Restraint:less is more

#love #restrain

In the wake of a political and constitutional crisis being experienced in the country as of now, I could not help but wonder if I am the only one confused and a little bit concerned on the direction that our beloved country is going.This week alone has experienced so much going on, making us, any concerned citizen(s), doubt whether we actually know what is going on. With the unexpected turn of events taking place in the country now, we are more vulnerable than ever. This week we all have witnessed or even been part of the clouds of white smoke that has rented the air of some parts of our towns,Nairobi,Mombasa and Kisumu,being the most affected: The only indication of police and protesters as well as the Nairobi business men clashing,all fighting for what they believe is right and what they believe is wrong. And who can blame any of them, as Alexander Hamilton- a British writer and Broadcaster- once said “If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.” But just like everything that is fought for, there is always a price to pay. In this case the price being paid sadly is the death of some of the people being involved in these protests,with some being injured may it be the police, the protesters or the businessmen. But don’t you think all the deaths and injuries would have been avoided if either side would just have exercised Restraint? Well I do!

John Ruskin,a philanthropist during the reign of Queen Victoria,said, “Restraint to a person is more honorable than his or her liberty.”  That liberty without restraint is nothing but chaos and therefore, liberty only becomes dependent on the fact that restraint is adequately applied. At this crucial time in Kenya’s history we all want to be the change in one way or the other and therefore we are all fighting for what we believe in. But could we be facing the wrong facts and only being led by  leaders to open up a Pandora’s box? We need as Kenyans to understand that we are Kenya and not the leaders, we are bigger than the leaders who sway us around and make us do things based on the band wagon effect when in the end it leads to destruction and deaths that could have been utterly avoided.

It’s time we put all our differences aside and exercise goodness and restraint. This is the only way we will be able to enjoy the liberty that our forefathers fought for us. No one needs to die for any reason. We should not be taken as hostages of democracy but instead we should let democracy show us the signs, after all democracy is a government for the people by the people(us). Less is more. The more we restrain ourselves from being moppets of certain political affiliations and tribal backgrounds is when we will have the most out of our love and unity as builders of this great nation called Kenya.

TROUBLED COMMUNICATION

By :Samuel Imonje

As I sit and watch what is happening in the world, I can’t help but be troubled by the wave of mass shootings and killings that has struck the world, and most recently our country Kenya. 

I sit and wonder as a community why are we failing in seeing the signs that lead to such horrific events; like the killing of six students at Lokichogio Mixed Secondary School in Turkana County by their own student who was expelled from the institution earlier on. And my conclusion was this..

Communication within our communities is on the verge of collapsing.It is only due to lack of communication in our communities that we find a plan such as that, done by a former student, being perpetrated and no signs being even noticed until the day of the horrific occurrence. It is sad and shameful that we lack communication at such a time and period of the 21st century. It is only lack of communication that leads the former student to even plan such a massacre and the villagers to burn the student mass shooter without knowing first and trying to understand his intentions and why he did it ,not that he would have said anyway. But we can not at all afford to ignore the signs of attack taking part in our own communication community systems then end up blaming the perpetrators when we are equally at fault. Its high time we took the stand. 

Communication should no longer be a unit we study in our universities during our degree,masters or phd courses but it should be our way of life especially at a time when our safety and cohesion as individuals is being threatened. We can and must avoid horrific cases of troubled communication such as the one in Lokichogio Mixed Secondary School.

Let us not only focus on our family and friends but also on our surroundings and our neighbors as well.When was the last time you checked what your neighbor was doing ?Or if He or she was doing okay?I know everyone needs privacy but when privacy becomes troubled communication then we don’t need privacy any more.