Glorifying the Inglorious

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why some of the vices we stand on the roof tops to discourage are the very ones we contentedly sit down to watch on TV (to our detriment, no doubt)?

We grin, laugh, smile and purse our lips when we watch steamy love scenes and passionate kissing courtesy of the manifold soap operas that grace our sets. What would prevent a teenager from experimenting with what they watch?

During the day we rebuke immorality, promiscuity and other such ‘vices’; in the evening it is served hot (on TV) for us to savour and join in the fray. Why this ambiguity? What message is being delivered to the multiple audience stake holders at the end of the day?

The soaps ‘teach’ us that having multiple sexual partners is alright as long as you have the money to keep the ‘relationship’ going. They also aim at making us believe that divorce is the sure-fire way of dealing with issues in marriage. Patience and perseverance in marriage are no-go zones according to these programmes. (Remember The Rich also Cry, No One But You of yesteryear and the many others that have come after them?)

Western mentality is being slid down our throats (without our noticing it) through these programmes. We open our arms to welcome their insidious notions and ideals. We try as much as we can not to miss watching them.

I know of a certain woman who sulks the whole evening if she is ‘disturbed’ as she watches her favourite soap. When her husband wants to talk to her or asks her for food or bath water she gives a thousand and one excuses just to make sure that she watches the soap without missing any action. Talk of disrespect and disregard!

And to think this is just one woman out of the many others who do even worse things in a bid to pledge allegiance to their favourite soaps, is just sickening.

Where are we headed if this is the status quo? I dare say, homes are crumbling and disintegrating thanks to the aforementioned. Though their story lines are very interesting and spellbinding, there is a dark abyss under their seemingly harmless façade.
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The 9th Parliament is finally dissolved and the drama begins

After many calls to the President to dissolve Parliament, he finally dissolve the 9th Parliament yesterday after signing some bills that were passed this month i.e. Finance Bill and the Employments Bill I talked about in a recent post, read here.

By this dissolution the real battle for the next government begins, we have been entertained by all manner of launch by the presidential candidates and their parties, PNU, ODM, ODM-K and KPP. Though the parties with presidential candidates are four, the race is said to be mainly for three. Notice parties in this election prefer three letter parties compared to those in 2002 NARC, FORD-K, FORD-P and KANU. Could be three is a lucky number in this elections and I hope it will be Kenya’s 3rd liberation like it has been said.

Our outgoing MPs in this parliament were well paid, we now wait for the house speaker Mr. Francis Ole Kaparo to officially declare their jobs vacant for them to re-apply for their lucrative jobs. The vacant positions are 210 posts but he will be sending 222 MPs home (12 were nominated). Just like previous elections, the posts have attracted applicants from all walks of life to the variety of parties. These positions are so lucrative such that applicants don’t mind paying high non-refundable nominations fees proposed by the parties.

Now is the time for interesting defections, politicians who had not defected will hop from one party to the other, some will stick to their parties. From the trend that has been the case in the past months, the party or parties that will suffer most is the President party PNU and its affiliate parties. The party that has been more on the receiving side is ODM and I imagine more joining them now.

The main task for the parties now is to organize nominations for the candidates who would stand on their parties for the 210 constituencies. There are also a number of posts for councilors for many wards. It will be tough and I hope it will be done in a democratic manner not like in the past.

After the nominations there will be more defections or fallouts. Those who do not win in the nominations will try their luck elsewhere. Some will remain with their choice parties even after loosing nominations, in the hope of being nominated by their parties after elections if they are lucky.

We now wait for ECK chairman Mr. Samuel Kivuitu to announce elections date. I can only conclude that Kenyan politics is an interesting drama that leaves people in suspense as to what will happen next.

Enjoy!