the demon called little man

7/30/2019 The Demon called Little Man

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LITTLE MEN = OVER SIZED HEARTS

By Leslie Nii Tete Annan

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the

kingdom of God. This remark by Jesus stresses the need forhumility. It indicates how humility is rewarded with a fulfilled

life.

Most of us are bothered when we are disrespected in

any way. We get angry even though most times we try to hide

this emotion. But fundamentally we get angry at people who

act disdainfully towards our person. So the point is that

there is some anger that comes to lurk somewhere in our

psychological systems. But we harbor anger against what?

I believe the major source of anger is when another

person crosses a line which we assume the person hasn’t the

right to cross. Perhaps that’s why one says ‘I’m crossed at

the way you called me names’. When one feels crossed one is

angry. Most people have assumed airs around themselves. The

airs surrounding them are like rings around the planet Saturn.

They move around with them. It would be a mistake for a

stranger or somebody of a ‘lesser breed’ to cross these linesor rings or airs surrounding their person.

Our relationship with people thus impacts on the

reaction we put against their actions. Depending on the

relationship and prior interaction we’d already have, we

choose to act according to some set standards. Unspoken, but




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everyone has standards he or she operates with. We live

according to some standards. By this we could further infer

that we show different levels of anger and other emotions

towards different people. This could be the case though thedifferent people might have committed the same offence.

Yes, surely the ideal situation is that one yardstick

should be used to measure everyone’s action. But the reality

of the matter is that this isn’t the case. We just might agree

with the perception that ‘all the fingers are not the same’ . Ifeven there’s fairness in this world, I don’t think it’s in our

heart.

The ‘heart’ that I’m referring to is that part of the

mind we call ‘the seat of our emotions’. From the heart we

show our basic natures ( perhaps what pulls us to the level of lesser creatures ). It is from this heart that we act and react

in certain manners peculiar to our personalities. This heart

some would call the sub consciousness but it does also

comprise some activities of our consciousness. The heart

contains both good and bad traits that could help and harmthe human person. However, it seems more prone to temporal

satisfaction and for that matter harmful acts.

Above all others I believe ‘Little Man’ is the most apt

to show an incline towards negative emotions such as pride,

envy, anger, greed and so on. His actions bulge with decisionstaken in his heart.




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I choose to use the determiner ‘Little’ because men

(and women – thus all humankind) are supposed to act in

consultation with both their emotions and their reasoning.

Being as balance as they could be would make them ‘Full’ men. Therefore ‘Little Man’ represents all men who act in

excessive consultation with their heart.

I wish to use this opportunity to illustrate in vivid

terms how we all sometimes act like ‘Little men’. Read this

piece cautiously.

Desiring to covet his neighbour’s property, a ‘Little

Man’ bullies his neighbour, if the neighbour happened to be of

a smaller build or a smaller class. I’ll find an example for you.

Even though known to be a ‘Full Man’, King David of biblical

Israel acted a ‘Little Man’ when he sent Uriah to the warfront to get him killed so that he could have the soldier’s wife

for his wife. He used his power for selfish gains. Our troubles

with the outside world increase when we refuse to desire the

good things we desire for ourselves for the world. Wars

continue to ensue between two countries, towns and citiesbecause the one wants to take what belong to the other. But

as you know countries, towns and cities are larger projections

of humankind.

A ‘Little Man’ would use his God given talents to

exploit, intimidate, oppress, suppress, depress, repress andannihilate his neighbours. His neighbours are to him, enemies




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who don’t want his good. They are enemies who stand between

him and his heart desires. He thus continually has an anxiety

that his neighbour would outdo him.

Even if it is only one way his neighbour would be better

than him, it is a sacrilege. A ‘Little Man’ wants to have

everything. He wants all the glory for a victory he achieved

with the help of others. He wants the recognition for a small

help he gave to society. He easily gets angry with people who

don’t seem to acknowledge his ‘large’ presence though he’s just a little man.

The first way to notice ‘Little Man’ in a big crowd is to

watch out for the person in the flashiest outfit. The ‘Little

Man’ is loud. He’s loud with his dress. He’s loud in speech. It’s

not for naught that we say ‘empty barrels make the mostnoise’. ‘Little Man’ has a strong aversion for being unnoticed in

a crowd.

When you have ‘Little Man’ as a friend, you’re courting

a snake. Don’t think he’d bully others and pamper you. He

doesn’t crave friends, he craves slaves. He desires to havepeople about him so that his life would be comfortable.

Forever he wants to be the head and not the tail. When you

see ‘Little Man’ sitting in council with a great man, he’s only

waiting for an opportunity to topple the great man. To know

whether I tell you the truth, approach ‘Little Man’ just whenhe quits the presence of a great man. You need not utter a




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word and you would learn how he thinks the great man wasn’t

a great man at all, ‘just a pillow with too much feathers’. So

you see, you would hear ‘Little Man’ talking about the person

of a great man instead of the great man’s actions and ideas.Meanwhile it is these actions and ideas that have made the

other man great. I believe usually ‘Little Man’ thinks that by

briefing you on the defects of a great man, he has reduced

the man. Yet a great man’s name would survive the slander of

Little Man’s tongue.

See ‘Little Man’ grin from ear to ear when he hears

praises directed to his person. His happiness heeds no

measure. What, ‘Little Man’ would jump down a two storey

building when he hears enough applause! He could empty his

pocket on the spot for a blind man who has sung him praises

about his excellent fashion sense. In fact most of his

finances go into temporary ‘face-lifting’ of his physical

person. No wonder ‘Little Man’ is often caught bankrupt when

important commitments come his way. I remember ‘Little

Man’ bought a six-yard-piece of cloth to sew attire for a one-

day ceremony, but never had money to finance the educationof his child. Meanwhile the amount for the cloth could pay

twice the sum he needed to finance the education of his

child.

Oh, ‘Little Man’ thou art shallow!




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‘Little Man’ feels great hate for his neighbour who is

determined to succeed. Why should his neighbour want to

stand tall when everyone, including ‘Little Man’ himself, is

kneeling? It is an abomination! If his neighbour desires to bebetter than him then they should not share a pasture. A Billy

goat, ‘Little Man’ will taunt his neighbour till the latter

departs the pasture. No grazing space for a neighbour who

has success on the mind.

You will find ‘Little Man’ suddenly acting as if he’sfound absolute wisdom in the ways of older generation who

have given up trying to better their lot. Laziness drives ‘Little

Man’ into the backseat of life. Last time didn’t you see ‘Little

Man’ playing a game of ‘draughts’ with some old retirees under

the mango tree? Yeah, that’s where you usually find ‘Little

Man’. He’s most a times in the company of good-for-nothing

old men who have left no legacy for their communities but

who are also willing to destroy the future of the up-and-

coming youth. ‘Little Man’ often joins the old men to sing the

anthem “This country is the worst place on earth!” From

morning to evening, he would be idling and complaining. ‘LittleMan’ will rarely make a personal effort to correct his life.

‘Little Man’ prefers the cheap easy life but he ends up

wasting more of his life.

the demon called little man

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