In the great speech about his dream, Martin Luther King asked Americans not to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. "Now" he said "is the time to make real the powers of democracy." Today, Ghana is praised for practising democracy and we are all keen on electing a democratic government by the democratic process next December. But is that all democracy is about? Is it merely to allow us to blow off steam occasionally? Martin Luther King answered no 45 years ago. Democracy must make justice a reality, he maintained. It should give meaning to freedom. It should not allow so many to wallow in the valley of despair, plagued by incessant humiliating poverty. Martin Luther King called for action, not tomorrow, but now. He did not ask for action bit by bit over the years. He did not plead to the government to act. He did not take guns against the established order. He called on the people to assert their inalienable rights. His dream revealed the vision that soon every valley shall be exalted, the crooked places made straight, and the glory of creation revealed. The glory has not been revealed in all its splendour but a mighty revolution has taken place within our short life time. Who would have believed that 45 years to the day on 28th August 1963, an African American would stand at the venue of the revelation of the great dream as the Presidential candidate of a major political party of the United States? We live in stirring times. Looking back on so many years of enslavement and colonialism what has happened in the past 70 years has been phenomenal. There were many pygmies of leaders during the period, but the few truly great men like Martin Luther King brought hope to many and inspired many. The Second World War made many question the order of things and new ideas gained ground. Even before the end of the war at Achimota, the Principal the Rev. RW Stopford was lecturing us about Archbishop William Temple whose deep spirituality did not blind him to the misery which was the lot of many. William Temple embraced the socialist cause and coined the phrase The Welfare State. Some of us felt that religion should not restrict itself to the pie in the sky, but should be concerned with social issues. We followed the exploits of the great men and women who gave true meaning to democracy in their pronouncements and work until the hour of independence struck in Ghana. Many advised those who wanted change to hasten slowly. Some like Nkrumah would not heed that advice. The poverty, the squalor, the misery could not continue they argued. They were a slur on the nation. We should get rid of them quickly and if in the process we burnt our hands a little, so be it. Nkrumah preferred resolute action with danger to ineffective movement in tranquility. Years later, Martin Luther King confirmed that gradualism is no cure for our woes. He believed that we should take the bull by the horns and act mindful of the dangers ahead and determined to deal with them. We have tried short cuts through coup d’etats and military uprisings. They have not worked. We are forced to the original path but we are reluctant to move forward resolutely. We try hard to avoid any pains and are providing everybody with a pair of sandals so that the feet are spared any discomfort. Tranquillizers have become more important than the tools and discipline which are necessary for progress and achievement. In the stupor produced by the tranquillizers, poverty enlarges itself. Corruption breeds. Ethnic discord extends its tentacles. In this situation we are losing the hope which would enable us to "hew hope out of the mountains of despair." We are losing the faith which will transform the grinding discord of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. And so let us at this election time be inspired by the great African American Martin Luther King who made us see that dreams can come true in our own life time. Let us also remember the dreams of our great pioneers. Let us make democracy meaningful. Let us act to banish abject poverty and not merely try to mitigate its effects. Kwame Nkrumah sought development through work and happiness. He used state power when necessary to provide work in the regions and districts so that the people might contribute to their own advancement in their towns and villages, and not flock to the big towns. President Kufuor has elected private enterprise as the engine of growth and has shown leadership by selecting and promoting presidential special initiatives. Osagyefo's projects did not all go well. But many refused to see any merit in even those which succeeded. They embarked on willful dissipation of public projects. So far as President Kufuor’s efforts are concerned, I was involved in an organisation which decided to invest in a project with prospects of good returns. I supported investment in a cassava project under the President's special initiative because I believed that with the President behind it, it would succeed. But I was wrong. We had to get out of the project because the President Kufuor initiative failed. The time has come to grow up. We should stop condemning without examination and thinking. Why did some of Nkrumah's projects go wrong and what lessons do we learn from them? Why have not all President Kufuor's special initiatives succeeded? What have we learnt? What can be done to ensure success? We have to act, and act quickly, learning from our past efforts. It is not a question of talking and looking for outside help. We have to act and act quickly on our own. We must have a dream. We should elect a leader with a vision next December. If we do not do that we perish. We live in revolutionary times, the world will not wait for us. Credit: K.B. Asante [Voice from Afar] Source: Daily Graphic