Morality and Law are for Losers

This is not a significant insight for it his been reiterated throughout intellectual history. It is however worth another iteration because of its detractors and the fact that examples for the case keep piling.  I use just three cases in our very recent memory to make the case. The case of Donald Trump is just so glaring that it hardly needs elaboration. The lies, bullying, insults that led him to America's presidency are there for all to see. Just this week, a gentleman in Montana won an election for the US congress even though the fact that he had beaten up a journalist in the process was captured on audio. It was only after he won the election that he apologized for the ignominy. If I had beaten up a journalist, this post, if I had been able to write it at all, would have been about my experience in jail and probably about my way to prison. I would have been fired from my job also if my employer had been made aware of the incident. However, our gentleman from Montana will be heading to Washington, DC, to make laws for America. Finally, the Dictator of Burundi who says he is the president of the country. A born-again Christian (by the way, all the examples here are from Christian people), he shot and killed his way to power and manipulated the election to keep himself there. Now he says he wants to revive moral rectitude in the country. His target is people who are co-habiting. He says that co-habitation increases the population of the country and poses a danger to the moral fiber of society. He has given an ultimatum for those who are co-habiting to marry, as if that would solve the population problem he is talking about. Perhaps the population crisis does not matter if the people increasing the population are married. There you have it - three examples why morality and law are for losers.

Healthcare Rankings Around the World: African Countries Still at the Bottom

The Lancet has recently ranked the healthcare access in 195 countries in the world based on how they succeed in preventing people from dying from curable diseases. The results are not encouraging for most African countries because they find themselves at the bottom of the list.  The last country is Central African Republic which has been at war with itself for a while now. The report shows that between 1990 to 2015, the highest increases in access to healthcare have happened in countries like South Korea and China rather than in African countries. Access to healthcare and mortality rate should be the number one criterion by which the idea of a rising Africa is measured. This report significantly challenges the notion of a rising Africa. In the table below, most African countries have a failing grade when it comes to treating preventable diseases. Compare it to the countries at the top of the list in the second table.





Source: The Lancet.

Emmanuel Macron Protects French Colonial Ties in Africa

His first foreign trip after being sworn into office as France's president was to Europe's powerhouse, Germany. His second foreign trip took him not to Chine or the United States but to the African country of Mali, which is central to France's interest in Africa. The public narrative of this visit is that Macron is visiting French troops who are fighting terror in Africa. However, anyone who has been paying attention knows that France has enormous interest in Africa and this interest is more about economics than the military. Macron's trip is to protect the France-Afrique connection which is critical to France's economy. Africa is central to France's place as a world power because France still controls most of its former colonies there. Macron goes to protect these colonial ties.

Emmanuel Macron and Mali's President Ibrahim Boubakar Keita

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Source: BBC

South African Men Shamed Into Action

The dire situation of violence against women in South Africa, made louder by the recent murder of Karabo Mokoena, has shamed some South African men to start taking action by organizing a march. The hashtage #NotInMyName is now trending on twitter and prominent figures are supporting the march.

A trending tweet

Source: BBC

But organizing marches should be only the first step. Deeper questions need to be asked about the kind of society that train men to be women-killers. And answers need to be sought for these questions. It is important to note that this disturbing trend of abuse and murder of women is not limited to South Africa. Societies all over Africa and indeed all over the world, need to be put on notice.

South African Men as Savages: The Testimony of Pumza Fihlani

The recent murder of the young South African lady, Karabo Mokoena, has brought to the fore the violence that South African women and women around the world suffer at the hands of men - they are often not only harassed and humiliated but also disfigured and murdered. In the wake of the brutal murder of Mokoena, the BBC Johannesburg correspondent, Pumza Fihlani, has written a short but powerful cry for help. In the piece she portrays South African women as living in fear of their men who prowl, like savages, waiting to harm the suspicious woman at any time. Now we can say that painting all South African men as savages does them great injustice because there are surely some very decent men in South Africa. However, this would not do justice to the fear Ms. Fihlani manifests in her piece. A fearful person does not have time to discriminate between the good and the bad. The concern should be addressing the cause of the fear. South African men should be ashamed that their women live in such fear. This shame should spur them to do all that is in their power to restore safety to their communities because a society that kills its women is sure destined for extinction. Perhaps this is why some South African scholars have described the violence against women in that country as tantamount to signing a covenant with death.