A very long time ago, when eyes were still on the knees, there was a great famine which affected all animals. The famine was such that animals couldn’t get food to eat.
They then called a meeting to discuss the famine. At the end of the day, they decided to kill their parents, at least that would have lasted them for some time.
But the dog loved his own mother so much that he told the mother what they had all agreed on. He then told the mother that she should prepare to go and live in the clouds. The mother dutifully packed her few belongings and went up to the clouds. But before going, she told her son that whenever he wanted to see her, he should sing a particular song and she would let down a rope for him to climb into the clouds.
Other animals dutifully killed their parents for the communal feasts. When it came to the dog’s turn, he went to look for the barks of trees which he cooked so well that it softened and became like meat.
He presented the ‘meat’ to fellow animals. About one or two suspected they were not eating the right thing. However, he succeeded in fooling the others.
But the tortoise got to know the secret. Meanwhile, the dog was getting fatter. The tortoise, on a certain day, persuaded the dog to tell him the secret. Having told him, the tortoise asked him to take him there.
A little while later, the tortoise decided to go there alone. So, when he got to the spot, he sang the song that the dog had taught him. The dog’s mother let down the rope. But when she noticed it was not her son, she withdrew the rope.
That was how the tortoise got his broken shell.
The story is all about those calling for a reduction in the age of people contesting elections. Some are saying sixty, others are saying sixty-five.
In the first instance, will that not be ‘apartheid’ in another way – ageism? We don’t believe that’s too fair. No elderly person should be prevented from participating in elections.
Second, it has not been scientifically proven that age is a function of intelligence. Indeed, good wine matures with age.
Third, how old were Ronald Reagan, Gandhi, Mandela and Johnson when they started ruling their respective countries?
We believe the electorate must either accept or reject whoever is at the polls. Using age restrictions will only end up limiting our chances of getting good candidates. It could even cause a great deal of confusion.
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