Dreaming of better future? Invest in the politics of inclusion at home and abroad The politics of inclusion is one of the high callings of our generation, whether at the family, national or global level. If in doubt, just travel East. If you keep at it long enough, you will end up in the West. This, however, is not to say that inclusion is the silver bullet that will end the great injustices of our time, from racism to global warming. Even closer home, where family disputes and the politics of territorial dominance characterize our national life, inclusion is not the only antidote to our national malaise. However, it could point us towards building a saner society by grounding the identities of the younger generation on a firm cultural foundation. Then, everything else being constant, we can dare to dream that boys will be boys and rest assured that they will graduate into men of value. To be a man of value is no easy responsibility, one must have faith in one’s self-sufficiency. And a man’s self-sufficiency is not only in what he owns, important as that may be. It is also in what he is and that boils down to an attitude of the mind that is not easily diminished by adversity. Being a man does not promise what Tracy Chapman called in her song “a life of ease and mountain of things”. Rather, it is a call to action in the struggle to create a bold future, not just for oneself but also for one’s motherland. In my view, the moral courage to build that future begins with fathers embracing their sons and pointing them in the direction of a brighter tomorrow devoid of the exclusions of yesteryear. By Mr. Mbugua, is an associate editor with the Daily Nation (Nairobi-Kenya, July 9/2013 edition?) ([email protected])
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 10:20:13 +0000
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