On February 14, every year, the whole world stands still to hail the virtuous and heroic martyrdom of a Catholic priest, St. Valentine, as far back as 496 AD. A selfless and patriotic servant of God, St. Valentine was ascribed to have been officially bumped off for his love and concern for humanity, especially the youth.
Historically, he was killed for imploring for and nursing back to health the frogspawn of his jailor. In another renowned ascription, St. Valentine was exterminated for celebrating Christian marriages for forbidden youths in secret, and before he was in jail, he used to write the youths engraving, ‘’Your Valentine’’, on his letters, not the negative and rapacious derivation of modern and mendacious celebrations and season of merrymaking. It is, therefore, incumbent on pious leaders to redirect our people from celebrating mendacity to the real message of this great and selfless guardian of youth and, by extension, the public.
Instead of making this heavenly day a tide for social events, Zambians need to reflect on the way forward fundamentally from a saintly undercurrent, morally, politically, and economically. St Valentine we commemorate was an angel of good leadership characterised by love for the oppressed, the marginalised and unjustly treated. This is the season our political leaders should learn from this selfless servant of God and society, to see politics as a vehicle for love of our homeland, and the response to the socio-political harms of the current order.
St. Valentine was an answer to Jesus’ sanction in the gospel of St Matthew chapters 5 and 25, where he enjoined us to love, cherish, and provide integral basic rights of the people. He is a sign of good leadership whereby he died for his parishioners and youths in general. Our political leaders and our youths ought to know that it’s only in true love that happiness is to be found. The happiness of others whose lives one has touched through good and effective leadership and respect to divine commandments engrossed in true love and charity.
St. Valentine’s Day is a day to renounce our ethnic, tribal and selfish ideas and practices of sinful and wicked adventurism, which afford scope for pride rather than service. St. Valentine advises us, no matter our religious or political leanings, to renounce ethnic marginalisation, religious brutality, democratic misadventure in order to elevate and ennoble true unity in diversity, restructuring justice, equity and peace. Our politicians and youths must renounce the election and re-election of greed but visionless politicians whose stock-in-trade is the spreading and elongation of puppetry, cabalism, tribalism and integral developmental disaster.
Our revolution, based on the fearlessness, patriotism, and Christian spirit of St. Valentine is to join the bandwagon for an ideological and intellectual revolution going on in the country for the love of fraternal, charitable, and ethnic harmony. This year’s Valentine’s Day should ginger our politicians and youths to be strong and resolute in being constructive, proactive, and positively democratic and nationalistic in order to build the happiness of others. St. Valentine invites all Zambians, especially our leaders in all ramifications, to humanise the already dehumanised Zambia via criminalities of corruption, political thuggery and profligacy, and sexual immorality.
St. Valentine’s message is for us to end the evils of political abuses and intimidation and ethnic chauvinism. St. Valentine, as an enigma, lived a selfless life and taught us the essence of common brotherhood, purity of mind, body, soul, and spirit.
By Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party
Facebook Post
Ba Fred, don’t you have anyone to have romance with on Valentines Day? Why bring in saints when women are in red waiting to commit sins tonight?
Fred is a liar. I think thats why the Post failed because of lies, lies and lies. He blatantly tells lies like “On February 14, every year, the whole world stands still to hail the virtuous and heroic martyrdom of a Catholic priest, St. Valentine”. Firstly, the world never comes to a halt for such stupid celebrations. In Asia, DRC, CAR, Niger, etc, noone bothers there are many st Valentines in the Roman catholic church and they are not connected to this commemoration.
Mmembe is the first Socialist who encourages celebration of cultural imperialism such as Valentine. Valentine’s day is another example of how the capitalists seek to control the minds of those they colonise. The day is entirely capitalist. Those who grew up under socialist Kenneth Kaunda never even knew such a day. The origins of Valentine’s Day are not even as Mmembe narrates. He is trying to Christianise a pagan culture. The truth is Valentine’s day isnt tied to Christian traditions.
Imperialists try to connect the day to certain Christian martyrs. Valentine’s day’s roots are in pre-Christian Roman and pagan customs. In ancient Rome, mid-February was associated with the festival of Lupercalia, a pagan celebration of fertility and purification. Capitalists link some elements of Lupercalia, such as the practice of young men drawing names of women from a jar to establish temporary partnerships, to modern commercial customs of Valentine’s Day
Just like Christmas day was incorporated as a Christian celebration by the Romans The specific date of December 25th was chosen by the early Roman Christian Church to replace the Roman festival of Saturnalia and the celebration of the winter solstice.
Valentine’s Day is of pagan origin and capitalism uses it for trade. It is obtuse, if not extremely naïve, for one identifying himself as a socialist to indulge in the Capitalist cultural brainwashing of our youth like Zambia’s leader of the Socialist party is doing.
M’membe needs to always remember to use more civil and gracious words than “revolution,” whose direct synonyms include rebellion, revolt, uprising, upheaval, insurgency, insurrection, mutiny, and riot. He may, of course, continue to use the word if he really means that the Socialist Party intends to change Zambian society through violent and bloody ways and means. Modern society may not be willing to engage in, and/or support, a “revolution.”
What we need in Zambia is agape love. It is in short supply, especially among our egoistical politicians and men of gold. For example, the current government promised to pay former civil servants who opted for voluntary retirement in 1999. Nearly three years later, retirees languishing in poverty are still waiting for their money. Some have passed away. Hon. Mulambo Haimbe and Situmbeko Musokotwane are failing to resolve this issue.
Eeeembwa ndimwe for believing this lying psychopath hh.
Happy valentines to my wlfe
There’s no difference between Africans who celebrate Valentine’s day and those who abandon their local teams to support only the Colonialists teams like Machester United. Ati banasila ba Warriors. Then you opt for Liverpool. Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery