By Rep. Musa Hassan Bility
There are moments in the life of a nation when the air becomes heavy with a certain uneasiness, an uneasiness that you can feel even if you cannot yet fully explain. Liberia is entering one of those moments. The signs are alarming.
Everywhere I turn, I feel a deepening sense that we are running without a head, running without direction, and running without a plan. We are running things, yes, but without clarity, without coherence, and without the discipline that leadership requires. The disconnect across the country is widening. The way in which our affairs are being managed is becoming chaotic. Our politics is becoming erratic. And the response from the population is just as troubling.
Violence is beginning to creep back into our national bloodstream. The lack of respect for the rule of law is becoming normalized. And this erosion is coming not only from the top, from the very government that should be safeguarding our stability, but also from the population that is taking cues from that failure.
It is dangerous.
It is frightening.
And it is familiar.
Liberia has been here before. We know what happens when disrespect for authority becomes culture. We know what happens when power is exercised without restraint. We know what happens when citizens lose the belief that the law has meaning. For nearly thirty years we have walked carefully, painfully, away from a national nightmare, away from the ashes of conflict. We cannot afford to go back. Not now. Not ever.
But if we are not careful, if we continue on this path, if there is no fundamental national approach to addressing these troubling signs, then the ground beneath us will begin to shift. Rule of law will weaken further. Institutions will lose credibility. Violence will grow bolder. The fear of a chaotic society will no longer be a fear, it will be a reality.
What troubles me most is the silence.
The indifference.
The lack of urgency.
The talking we do, the criticisms we raise, the warnings we repeat, they are not enough anymore. We speak for accountability. We speak for the future. We speak for stewardship. But words alone may not be able to stop the tide that is rising before us. And we may soon find ourselves staring chaos directly in the face.
Unless we act.
Unless we rise.
Unless all of us, leaders, citizens, institutions, decide that Liberia is worth fighting for before it is too late.
The signs are alarming because the government is not only failing to address the growing disorder, it is leading in the disregard for law and order. The citizens are following that example.
And once the people begin to follow lawlessness, a nation is already halfway toward trouble.
This is not the Liberia we want.
This is not the Liberia we promised ourselves.
This is not the Liberia our children deserve.
My hope, my sincere hope, is that the events of the past few days will shake us awake. That they will remind us that peace is not a permanent possession but a fragile agreement. That they will compel all of us to do everything we can to steady this country, to restore the golden values of order, discipline, respect and lawful disagreement.
Liberia must return to a place where we can oppose each other politically without tearing the country apart. A place where the rule of law is stronger than anger. A place where authority is respected because authority is exercised with responsibility.
The signs are alarming.
But they are also a warning.
Warnings, if we are wise, are blessings.
May we heed them before they become history repeating itself.
Have a pleasant week.