Hello
folks, hope you’ve had a wonderful day? I hope you have enjoyed my previous
articles. If so, thanks a lot for reading them. It means a lot to me. Today I
will be writing about the thin line between Fear and Respect. This is another
part in the THIN LINE series. The thin line series for those who are reading
this for the first time, is a series I made up which talks about the lines men
cross which could be detrimental to their lives.
First
of all let us talk about fear. According to my Dictionary App, Fear is an
unpleasant emotion caused by actual or perceived danger. Another definition
depicts fear as a sense induced by someone or something. The synonyms of fear
include dread, phobia, scare, anxiety and apprehension. As for me I am going
with the second definition that, Fear is a feeling of being kept captive by
someone because that person has or can do something to you. So in order to get
on his good side you will do all he asks.
Respect
on the other hand, according to my Dictionary app is an attitude of high regard
or good opinion, honour or admiration. I totally want to be respected, don’t
you?
The
problem with fear this is, you may get the type of “respect” you are looking
for but you lose one of the most important things that fear can never give you,
and that is LOVE. Love is the purest emotion that one human being can feel for
another. Without love, you may be respected but you will be hated. People will
always fear you because you are the “big shark in a pond of little fishes”.
There have been examples of people who are feared here in Africa. In various
communities in Nigeria, there are people whose opinions are always considered
first they are called “Opinion leaders”. Some of these people are loved,
because they give good advice that benefits the community, or they are feared
because they are connected to some godfather who backs him up and uses his
power to intimidate and extort the people.
The
major difference between these two people is as clear as day. One is respected
because he is loved, and the other is feared because he is hated. I know what
you are saying, “you can’t please everyone and it does not matter who loves you
and who doesn’t”. But the truth is, it is your actions that count. A friend of
mine once told me. No matter what you do, people are watching. If you are hated
for being a good person, please note that you are doing this for yourself and
not for any other person. Sooner or later, your actions will influence theirs.
If not them, future generations will remember you for the legacies you left
behind. But if you are hated, remember, when the “jig is up”; you will be
thrown in to the wolves den by the people who “respected” you.
To
buttress my point above, let us take a look at this analogy. A politician in a
local community, in our case a Local Government Chairman, has about say 5,000
people in his community. There is no clean water, no electricity, and no social
amenities to keep the youth busy. Instead he lives in a mansion and is living
off the budget allotted to him from the state government. The people try to
complain but he turns a blind eye to their plight. This local government
chairman has local thugs who sing his praises everyday and they receive
stipends for their praises. Then all of a sudden the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) catches up with him when this tenure is over. Do you
think these same thugs will bail him out of the jaws of the law? Hell no!
Let’s
say the situation was reversed. The situation will not be the same. His people
will vouch for him because all the social amenities mentioned in this previous
paragraph have been put in place. People may hate him for been good, but the
majority will respect him for providing a lasting legacy for that community.
So,
in conclusion, it is better to be respected, loved and hated than to be hated alone.
LIVE
LONG AND EXCEL
You
can reach me on my facebook page www.facebook.com/iexcel360
E-mail:
johnnyogah2000@gmail.com
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