This archive report was first published on 18 October 2019.
As I sit down to write, I'm reminded of the cattle rustler within me, a beast that's been lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
My friend, under the influence of Lagavulin, once accused me of being safe, proper, and unwilling to let my hair down. I'm about to prove them wrong.
For the past couple of months, I've been in a state of creative depression, a period of deep rumination that precedes big decisions. This is not unusual for middle-aged men anxious to confirm that they haven't squandered their youth.
During this time, I've been snacking on the philosophy of morality, studying the complex concepts of right and wrong. With the internet, things are wonderfully easier – notes from American universities are readily available, feeding intellectual babes with thoroughly masticated knowledge.
As a middle-aged person, life is purpose-driven. The most important qualification is being able to isolate decision-making from the routine grind and imperatives of one's career in the service of the larger goal.
The failure of Africa to take advantage of independence can be traced to the simple fact that its leaders are not good at either finding purpose or rising above, and therefore sacrificing their desires in the service of the common.
Kenyans, in general, are not purpose people. We need to cultivate the culture of thinking deeply and discussing stuff to make clever decisions. Intellectual laziness may as well be a national epidemic.
Our greatest failure is that we have not developed the culture of altruism – making choices that serve not one's own interests but the greater good.
As I reflect on my own experiences, I'm reminded of the importance of speaking out or acting on a matter of principle. Few are the people who have the moral, and sometimes physical, courage to do so.
And sometimes we mistake people acting out of the most crass self-interest as being driven by ethical impetus. Read up on 'bounded ethicality' and 'conformity bias' to understand how our own interests and external influences complicate our ability to make ethical choices.
