Thoughts on the LNP

This is my response to Ben's comment (see the post below entitled: "Thought Provoking Blogging")

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Dear Ben,

Thank you for taking the time to not only read the blog, but to respond to it with candid comments. I found your remarks challenging and interesting. I have opened it up to other blog readers to respond and now I would like to touch on a few thoughts myself.

Scenario #1: The break-in

I find myself looking back at this situation from time to time and each time I am filled with some regret. I think back not so much to the time with the LNP, but the time spent with Peter and my response following the break-in. I felt I was justified in turning him away and disassociating myself from him, yet something gnaws at me. Could I have taken the encounters following his arrest to show him something that does not come naturally to me: grace? I wonder what might have been different had I put my justifications to the side and pitied the plight of a young man lost on his journey. I will never know.

My encounter with the police frustrated me. His references to justice from the Bible and his eager desire to solicit more money from someone he believed to be wealthy. Perhaps he was well intentioned, but it left a dry, bitter taste in my mouth. Yes, it would have been appropriate to approach a higher authority, yet I have seen since then that the higher levels are not always to be trusted for sound judgment either. That said, I believe that you are right in what you wrote. Complaints must be taken to a higher level, but who has the time? The job is demanding and tackling bureaucracy can be a frustrating, time consuming process. I had no “right” to complain based on this one example, but please note that it was three separate occasions that has shaped my opinion.

Scenario #2: The motorcycle accident / blackboard justice

My point was not properly communicated. In no way was I suggesting that the blackboard was an inadequate “tool.” I actually found it helpful in providing an overview of the accident. I did have a problem with the speed at which the police officer delivered a verdict. Ben if you were there as a non-biased observer you would have jumped in to defend my case. I presented my side of the story and then the driver of the vehicle did the same. The police officer then looked at me and said: “you were in the wrong lane and are hereby charged with reckless driving and illegal lane maneuvering.” There were no lines painted on the road and the vehicle made no indication of turning left. I accepted the verdict after one protest since I the police officer’s intention was confirmed to me.

Ben what would you have done? Would you have spent half a day or a whole day at the traffic court to fight the apparent injustice? Or is it simply best to become a part of the system: make the payments and go home with most parties somewhat happy? And besides, who am I to judge these actions as “corrupt?” Is that not a Western term pasted onto a culture with a distinctly differing set of values? Am I in a position to say that a subset of values is negative?

Scenario #3: Assault on a police officer

There are very few Liberian friends / colleagues who will advocate that we present our driving particulars to the police officers. Any required document (i.e. driver’s license, insurance papers) can be used inappropriately to serve an “unjust” purpose. The man who took the license that day is just one such person; however, the other officers at that intersection were of a different nature. They heard my case and realized their colleague was reacting emotionally. They attempted to calm him down and through a few phone calls the situation was resolved.

Last thoughts:

Perhaps I have given the impression that I view every Liberian police officer as corrupt. This is not true; there are police officers who are competent and willing to change the system, but they are few. When driving through the markets (Red Light or Duallah) you notice police officers accepting money from drivers frequently. It is unfortunate, but with a failed economy it is difficult to pay the police force adequately and on-time. So, they resort to systems reinforced during the civil war when authority equated to coercive power. I hope that this will change on a whole and that once again police officers in Liberia can regain the respect of not just the expatriates, but even more so from the Liberian people.