My senior, Jennifer Shamallah, is frequently prone to bouts of hyperbole and extreme exaggeration.Today is no different. In the Daily Nation, she attempts to conflate the views of Prof Makau Mutua with those of all liberals in Kenya (The intolerance of liberals gradually becoming a danger to this our land, Daily Nation, Friday,
October 26, 2012). But she makes some big whoppers. Her assertion that
"President Abraham Lincoln was a Republican. His political philosophy
was conservative" is flat out wrong. Lincoln may have been a Republican
but he definitely was not a conservative. His Emancipation proclamation
that freed the slaves was the most liberal, progressive act of an
American president since the founding of the Republic. Conservatism had
been the preserve of the Southern Democrats until Lyndon B Johnson
"betrayed" them with his Great Society progressivism. When President
Johnson, a Southern Democrat from Texas, oversaw the biggest civil
rights overhaul since the Emancipation proclamation, he ensured that the
bulk of conservative Southern Democrats switched parties and become
Republicans.
Lawyer Shamallah is correct, of course, when she states that conservative ideals are grounded on moral and human values, but she forgets that the conservative movement in the political sphere has lost its way since the halcyon days of the early 1980s. When Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister, the political aspects of conservatism that she attempted to implement included the shrinking of the seize of government and the expansion of individual liberty as well as the reduction of government debt by reducing the size of the social safety net. Her kindred spirit at that time was the American president, Ronald Reagan, who also espoused conservative ideals. However, the Federalist Society, one of the strongest conservative movements in America, attempted to hijack his conservative agenda by incorporating divisive social issues into the movement. The result are what are known as the Culture Wars in the United States that revolve around the issues of religion in the public sphere, homosexuality and abortion.
Asia is the wrong place to point to the progress women have made in the political arena. Many forget that Benazir Bhutto, twice Prime Minister of Pakistan, presided over one of the most corrupt regimes in Pakistan's history, as did Khaleda Zia in Bangladesh and Megawati Sukarnoputri in Indonesia. Indeed, both Ms Zia and Ms Sukarnoputri were in charge when some of the worst human rights abuses took place in their countries. Many of the conservative governments in Latin America were frequently right-wing military dictatorships responsible for the "disappearing" of hundreds of thousands of leftists and progressives.
The true essence of conservatism has been lost in the neo-conservative obsession with social issues. In Kenya, this was starkly reflected in the opposition to the Proposed Constitution. Rather than worrying about the size of government, which we cannot afford, they obsessed endlessly over the right-to-life clause, the right-to-marry clause, and the kadhi's-court-clause. They were at the forefront of opposing the appointment of Dr Mutunga and Ms Baraza as Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice respectively. While the size and scope of the government grows unchecked, they are still obsessed with the person of the Chief Justice and thus, Ms Shamallah's reaction to Prof Makau Mutua's "rambling flattery" for the Chief Justice. Conservatives continue to stand idly by as the public service wage bill spirals to unsustainable levels, what with every special interest group in the public service demanding an enhancement of its pay and perks, and the ever-ballooning cost of paying for commission after commission. Sooner or later it must dawn on us that the billions we spend on the national and county public services are not value for money. The conservatives that Ms Shamallah speaks of must return to their true calling of limiting the size of government, enhancing individual liberty, and butting out of the private lives of individuals.
Lawyer Shamallah is correct, of course, when she states that conservative ideals are grounded on moral and human values, but she forgets that the conservative movement in the political sphere has lost its way since the halcyon days of the early 1980s. When Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister, the political aspects of conservatism that she attempted to implement included the shrinking of the seize of government and the expansion of individual liberty as well as the reduction of government debt by reducing the size of the social safety net. Her kindred spirit at that time was the American president, Ronald Reagan, who also espoused conservative ideals. However, the Federalist Society, one of the strongest conservative movements in America, attempted to hijack his conservative agenda by incorporating divisive social issues into the movement. The result are what are known as the Culture Wars in the United States that revolve around the issues of religion in the public sphere, homosexuality and abortion.
Asia is the wrong place to point to the progress women have made in the political arena. Many forget that Benazir Bhutto, twice Prime Minister of Pakistan, presided over one of the most corrupt regimes in Pakistan's history, as did Khaleda Zia in Bangladesh and Megawati Sukarnoputri in Indonesia. Indeed, both Ms Zia and Ms Sukarnoputri were in charge when some of the worst human rights abuses took place in their countries. Many of the conservative governments in Latin America were frequently right-wing military dictatorships responsible for the "disappearing" of hundreds of thousands of leftists and progressives.
The true essence of conservatism has been lost in the neo-conservative obsession with social issues. In Kenya, this was starkly reflected in the opposition to the Proposed Constitution. Rather than worrying about the size of government, which we cannot afford, they obsessed endlessly over the right-to-life clause, the right-to-marry clause, and the kadhi's-court-clause. They were at the forefront of opposing the appointment of Dr Mutunga and Ms Baraza as Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice respectively. While the size and scope of the government grows unchecked, they are still obsessed with the person of the Chief Justice and thus, Ms Shamallah's reaction to Prof Makau Mutua's "rambling flattery" for the Chief Justice. Conservatives continue to stand idly by as the public service wage bill spirals to unsustainable levels, what with every special interest group in the public service demanding an enhancement of its pay and perks, and the ever-ballooning cost of paying for commission after commission. Sooner or later it must dawn on us that the billions we spend on the national and county public services are not value for money. The conservatives that Ms Shamallah speaks of must return to their true calling of limiting the size of government, enhancing individual liberty, and butting out of the private lives of individuals.
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