"A hen must lay eggs, a cow must give milk, a canary must sing, but by giving you nothing but love, a dog makes his living," wrote Dale Carnegie in How to Gain Friends and Influence People. That renowned author of some of the finest books ever written and pioneer of public speaking programmes knew two things about man's best friend that most people didn't: all dogs love their owners to the grave; not all dogs show it by barking strangers away. The former is easy, the latter defies standard assumptions. Basenjis, Greyhounds and Newfoundlands are examples of working breeds that do not bark. Oftentimes, their owners do the watching over small breeds which don't favour vocal harassment. Yet they get fed, visit the vet's and earn a lot of care for their loyalty nonetheless. Think of them as the watched dog.
Similarly, society seems to have evolved to watch easy-going lads. The whistleblower, the morally upright and the minister in the pulpit now get attention for what they say or do. In the past it was the minister's duty to watch our failings and call us out when we went wrong. Unfortunately, he has become the watched dog. The table has turned. Our sense of value has been edited, or worse, deleted. Good has been eroded and quality reversed. We would rather celebrate the one who revels in the murky waters so long as he can toss something at us to brighten our coloured thirty-two. Simply put, we have no shame anymore than the canine on fours which does not earn its meals.
Shameless though we have become, a remnant breed must remain. We must raise German Shepherds, strong and courageous sniffer dogs who can scan the horizon and go after the story without fear. We must breed Rottweilers, bold and stout-hearted guard dogs who can lockdown society's evil in one bite. The gentleman in a pair of pants and the lady in smart jeans on truth's dirt road who scribble with the quill for a chance to fix community's ills must find their way back. Journalism - objective, investigative and reformer reporting - must return to the tabloids, the screen and the cyberspace. We need men and women who understand that the chickens we fear are scared to death that we might find out how fearful they are. Only those who have a rare command of the world of words can cut through the maze that corruption and poor leadership have sown in our soil for us to feed our children with. Young people may be taught to understand that this nation along with her wealth belong to them. Our little ones must learn that uprightness and hope in these darkest nights should glimmer the corners of human conscience. Tomorrow begins when people are told the truth through the eyes of a watchdog who has found a way to evade being watched.
