symbols wrote:tycho wrote:What is Kenya about? Fighting poverty? Creating implementable laws? Fighting terrorists? If these are the goals, then am afraid that the battle can hardly be won. It's like chasing shadows.
The more I try to figure what we are about the more I get that sick feeling in the stomach. A feeling of being helpless and lost. There's too much conflicting energy being focused within our system that the result can only be the disquiet and grumbling and perpetual bickering among citizens. It's difficult to find a discussion among citizens that doesn't degenerate to blaming and accusing each other.
We have become deplorably powerless even despite the pride of independence.
What do you want out of Kenya and why?
Perhaps I should first define 'Kenya'. It's the relationships, events, people, and institutions that are a result of a specially designed political system whose aim to allow the designers to enjoy freedom to the extent of being able to create and enjoy time.
As a human, with pre-political rights, I should reasonably hope that I should also be able to create and expend time as I deem fit.
But this isn't so for me. Why? Is it because I didn't go to school? Or is it because of being I have an 'average intelligence'? Or 'the black man is cursed'?
Is it reasonable to expect power and freedom out of Kenya? I believe so? Otherwise why is it a political entity? Why should I be patriotic?
Kenya is now celebrating 50 years of independence from political oppression by the colonialists, but has this freedom translated to me? No. Instead even my fellow citizens are craving for more policing because we are no longer safe, because of ex police 'non al Shabaab', al Shabaab, young primary school dropouts. . . politicians, . . . that is my fellow citizens who have resorted to crime in all classes and occupations are now calling for more policing, for example. Notice that the law has always allowed for citizen's arrest, and individual participation in security. It's always been up to the responsible citizens to organize themselves appropriately. But why has it not been so? Security threats have only increased recently?
Insecurity rises with complexity of political systems. Before terror attacks that had cushioned us from realizing that the international network was something so personal and immediate, we were busy killing ourselves. How many young men and women have been killed because they were 'robbers' and 'thieves'? Have there been assassinations?
Evidence on most, if not all our institutions shows that in these 50 years we've become more and more powerless. That is Kenya isn't working for me, and I need it to work for me.