(By: T. Y.)

Like all nations in the world, we Ethiopians have had our fair share, if not a lot, of political mayhem:  foreign powers, internal power struggles, civil wars, ideology antagonisms, ethnic rivalries, etc. A normal course in the history of a country or the world for that matter.

The quest for resource, power, money,prestige, equality and right was there from the beginning of the world and will be there till the end. There will always be heroes and there will always be villains.

However, the rules of the game change every time, evolving in line with the progress of civilization. In the 21st century , slavery of past centuries has changed into labor migration from poor countries to rich countries; war weapons have advanced to mass destructing systems, machineries and diseases; battlefields are encompassing even the media and the market ; wars are being fought by groups of countries with similar political, economic or ideological stance standing against others with different concern.

With the advent of technology and global market, we have reached that time where there is little demarcation between a country’s internal and external relations. An issue, however insignificant it may be, can be an effective element in the global quest for resource and power.

Ethiopians and Ethiopia have a very minute role in the current global race. We may have been at the front of the game once upon a time. But now we are nowhere to be seen. We may have had a strong history and position. But now we are just insignificant. This does not mean our situation cannot be useful to others. It is. We are very valuable to those that are wrestling to keep their position or hold new positions. Whatever is happening among us is an advantageous weapon to their ambition.

And where are we Ethiopians in all this? Fighting our age old skirmishes and making mountains of historical moles. They may not be moles to be precise, but when compared to the current global circumstances, they are even much lesser than moles. Our political thinking has been limited to our past history and confined to our border. We think bickering on our past history issues will answer our current situation. We still try to define ourselves and our times in terms of our own local and limited perspectives. We dream to regain our global position without understanding the dynamics of the current world. We philosophize on the language of the times without grasping their application to our situation.

All countries of the world have had similar histories like ours. Those that have found a way to make peace with their past history and turned to face the current global times are progressing. Countries like ours that waste time in ruminating about old times remain stuck in those times.

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The author, with the pen name T. Y., is a guest blogger in this blog. He can be reached at [email protected].