If impairment is one of the words employed in describing ‘sickness,’ then I am a very sick person. I am sick coz literally; I have lately discovered that I am to a greater degree impaired in unfortunately, all spheres of my life. I guess this must be a direct result of too much reading of stuff that has left me worrying either of the past or taken up too much by the future….this ain’t a good thing at all!!
Recently, I had to take one of my friends ‘out,’ that is too say, to a private spot with minimum noise and plenty of fresh air. This in normal circumstances was to involve taking a cold drink, watching some artificial pictures, that is; watching, on a screen, an image run around a pitch, chasing a ball that cannot stop. Afterwards, I was to hold this jamaa who was now too drunk, by the true sense of the word, and hire a Taxi, just to make sure that my friend reached safely back home. All this had implications!!
For the outing that is inclusive of the transport and other expenses, I had to part with enough Ugandan Mitualos, which was not an easy thing to do. Given my financial standing at the time, I realized that I was actually economically impaired. It forced me to go too deep into my pocket that at one point I had to tore them in the name of borrowing a soft loan for this very purpose. If you have ever had to incur a debt, you must know that it’s not the best of the positions to find oneself in. Apart from having enabled me to develop dodging tricks, it has left me psychologically tormented by figuring out how I should repay this loan. Truly, I’m a very sick person now.
Talking about sickness, my physical strength cannot allow me to support or lift something beyond 61kgs, this is according to a specialist I visited in an ‘international’ hospital. Given that my friend’s weight lies in the region of 80’s, my body is in torment, literally the whole of it!! I thought it was only the back, well, that was only a thought!! I am a very sick person.
My social standing now stands well below the normal levels, given that I have to always and at all times, dodge my friend whose money I still have. The dodging does not only involve the physical aspect, but also electronically speaking refusing to pick up his calls. Dear Jesus in heaven, I am impaired!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
democracy error
I have nothing personal against ‘the majority rule,’ but I think democracy is one of the worst, if not the worst, system of governance. I am sure that the Greeks had noble intentions on why they came up with such a concept of a government. I guess they were tired of their traditional governments and wanted something rather new. Looking at it critically, this concept is a combination of all failed systems of their time and ours (Monarchy, Oligarchy, Theocracy, and lastly, Dictatorship). Aristotle, a man who lived 3 centuries before we started counting down time, thought that this kind of government would bring about some sort of equality especially to women and slaves who were, as they have been, outcasts of their time (remember that he had studied 150 constitutions from different republics). Hobbes envisioned that it will bring harmony from the dangerous ‘state of nature,’ Locke’s idea was that it will help protect people’s property and establish some sense of equality and Nyerere’s view was that it would help to create leaders and not masters. Yet clearly, democracy has failed in all of these attempts.
It is democracy that has developed the campaign engines that sort to fight brothers against sisters. It is the same democracy that has demarcated time limit for ‘service’ creating prolonged desire for people to cling onto power even when it is apparently clear that they are incompetent (take for example the case of Omar Yar’Aduwa and uncle bob!). This type of rule has failed the majority by creating masters not leaders. By creating time limit for ‘service,’ democracy has built into people an insatiable greed to acquire as much as they can before they vacate their offices and thus, I will rightly say that it is the principle root of corruption, a vice that is eating up our society.
Let me explain myself on why I consider it the mother of the vice that is corruption. According to Aristotle, “democracy (is) that in which the many and the poor are the rulers.” This idea has also been shared by Locke, Nyerere and many other political geniuses both modern and contemporary. If that is true then, a state where a poor man rules ends up in poverty for he’ll try to satisfy his needs first (coz man is a greedy animal remember). A state where the majority rules ends up in anarchy for it is difficult to reach consensus. In fact, since everyone thinks that they are free, they will tend to fight each other, trying to rule oneself in the name of freedom…this basically throws us into anomie. Since, as Aristotle had already suggested that it is a system of the poor and the masses, the poor will try, by all means possible to reach at the top of the ladder with as little efforts as possible, and this my friends is the basis of corruption.
If the above is not true, then it is true that democracy has failed in the sense that, with daft and incompetent leaders, the majority rights has been placed into the hand of the minority who have taken full advantage. Democracy has for sure become the ‘minority rule’ and this for me is its greatest failure. The masses who elect have no say but the minority, who sit in offices doing nothing in particular and cruising around in some heavy fuel guzzlers.
Yet again, I may be wrong, because although the system has failed, the concept remains intact. May be we should think of coming up with another term for the ‘minority rule’…at least for our time!!!!
It is democracy that has developed the campaign engines that sort to fight brothers against sisters. It is the same democracy that has demarcated time limit for ‘service’ creating prolonged desire for people to cling onto power even when it is apparently clear that they are incompetent (take for example the case of Omar Yar’Aduwa and uncle bob!). This type of rule has failed the majority by creating masters not leaders. By creating time limit for ‘service,’ democracy has built into people an insatiable greed to acquire as much as they can before they vacate their offices and thus, I will rightly say that it is the principle root of corruption, a vice that is eating up our society.
Let me explain myself on why I consider it the mother of the vice that is corruption. According to Aristotle, “democracy (is) that in which the many and the poor are the rulers.” This idea has also been shared by Locke, Nyerere and many other political geniuses both modern and contemporary. If that is true then, a state where a poor man rules ends up in poverty for he’ll try to satisfy his needs first (coz man is a greedy animal remember). A state where the majority rules ends up in anarchy for it is difficult to reach consensus. In fact, since everyone thinks that they are free, they will tend to fight each other, trying to rule oneself in the name of freedom…this basically throws us into anomie. Since, as Aristotle had already suggested that it is a system of the poor and the masses, the poor will try, by all means possible to reach at the top of the ladder with as little efforts as possible, and this my friends is the basis of corruption.
If the above is not true, then it is true that democracy has failed in the sense that, with daft and incompetent leaders, the majority rights has been placed into the hand of the minority who have taken full advantage. Democracy has for sure become the ‘minority rule’ and this for me is its greatest failure. The masses who elect have no say but the minority, who sit in offices doing nothing in particular and cruising around in some heavy fuel guzzlers.
Yet again, I may be wrong, because although the system has failed, the concept remains intact. May be we should think of coming up with another term for the ‘minority rule’…at least for our time!!!!
religious consumerism
I am not so sure how Jesus has managed to gain billions of followers around the globe, all I know is that he has. If the same Jesus of Nazareth was to reappear amongst us today, I am sure he will sound more irrelevant to many than otherwise. Possibly, psychologists will term him a psychic case and the evangelists will turn their backs on their master. How can you convince me to sell off all my possessions and follow you? How foolish will I be? Who will take care of my uncertain future, take care of my aging parents, give me food to eat or water to drink? And how sure am I that I will attain an everlasting life just but by your words. I ‘m sure Jesus will have hard time trying to explain himself on this issues. I am also suspecting that with such radical demands and controversial way of life, he will either be a victim of suicide bombing or deleted from space by one unmanned aircraft, ones used to hunt ‘terrorists’ in Afghanistan and Iraq!
I am living in a materially possessed society. The proponents of this culture are the consumerists, whose main agenda is to make profit out of nothing and by all means necessary. They are the grandchildren of the pragmatists and the siblings of the capitalists, whose main focus is to get materially rich or die trying to reach such an end. For these groups, success and good life is assured by the amount of material wealth one amasses, and it does not matter by which means, for it is ‘God for us all and everybody for themselves.’ I guess it is based on the Machiavellian principle of the end justifying the means where man is part of those means and never at any point the end. This in brief is the society I am living in; a GREEDY SOCIETY, a consumerist culture, and it is because of the very same reason I am saying that Jesus will sound irrelevant and even look more ridiculous with such kinds of demands.
I am particularly concerned with the new product on the market; Religious consumerism! First, we have a group that preaches a gospel of prosperity, a gospel of ‘good life.’ How good that life will be is the question! There is a belief among many, that some pastors prayers are more powerful than other, that if I give this thousand dollars, the Lord will reward me with these bountiful blessings. These pastors and churches have come up as an instrument of tax collection, through the use of the gospels. The gospel has moved from being the word of life to an instrument of high profile theft, a theft without mercy! The churches are many, some will claim that ‘one suits all,’ while others only insist on the rich and the classy. Some have made it clear that they are for the ‘poor,’ of course in spirit, and that to get a little richer, in spirit, you have to pay the debts of your sins by use of your newly acquired credit card. Better still, we have a those members who choose a church according to the amount of cash they habour in their bank accounts or according to the gravity of their previous sins. It is indeed religious consumerism!
I am living in a materially possessed society. The proponents of this culture are the consumerists, whose main agenda is to make profit out of nothing and by all means necessary. They are the grandchildren of the pragmatists and the siblings of the capitalists, whose main focus is to get materially rich or die trying to reach such an end. For these groups, success and good life is assured by the amount of material wealth one amasses, and it does not matter by which means, for it is ‘God for us all and everybody for themselves.’ I guess it is based on the Machiavellian principle of the end justifying the means where man is part of those means and never at any point the end. This in brief is the society I am living in; a GREEDY SOCIETY, a consumerist culture, and it is because of the very same reason I am saying that Jesus will sound irrelevant and even look more ridiculous with such kinds of demands.
I am particularly concerned with the new product on the market; Religious consumerism! First, we have a group that preaches a gospel of prosperity, a gospel of ‘good life.’ How good that life will be is the question! There is a belief among many, that some pastors prayers are more powerful than other, that if I give this thousand dollars, the Lord will reward me with these bountiful blessings. These pastors and churches have come up as an instrument of tax collection, through the use of the gospels. The gospel has moved from being the word of life to an instrument of high profile theft, a theft without mercy! The churches are many, some will claim that ‘one suits all,’ while others only insist on the rich and the classy. Some have made it clear that they are for the ‘poor,’ of course in spirit, and that to get a little richer, in spirit, you have to pay the debts of your sins by use of your newly acquired credit card. Better still, we have a those members who choose a church according to the amount of cash they habour in their bank accounts or according to the gravity of their previous sins. It is indeed religious consumerism!
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