and regulations that seem to make no sense.
But this belief that politics, along with everyone involved in it, should be feared, because we have been told to, is precisely the reason why there is such a disconnect in what is and what should be.
However, beliefs like rules are meant to be broken. The rules should be broken so that the way is paved for a more humane approach to politics that does away with the “evil” system. Change is needed. It is better to understand how one can leave one’s mark as opposed to be blinded by the old marks that have been left for eons..
PUBLISHED ON
Sep 21,2019 [ VOL
20 , NO
1012]
Viewpoints | Nov 21,2020
Fineline | Jan 04,2020
Commentaries | Jun 27,2020
Life Matters | Jan 23,2021
Viewpoints | Apr 13,2019
Verbatim | Jul 27,2019
Commentaries | Jul 10,2020
Verbatim | Oct 12,2019
Sunday with Eden | Aug 16,2020
Viewpoints | Oct 03,2020
My Opinion | 131974 Views | Aug 14,2021
My Opinion | 128363 Views | Aug 21,2021
My Opinion | 126301 Views | Sep 10,2021
My Opinion | 123917 Views | Aug 07,2021
Dec 22 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitiv...
Aug 18 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Although predictable Yonas Zerihun's job in the ride-hailing service is not immune to...
Jul 28 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Unhabitual, perhaps too many, Samuel Gebreyohannes, 38, used to occasionally enjoy a couple of beers at breakfast. However, he recently swit...
Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Investors who rely on tractors, trucks, and field vehicles for commuting, transporting commodities, and f...
Jul 5 , 2025
Six years ago, Ethiopia was the darling of international liberal commentators. A year...
Jun 28 , 2025
Meseret Damtie, the assertive auditor general, has never been shy about naming names...
Jun 21 , 2025
A well-worn adage says, “Budget is not destiny, but it is direction.” Examining t...
Jun 14 , 2025
Yet again, the Horn of Africa is bracing for trouble. A region already frayed by wars...
Jul 6 , 2025 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER
The federal legislature gave Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) what he wanted: a 1.9 tr...
Jul 6 , 2025 . By YITBAREK GETACHEW
In a city rising skyward at breakneck speed, a reckoning has arrived. Authorities in...
Jul 6 , 2025 . By NAHOM AYELE
A landmark directive from the Ministry of Finance signals a paradigm shift in the cou...
Jul 6 , 2025 . By NAHOM AYELE
Awash Bank has announced plans to establish a dedicated investment banking subsidiary...