"Those societies which cannot combine reverence to their symbols with freedom of revision must ultimately decay either from anarchy or from the slow atrophy of a life stifled by useless shadows" A.N. Whitehead (Symbolism, its meaning and effect) We shall continue our discussion on the Symbolism of the Black Star. In this sequel, we shall conclude our exposition. We shall focus on why Ghana's growth and development has been so chequered and anti-climatic, notwithstanding the presence of all the elements required for swift growth and prosperity. From a purely metaphysical or spiritual level, I shall say Ghana doomed itself with the Black Star at the moment of its birth. The clue to understanding what I am saying is found in Job 3:3-9. Here are excerpts: “May the day of my birth perish, And the night it was said, "A boy is born!" That day-may It turn to darkness; May God above not care about it; May no light shine upon it. May its morning stars become dark; May it wait for daylight in vain And not see the first rays of dawn.” The moment of one's birth is the most critical time in one's life; from that moment, a person's destiny is written, and, consequently, what flows in one's life experiences is traceable to that moment of birth. Thus, when Job lamented his birthday he cursed his natal star. An accursed natal star yields nothing but trouble and perplexity. Ghana has always bemoaned why it lives on so-called past glory, when Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and other younger nations with whom she began life had all surpassed her in every aspect of development. She has everything, yet she is poor! As we learnt in the earlier article: Symbolism of the Black Star, symbols operate on our sub-conscious mind. At that level, it achieves, without discriminating, what it has been programmed to achieve. The doubts that Ghanaians express about the impossibility of a black star shining neutralise the self-worth, self-confidence and self-love that Ghanaians must exhibit to perform at their best. Since the sub-consciousness does not discriminate in terms of actualising what it is fed with, it acts out these doubts of the Ghanaian with indecision, lack of vision, mediocrity, lack of consistency, and lack of endurance, or staying power. We give up too soon. We complain too much. And we are too slow to act. Knowing what the essence of a star is, the United States symbolised each State with a star, as nature made it: White, symbolising life, light, energy, brilliance. Is the US not a stupendous country? Ghana's Black Star has thus created a metaphysical pall of darkness over the land. Ghana exists in a twilight state. The light is not sufficient for us to have a clear-sighted vision of our future. Nkrumah's best plans for the nation were demonised and, abandoned when we kicked him out of power. Busia began the Accra central sewerage project; he was overthrown and the project curtailed. Limann started the Oppon Manso Iron Ore Project. He too was booted out of office and the project aborted. Rawlings came up with Vision 2020; the NPP has thrown it into the waste basket, and come up with Poverty Reduction Strategy. We are always moving to and fro, uncertain of what we should specifically do about national policies. Policies are dictated by national vision. Without a national vision, the policies will dance like debris on the ocean. Ghana is uncertain of the way forward. Again, the insufficient energy and light reduce the intensity of fire required to bring out the best within the Ghanaian. The "gold" of the Ghanaian demands intense fire to purify it. That fire is not in Ghana. This explains why Ghanaians excel outside, but immediately they come to Ghana, something gives way, and they become mediocre! It is the Black Star! Psychologically, the tendencies of mental inertia, and negative attitude of pulling people down; contentment with mediocrity; and failure to carry things through to their perfect end, amongst other habits, are unconscious reflection of the effect of the black star on the Ghanaian. Freedom and Justice has turned to Indiscipline and Injustice! We talk of the rule of law, without practising it as we should. Under the pall of darkness, materialistic tendencies and criminality within Ghanaians have grown so fine, and so sophisticated, it puzzles us from whence such moral corruption. It must be said that the moral stature of the Ghanaian, his intellectual brilliance, his inventiveness and organisational genius were characteristics that were well known to the British, and all those who interacted with the Ghanaian. The Ghanaian is a great and gifted person, and his strength and greatness of mind was very apparent BEFORE independence. It was AFTER independence, when the Black Star was chosen, that the inexorable and inevitable decline started, till now. We still exhibit some starriness of mind and initiative above our contemporary African countries. However, there are so many things we could have done by way of development, with the resources that we command that we have not done well these past 50 years. Do we not say that once upon a time the towns and cities of Ghana were neat because of "samasama" people (town council environmental officers)? That was before and soon after independence. After that, what next? What is Ghana's state of cleanliness today? When, once upon a time, we sat by the fireside and listened to stories, where were the mosquitoes? And, today, who can sit outside, even at noon, without mosquitoes biting him? We have declined. Until we transform the destiny of the nation by changing its loadstar, the Black Star, no political party shall succeed in doing what Ghanaians' feel in their hearts should be done. They will all come and "chop" Ghana! It is not their ambition to do so. The environment induces them to behave so. It is significant that even God, who, by all known human standards, is above any limitation, had to change the symbols of some characters in the Bible, in order for His blessings to be realised in their lives. God changed Abram's name to Abraham; Sarai to Sarah; Jacob to Israel. Other nations like Upper Volta changed their name to Burkina Faso (Land of the incorruptible). Let us end our discussion here. Our political history, economic growth, our moral values, social and cultural development show an evolving organisation and capability from simplicity to sophistication; that is to say, we are a young nation trying hard to make it. We shall quicken our development if we had a lesser burden of a bad symbol to contend with. What I wish to impress on readers is that if Ghanaians realise the metaphysical connotation of symbols in their lives, of which our culture has abundant examples, then we must change the Black Star. It is evil. The earlier we change it the better. During the Jubilee Celebration, the national memorabilia had the symbol of Gye Nyame on them. We could adopt the Gye Nyame symbol. It is good. Conversely, we could let the star remain, but restore its light to it! The eminent American philosopher and writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "Things are in the saddle and ride mankind". The "things" refer to symbols that affect the destiny of people and nations. In other words, the Black Star is brooding over the fortunes of Ghana, whether we like it or not. And, certainly, not for the best! Having in mind what God did to the names of Abram and Sarai, let us act in the spirit of wisdom and say good bye to the Black Star NOW! Says British writer, Thomas Caryle, in his essay "Sartor Resartus"; "We account him legislator and wise who can so much tell when a symbol has grown, old and gently remove it". Source: Ahumah Ocansey/Daily Graphic