Crossroads are the universal sign that difficult choices must be made and that each choice will result in conflict. In the performing arts, especially theatre and television, crossroads are demonstrated by emotional choices made by the protagonists. Frequently in the second act, the main protagonist will make the wrong choice which he must reconsider in the third act. We try to recreate what we see in such shows in our real lives, a perverse case of life imitating art. We try and live the lives of our favourite characters and are frequently shattered when things do not go according to the script running in our minds.
It takes a certain confidence in oneself to admit that ones life is not a play. It is not scripted. It can be planned, but it cannot be lived as if there is a director other than the person living the life. We make choices, big and small, everyday. Some bring us joy; some cause us pain. In the end we must be prepared to live with the choices that we make. There is a growing population of young Kenyans who seem to live as if their lives were scripted for television and that forces beyond their control are directing them to make different choices. These young people are unwilling to admit that they are in charge and that it is their choices that will affect their lives. They have become a reflection of the politicians and the politics of Kenya.
From what we have been able to discern by innuendo and insinuation, Kenya at the time of independence was a nation full of hope. The insurgency that had brought the colonial government to the negotiating table had wound down. A constitution that reflected the broad national consensus had been adopted with a great degree of legitimacy. The Independence Cabinet was well-respected and trusted. But in six years, the Constitution was akin to toilet paper, the Cabinet was a joke, and Kenya was in a downward spiral that it is yet to recover from.
Kenya has become a nation of wishful thinkers. We wish to be developed. We wish to be democratic. We wish to be at peace with each other. We wish to have the highest standard of living possible. We wish we had better politicians. We wish everyone had the potential to be great at something. We wish the glamour that our middle-distance and long-distance runners bring could be shared with the Harambee Stars. We wish all these but we are unwilling to do what is needed to achieve them because we believe that our fate lies in the hands of others, that we are powerless to change our fates, that we are not responsible for our choices. Kenya is behaving like the youth who believe that television, movies, radio and the internet are responsible for their choices.
If we were honest with ourselves we would admit that we have stopped paying attention to our nation and its problems. A few of us will keep banging on about the need for one solution or the other in the face of greater and greater odds. But these are the exceptions to the rule. By and large, we and our leadership have turned our attentions inwards; we are more concerned about our selfish needs than those of others. As a consequence, there is this all-pervading feeling that our fate lies in the hands of the United States, the European Union, al Shabaab, China, international trade...anyone but us. And yet it is the choices that we make everyday that have the greatest impact on our fate.
When we notice corruption by our heroes and turn a blind eye to it, we make a conscious choice to condone corruption in high places. When we notice the abuse of power by our heroes, we make a choice to support liars and cheats in their lying and cheating. When we notice waste in the public service, we make a choice to lose our taxes for the sake of the fat few. We keep silent and the corrupt, the liars, the cheats, the embezzlers and their ilk prosper. When they prosper, the soul of the nation gets just that little bit deader. Our fate is not in the hands of others but ours. So snap the fuck out of it, Kenyans, and do your fucking bit!
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