Wednesday 4 September 2013

BLACK, BLUE AND WHITE





We live in a world of tried fallacy. Regional dictatorship of the mind by ourselves. We raise our so-called voices but our hearts are silent, hushed up like someone stole the fire, even though we never bothered to light it up.
Where has the life gone? Was it even ever there?
From my calculations the past two decades have been the same…full of nothing. Yes we can talk about miss universe, succes in athletics and all those minute-lasting hypes. but once you say you are from Botswana out there in the world most people don’t know anything about us. maybe our diamonds yes but what else? It is not enough. We need the international world to want to know us, experience life here and seek us out.
It’s so slow here that even terrorists don’t bother looking us up! You don’t have to have lived abroad to notice that the pace of this here our country is ridiculously and unfavorably slow and demoralizing. The customer service everywhere, the news, the pace we have from child to independent young adult and everything is just so slow. It is like we have a completely different time set from the rest of the world. We always talk about development and international recognition, well, that will not happen until we let go of the past which we eloquently put as tradition, culture and originality! Pphssww! it wont work!
By the past I mean:
1.       Insisting on speaking Setswana on most if not all media entities. How do we expect international recognition if the world can’t even understand us?!
2.       Providing education that does not emphasize self confidence and independence in children. Botswana’s young adults leave home to stay on their own at the average age of 25! Shocking right but its true. while most countries out there young adults live on their own at 18 and have jobs, cars and even families, here we still live at home become less experienced in life survival skills and pass on the same pace to our kids.
3.       Pushing the traditional dance and dikhwaere agenda down the nation’s throat by marketing it all over and encouraging everyone to be part of it through our very own national television. All because it is said to attract tourists. Well here is the thing, tourists are attracted by things that are not there in their own countries, things which are special, rare, and unique presented in an internationally acceptable manner which we have a mountain of. The thing is we don’t cultivate the right things in this here our land. We are cultivating the same things we were at independence and that was how many years ago? 60?
4.       The fear of our very own government which we elect every four years. In the proper dimension of life I would very much rather be in, “governments should be afraid of their people”-(taken from V for Vendetta, the movie with that Kierra Knightly girl or is it Natalie Portman, they always confuse me, they look so much alike) anyway back to governments, we chose to put them in power then we fear them?! It does not make sense.i am not trying to be all political and revolutionary, I am just being realistic and sensible.
On that realistic beat I will end with saying, it’s about time we accept that our country is a dull country, nothing pops up in the minds of the international world out the when you mention Botswana. And the sooner we accept this the faster we will do something about it and change things then turn around and refuse being a dull country.
It’s a sad but true reality that we have nothing going on, because we have so much potential, so much originality, talent, uniqueness and resources to be one of the best in Africa and the world but we are too naive, lazy and downright slow to do anything that will help us. I am doing something right now talking to you about it and offering solutions. I strive for my independence as a young adult through two jobs and school. And most of all I vote, vote for a government which I believe can help my beautiful Botswana, me and my people.
What do you do and what are you planning on doing?

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