Lack Of Hope Is…Well, Dangerous

If you go through my profile, you will notice that one of my favorite movies is Shawshenk Redemption. What stands out for me from that movie is one catchy line at the end of the movie. That line goes like this, “Hope is a good thing. May be the best thing”.

To me, that is a profound statement.

We all do what we do because we have hope for something. I go to work because I hope for my pay at the end of it. I studied hard in school because I hoped for my degree and eventually a “good” job. I have not verified this from any terrorist, but I hear they do what they do because they hope for some spiritual reward. Hope, therefore, is this wonderful thing in us that drives us. It is our engine.

Whether we drive towards the right direction is another thing. Nonetheless, lack of hope is, well, hopelessness. It is desperation.

I am not a psychologist, but I read somewhere that when human beings are faced with a desperate, frightful situation they resort to two options – fight or flight. I believe that when we are facing dangerous situations head on, the choice to fight or flee is not an intellectual one. We tend to lack intellectual capacity to create a “choice diagram” to come up with the best route. We do it by instinct. We become animals that we are. The choice between “ngumi mkononi” or “mguu kichwani” becomes a matter of natural tendencies in you.

Hope, however, is not a utopian concept. That is particularly true when one’s hope is based on another person’s promise. At some point, the “promisor” must deliver to the “promisee” (that sounded legal, didn’t it?). Failure to deliver by the promisor can prompt the promisee to change their expectations, attitude, and course of action.

We must admit it, Mr. JMK came to power thunderously. I mean; racking up 80% of the votes in 2005 was not an easy feat. His early days, as I have alluded to in my previous posts, were promising. Nonetheless, of late he has been falling into this darkness and abyss that only he and him alone understand. That light that shone late 2005 and early 2006 is slowly turning into darkness. Plainly, I don’t see any hope for Tanzanians. He appears to have lost direction and the ability to rule. People, was the RDC issue really that difficult?

I can see a sense of desperation looming over the Tanzanian sky. I can see an eruption of pent-up emotions in the near future. When hope is gone, stuff happens. Things change.

See, my Tanzanian people have been duped for so long. I am not making a prediction of change solely because I desire one, but I know that nature has to take its own course. You can only fool people for sometime. The problem, however, is that CCM is slumbering. They are taking voters for granted. They are taking folks for imbeciles. I am sure Mr. JMK thought that getting 80% of votes was a special present with no strings attached. Well, Mr. President, the 80% votes you got signifies a level of hope folks assigned to your presidency. The problem is, you and CCM have been acting as if you owe Tanzanians nothing.

I cannot blame CCM that much though. Absolute power corrupts. Would you be shaken if you have been in power for, well, forever? It is like nothing moves you. Nonetheless, just ask the Republicans who faced the wrath of desperate people. When you have treated folks as fools for a while, they are bound to wake up. And when they do, they will definitely run you out of the park.

All of us desire to hope in something. Soon and very soon, Tanzanians will find something to hope for and hope in. I am sure there hope will not be in CCM or Kikwete. It won’t be in a system that appears to be incompetent by the day. It will be in something fresh, true and honest. Mark my words and watch out in 2010.

Hope is a good thing. May be the best thing. Lack of it is a dangerous thing. And CCM is facing that danger right in the face. So go ahead and sleep baby CCM, for Tanzanians are about to claim their country back. Pretty soon.