A disinterested Good Samaritan

THE Concise Oxford Dictionary defines disinterested as: not influenced by one’s own advantage, impartial, uninterested or divest of interest. On the other hand, interest refers to the selfish pursuit of one’s own welfare, self-interest. Being interested is about having a private interest, not being impartial or disinterested.

THE Concise Oxford Dictionary defines disinterested as: not influenced by one’s own advantage, impartial, uninterested or divest of interest. On the other hand, interest refers to the selfish pursuit of one’s own welfare, self-interest. Being interested is about having a private interest, not being impartial or disinterested.

A good example of a disinterested Good Samaritan is an old lady who resides at corner of Harare Street and Herbert Chitepo Avenue, opposite Nyaradzo Funeral Parlour. She is not a lady of means by any standard. This can be testified by the state of her lodgings.

Despite her humble lifestyle, on a daily basis, at a given time you find a queue of able-bodied people receiving food handouts. Given her simple lifestyle, one would expect her, like the biblical widow, to cook the last meal, eat and die. However, this is not the case. In fact, some of the said beneficiaries of her warm heart are at times abusive. They knock at the gate when they think time for feeding is up. In spite of all this abuse, she continues with her good work unperturbed.

History is awash with such disinterested Good Samaritans, the likes of Florence Nightingale, Mother Theresa and Nelson Rolihlahla Madiba Mandela.

mother theresa

Nightingale, the founder of the nursing profession, sacrificed her life together with her team in trying to save injured soldiers. One of her vows was never to see a dying soul that could be saved left to die out of negligence. The world benefited immensely from Mother Theresa’s humanitarian pursuits. Rolihlahla is a Xhosa word meaning a trouble causer. Contrary to the meaning of his name, Mandela became one of the greatest peacemakers of the 21st Century. He had all the reason and power to revenge for his 27 years’ incarceration yet he voluntarily chose to reconcile with all warring groupings including his oppressors – a disinterested act at its best.

The other side of the coin is interested benevolence. What is the motive for portraying a liberal spirit? Across the divide, be it political, economic or sports fraternities, when business pours in financial support to government projects, is it an innocent act of goodwill or payback time is expected at some future date? Whatever support one gives, be it moral or financial, is it free or have some strings been attached to it?

Hospitals are in desperate circumstances when it comes to machinery and equipment, let alone medicines. Hungry people traverse our streets. Some normal people are feigning insanity for want of a caring heart.

If all money poured in sports and political parties, by way fundraising, could be directed to the really needy areas, this country would be a different place to live in.

Bribing in courts is viewed as an unacceptable social evil. Surprisingly, society watches and in fact applauds people who bribe their way to positions of trust for that matter. In a society with right morals, the very attempt to buy voters’ support should be a disqualifying factor to any aspirant in any field of interest.

But, alas, this is not the case. It would appear bribery is only bad when done by someone else and not when done by political players.

Issues of honesty, loyalty and diligence have been discarded from society’s vocabulary. Pomp and self-aggrandisement are now viewed as virtues. Norms and values have been sacrificed at the altar of convenience.

There are poor men out there who are honest and diligent, who, like the late Burkina Faso leader Thomas Sankara, are willing to take this country economically, politically or sportwise to greater heights. Unfortunately, their only sin is that they don’t have resources to influence their bid for leadership. Crooks and malcontents will continue to have their way.

lMoses Tsimukeni Mahlangu writes in his own capacity and can be reached on [email protected] for comments.