Karl Marx profoundly speaks about religion as the opium of the masses but if he were alive today, he would have added politics.

His famous quote would then read: “Religion and politics are the most powerful opium of the masses that intoxicate the minds of both the ignorant and informed masses”.

Matters of morality, religion and politics have been the fulcrum of eternal debates. However, in Ghana politics leads the pack as the most divisive and mischievous discourse meant to stampede our development.

They are strong, that is, the disagreeing parties are typically very convinced of their own positions, not at all tentative. They are persistent, that is, it is extremely difficult to resolve them.

The situation in Ghana has become scary, very weird and unreasonable such that a level of disagreement in politics results in people speaking senselessly and selfishly to say the least.

Sometimes, it becomes very difficult to understand why some people in Ghana behave the way they do merely because they belong to one political party or the other.

When Chairman Wontumi slaps a Member of Parliament, and was arrested by the police in Kumasi, people besieged the police station demanding his immediate release. These masses of politically intoxicated individuals felt in their moments of daze that ‘Chairman Wontumi’ did nothing wrong if he did so in the interest of the political party. Such a drunk position.

Clearly no right thinking person who is not intoxicated with the political opium should find it civil to slap someone violently for political reasons, however lofty the inspiration is. But this is how politically drunk we have become. We should resent this opium that drives us towards the abyss of political insanity.

When Kennedy Agyapong speaks unprintable words, accuses the EC boss of getting her present position through sexual favours, people who are aligned with him politically hail him and justify his utterances. That is a mark of people who have taken heavy doses of opium. No right thinking member of this society of ours should stoop this position and render accusations not supported with evidence. All one hears is “I have evidence”.  People who ordinarily would have protested and condemned him rather strangely backed him. A mark of the opium at work?

And the Almighty Ford Expedition saga! I wonder if Nana Akufo Addo or Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom were the president of Ghana in this Ford gift saga, what the NDC would have said nd done.

Your guess could be right! But now, the NDC argues religiously and take anybody who speaks contrary to their position to the cleaners. One is heavily insulted and vilified when one’s commentaries conflict with the position of the NDC. Sure, the opium was/is still at work.

What breaks my back is how people – the uneducated and the uneducated give their blessings and cheer people who go on radio to insult their opponents because they don’t share the same ideological political positions. There are people we revere and respect so much in society but the entrenched positions they take in their political discourse makes one’s tummy tumble. It is incredible, to say the least.

It’s amazing how people can insult the clergy for daring to speak on issues the reasonable man would largely agree too.  To the extent that some radio stations are specifically set up to vilify leaders of their political opponents makes the consumption of the opium very serious. And to think that such insults are given special blessings in the form of votes during elections makes it absurd.

Equally disturbing is how journalists are hailed when stories they do help political parties argue their positions out. The same journalists are smeared with mud for doing stories that go against political parties. I earned unprintable words when I travelled to the Komenda Sugar Factory to investigate whether or not the factory was working.

The results of my investigation earned me awards of insult from people who were expecting to hear me say that the factory was not working. Isn’t a journalist trained to report what he sees and hears? Were people expecting me to say the factory was not working when indeed it was working?

People should learn to treat people objectively and not to drag decent people who want to help shape our national discourse. Like a quote that has been making rounds on social media; “Treat your towel well because the part of the towel you use to clean your anus today, might be the same part you will use to clean your face”.

The large consumption of these opiums by some people that results in tagging has confined many scholars, intellectuals and well-meaning people into their ‘holes’. They don’t want to be in the gutters. Who suffers in the end? Are we not the same people who cry for development? The continuous consumption of this opium will make us believe in lies; see wrong as right and right as wrong.

Posterity will not forgive us if we don’t change our attitude!

Richard Kwadwo Nyarko is a broadcast journalist with Joy 99.7 FM. Email: quajo2009@gmail.com. Like my facebook page: Richard Kwadwo Nyarko. Tweet: @quajo2009