THE PRICE OF HARD LESSONS WE DON'T LEARN

by GARY JUFFA MP

PNG as a nation is collectively undergoing an extremely expensive education. Many lessons are being taught. We are our own teachers and students at once.

We are fast being educated on leadership, choices, standards, patriotism or lack of it, appreciating what we have, the value of which we can only know after it is all gone etc...these are some of the lessons.

The price? Our land and all on it and in it and under it and around it, our culture, our opportunities and our future and indeed our very existence.

The question is, will we learn these lessons in time to do anything about what we have learnt or will it be too late?

That remains to be seen.

Right now we should see that we are indeed our own worst enemies. Thats right. All this is happening because we let it happen. We post the guardians at the gate. We entrust them with the power to screen and filter who comes in and who doesn't and what they can and cannot do. We choose whether to act or not when they do anything that is against our interests.

We cannot blame anyone or anything other then ourselves. We have chosen this. Think about it carefully before you adamantly protest otherwise.

Who brought us here?

Indeed we did. Our choices.

Indeed the lesson in choices is perhaps the most important of all.

We chose this. WE. We do this every 5 years. So drink that bitter pill of your own prescription and see if you will do different next time around.

Will we do this again in 2022? Going by the trend since 1975, 16th September, the philosophy of 5 weeks dring bia na kaiak lamb flaps na 5 years kisim taim will most likely prevail. We shall choose followers, spineless cowards, crooks and not a few imbeciles. The few who can fight and do fight for what is right and to make this nation great are too few.

Perhaps the lessons will end when all that we have is gone and when we look into the future, the future that belongs to our children, the children and their future that we didn't care enough to fight for.

Will we be able to do anything about it then? Well lets ask ourselves are we doing anything about it now? No we are not. We are mesmerised by rugby games overseas and which royal got married and whose song is the best in whatever nightclub. We are learning lessons about things that do not matter and failing to learn about the things that do matter.

What matters is independence. But of course we hardly realise that we are far from independence. We wave our flags and be patriotic once a year and at every sporting event where we participate but we do not own our own means of developing our resources, we don't even own the laws that would allow us to do this. Will we realise that true independence is economic independence and thus do our best to gain that type of independence?

Or will we be shackled by others who we sold ourselves to? Those who the guardians we chose sold us out to?

Will they teach our children, who we sold into slavery unwittingly, the same lessons and will this whole process be repeated generation after generation with each generation happily celebrating the 16th September 1975 as their day of "independence" whilst living in miserable poverty, the poorest people on the richest land?

Ask yourself if you have taken note and learned your lessons yet. If not, then brace yourself for the worst which is yet to come.

Of course, things may improve. But I am not holding my breath. Kaikai blo tingting.