Friday, January 7, 2011

Political Opinions of a Cheese Head

Taking my annual break, its time to ruminate on the year gone, and I’ll take a shallow (note shallow) stab at politics.  As a casual observer who leaves politics to those who understand it, here is my 2 cents. All of you who know me know I know very little on this subject, so feel free to chew me out. My ruminations below:

  • 0+0=0. So we got a new constitution, but of course it was just a nice new expensive booklet and nothing more. Since then, the level of disenchantment amongst Kenyans is worse – if that’s actually possible. I said it before and I say it again, there were no feelings in that process, and no feelings means no commitment.

  • Now Ocampo must go! (oh, now that we are no longer friends can he bring back that cheetah cub we gave him?). This level of insanity would be hard to find even in a mental hospital. We call him because we fought and cannot adjudicate for ourselves, and we are part of the Rome treaty. Name names please, Moreno. As soon as names are named, aren’t we the shocked ones who tell him please never say the truth here and in fact we don’t want to be part of the treaty any more. I think he has a plan and it’s a good plan if we would only let him execute it, but then I must wake up from that dream where Kenyans want truth, honesty and responsibility.

  • If you think we are not going to fight again, I can tell you that right now, the armies are gathering. Tribal animosity has deepened and Kenyans hurt even more for what they have gone through since the PEV. People died, we sought justice, and when we are at its door, we are told “No, can’t happen. Let’s form committees and argue for about another 10 years and then we take if from there”. As Kenyans, we see the machinations of the elite, and we are not so ignorant any more. Now more than ever, its clear that to get rid of all this crap will not take diplomatic kissy kissy dialogue and talking.  Pain is what is going to do it, because after that, not only will we learn what we are capable of to get justice, but we will also learn to respect each other based on that.

  • There are silly bills being passed around that make sense only to overzealous Kaguthi and whoever else who dreams these things. If they would have consulted Economics 101, it would have told them that that’s not the way economies are built. I can’t get my pint before 5pm, so Pinches, my barman, is losing income which helps him build himself – he is now busy looking for school fees which he never had to do before – there was plenty of business. At 11pm, we all have to be in bed – that’s direct loss of income not just to pubs but to cabs, to petrol stations, to all night supermarkets, to everyone who made a buck after 11pm because people were out having fun. We are also getting rid of the small matatus (I know they are a pain), but I only wish someone had thought what to do with all the touts and drivers who will lose their jobs. Mungiki, Sungu Sungu and others, I bet you’re preparing seriously for new members because there is no where else in the picture that these touts/drivers fit in.

  • Lastly, and I have said this before, of course we are Kenyans and we feel very comfortable about everything; it’s not our fault. We will know that its Gods will that things be that way. We shall blame the government and whine endlessly and have many noodle-brained experts analyze the sense out of everything day in day out. Great stuff. Never step up and take responsibility. Never be accountable. Never once get so mad that you will do whatever it takes for freedom. It is all Gods will and it has nothing to do with you at all.  Wrong; it’s YOU and no one else. Keep out of the mess and channel that energy into making YOU a more accountable person – at home, at work, wherever. Try taking personal responsibility in 2011 for yourself and your affairs, try to not blame anyone and then take right action, and let’s stock again on 26th Dec 2011.

Are Lessons Ever Learned? The Curse of Supremacy at Any Cost

In the last two days, I have been lucky enough to be able tuck away my conscience and watch 2 movies (I should be working and not watching movies), back to back, that triggered a bout of some (rare) thinking. They were Mel Gibson’s “Brave Heart” and “The Patriot”. Of course I had watched them before, but on realizing that no one had filched them yet from my collection all this time, I figured it was time for a refresher.
William Wallace
One thing that was that was staringly obvious immediately I watched them was that at the period they depict, something was obviously sickly wrong with the British. Of course I would like to be politically correct and use more acceptable language, but pardon me for now and let’s carry on, you’ll understand the semantics as you read on. Read more

Luther Vandross Was Right - The Greatest is Love

A story is told of a woman, her husband, 3 old men and her daughter in law. It goes like this:
One day, a sweet old lady was sitting in her chair by the window doing some knitting. From where she sat, she could see the road that led to her door. Right outside her house was a great tree that had great shade. It was a hot day. Read More...