The Joke that is Democracy

"The heart is most deceitful beyond all else!''

I hate politics. And Democracy too! They are both jokes. Big bad ugly jokes.The former is a machine for deceiving the masses and the latter is a lie used to convince the masses that they actually have a say in matters of governance and in deciding what is morally 'right and wrong'. Both are deceptive, serving only the interests of wretched hearts and souls!

I know what you may be thinking now. " what does this ignorant and arrogant bastard (yeah, I grew up with no dad) know about politics and democracy?" Well, I don't know much-but I have seen and heard enough to convince me to hate those two evil jokes!

I was a Journalist. I have worked on two continents. Africa and Europe and I am still convinced that Politics and Democracy anywhere in the world is the same. I worked for the BBC for 6months and the largest media house in East Africa ( NATION MEDIA GROUP) for 3 years.

I was behind a microphone when Kenya went to war with herself at the end of 2007/ beginning of 2008. I watched people's homes and businesses get torched. I walked past dead bodies in the streets. I interviewed marauding youths with machetes,clubs and rocks in their hands and my heart in my mouth. They told us the only reason they didn't attack us was because we were the media and they wanted us to let the world know what they were protesting about.

One day I was caught on the wrong side of the divide with police coming towards us as we talked to demonstrators- a tear gas canister was hurled and it hit me on my chest - burning my shirt and almost knocking me out cold. I coughed for my life as live bullets whizzed by, stoking more chaos to a burning slum.

I saw footage and pictures no human being should see. We could never air those on tv or describe them on radio- we were told. These would only fuel revenge attacks from grieved tribes. Hacked bodies. Severed limbs. Did you see what the city mortuary looked like then?
Pregnant women hacked to death with unborn foetus' hanging out of their swollen and ripped bellies.Bodies of women and children burnt beyond recognition. One of those attacks happened in a church!
This was all in the name of Politics and Democracy.

While all this was happening, fat politicians with body guards were calling us Journalists to press conferences in air conditioned hotels and with smirks on their faces they talked about how Democracy was going to 'win' for the common man. How the rights of the masses would not be denied. It made me sick to the stomach- literally!

One day, I was having a bowl of fruits for lunch as I wondered wether Kenya was headed to the dogs like our next door neighbors- Somalia and South Sudan when a searing pain in my stomach sent me sprawling on the floor. My friends rushed me to the hospital. I was diagnosed with ulcers and admitted for 4 days. I was 26 years old. The doctor said I had major ulcers in my stomach lining due to depression and stress. A few months later, I quit Journalism. I wasn't ready to write or report myself to death.

Why am I writing about all this you may ask? Well, my country is going to an election in just over a month and the outlook is not too good. Violence in certain parts of the country has already happened. Corruption and irregularities have been rampant during the recent primaries.
Tribal animosities are already flaring up in some places. Tomorrow still looks bleak.

So what are the solutions? If we got 'good leaders', would Kenya and Africa's plight be better? If we followed the model of the developed world- practicing 'good politics' and 'true Democracy' would things be better for our 'failed States'?

I don't believe so. Lets look at the 'perfect' models abroad. Their democracies and politics have legalized abortions and gay rights and gay marriages and guns. 12 Year olds are in street gangs taking lives before they can fully understand what a Life is worth. 11 and 12 year old girls are prostitutes. Pimps, Sex trade traffickers and drug dealers are freely cruising down the streets in big cars because of a technicality in a clause of a State Law. Marijuana and other controlled substances are legal in certain places. Millions of babies aborted each year- because there is choice and women have the democratic right to choose! All this in the name of 'good Democracy and Politics'.

So no, I am not a big fan of Politics or Democracy in any part of the world. In fact the reason I am writing all this down is because I have been struggling to pray for my country and its politicians. I know who they are and what they are capable of- and they are not here to save us!
But my pastor and my Bible all say that I should pray for my country and my leaders. It's been hard. Since I quit my career in Joirnalism, I rarely watch tv or listen to the radio. It's so hard. I can't stand the lies and the manipulation. Still makes me sick. But I have a duty to pray. I must be heavenly minded but of earthly good.

So I have been thinking how I should pray and I have come to this conclusion. I can only pray for two things. Those are the only prayers I have- literally! That's my only hope. I can pray for Christ to return quickly or I can pray for God to touch the hearts of wretched sinners - like myself.

See, Kenya's and Africa's and the world's biggest problem is not poverty and bad leaders and bad democracy. No! Our biggest problems are our sinful hearts. No amount of money, or education or peace or pleasure will ever satiate an evil heart- we will always battle evil because it is in our DNA. All of us. We murder and steal and kill and rape and lie and take advantage of each other because we are selfish and self centered. And only Jesus can save us!

So MARANATHA! - Lord come quick or touch the hearts of these wicked leaders and restrain the evil schemes of the poor man in the slum who thinks He has nothing to lose by torching a business premise or hacking his neighbor to death because he comes from a different tribe. Otherwise there is no HOPE for us. You say the King's heart is like water in your hands and you can turn it whichever which way you so please and you say you will establish a Kingdom of Peace that will last forever. For only these I pray. For unless you restrain the wretched hearts of men and unless your Gospel pierces the stony hearts of the wicked, Democracy and Politics will continue to kill us-everyday!

P.s My lack of belief in Politics and Democracy does in no way suggest that
People should not vote or take part in policy making- just a reminder to keep our eyes and hopes on Christ! He is our only Messiah! And yes, I will vote- even though I prefer Theocracy to Democracy!