By: Togba_Nah Tipoteh
In the midst of all of the noise in the recent leadership struggle of the Press Union of Liberia (PU), there is a tendency for one to forget about the role of the Media Giant James Dennis, who just passed away. He was not only a giant locally, but he was a giant globally. He even protected people who said that they were protected by Our Creator. Although he looked slim and small, he was a giant. Never take a person by the looks of the person.
In the most recent PUL leadership struggle, giant Dennis promised to intervene and help to settle the struggle. In helping to settle the struggle, he used his skills as a founder of the PUL. As he earned the skills, he set a useful example of attending to societal problems. Generally, with the powers that be, promoting autocracy rather than democracy was the norm. Therefore, his example is helping in getting decision makers to depend on earning from qualifications rather than personal background. The personal choice situation leads to poverty generation that remains the main societal problem today.
When the Civil War was on in Liberia, many persons were looking for places to hide so that they would not be killed. This giant journalist knew that the GOL was looking particularly for journalists who wrote the storms and hid many persons, including journalists and religious leaders. He showed the willingness to serve rather than be served just as Our Creator wants us to be. This he did while placing his life and the lives of his family and friends at great risk. By doing such, he set a giant example for others to follow. This is why we call him a giant.
He set this example globally as well. Up to today, journalists are being killed by governments around the world. These killings take place because these journalists tell the truth about the corrupt practices of government officials. We know very well that governments, including the current government, have called corruption the number one enemy of society. However, the current government does not have a strategy in motion to eradicate corruption. How will corruption be eradicated>
Corruption is being eradicated by the awareness raising that is being carried out by honest people. This awareness raising is seen in the fact that almost all of the National Legislators of Liberia who wanted to be re-elected were not re-elected in the October 10, 2024 Election. This trend is highly likely to continue in the upcoming elections. The awareness raising is working well because it is motivating honest people to take actions within the Rule of Law.
Through the actions of honest people, the lives of journalists and others are being saved. Through the actions of honest people, the unfair electoral system is being transformed. It is only through this transformation that persons with good records can get elected to bring in the system of Justice, the indispensable ingredient of Peace and Progress in Liberia and in any other country.
