The aspiring politician took to the podium, microphone in hand. The crowd was ecstatic and expectant. They were eagerly waiting to hear what he had to say as he launched into his manifesto. When he shouted his party slogan, the shouts reached a crescendo. But all this changed when he started speaking. Instead of outlining what he intended to do once elected to office, he launched into a tirade of insults and abuses directed at his opponent. But unknown to him, the event was being broadcast on national television and his son was watching.
Two days after his rally, as he was relaxing in his house, he heard his son mimicking him outside as they were playing with his friends. Shock hit him when he heard his son shouting expletives at his friend. He rushed out, his anger boiling vowing to teach his son a lesson. When the father demanded to know where the son got that foul language, his son calmly told him “dad si hata wewe ulikuwa unaongea hivyo kwa TV” (dad, you were also speaking like that on TV). All the anger dissipated. He realized that his son had learnt from “the best”.
We need to know that people learn more from observation than what they hear. Indeed, it is even more important that those people in positions of leadership understand that many people look up to them and will take what they say or do, as being the right thing and often even copy what they say or do. This doesn’t only apply to politics but every sphere of our lives. Let us not be shocked when we see or hear people replicating what we said or did. Let us be a good example of what we want to see. Let us take responsibility and say I am the society. Let us be the mirror that reflects back, society. Let us be the standard measure of good morals in our society. Click HERE for more posts by Mwangi
