LAST WORD
“ Ochieng has always wondered how peaceloving Kenyans who live side by side somehow manage to erupt into violence every five years like clockwork . The threat of violence is a control mechanism however cynical and unprincipled it is .”
But of note is the fact that Trump noted with admiration the fact that Kim ’ s advisers cowered and sat to attention every time he spoke and he joked that he should get similar allegiance from his team . Was it a joke or a deep seated desire ?
It is on record that Trump is the only leader that keeps in touch with Kim Jung even after leaving the office and we would like to believe that Trump wishes he had the unhindered clout that the North Korean leader has and is even attempting to ingrain it in the Republican Party .
Trump is the glorious leader of the Republican Party and he rules the party with an iron fist and does not hesitate to disparage and punish those that dare have divergent views . His version of the truth is the only version that matters and is always adopted .
Republicans cower and tremble in his presence as the glorious leader as his endorsement or castigation can build or ruin a political career . Trump is not hesitant in using his clout to shape the party in his own image and firm control .
The threat of reprisal from Trump and his lieutenants has kept otherwise noble and wise republicans from voicing their opinions even when what Trump was pushing is a lie . He has effectively muzzled the party in line with what he wanted to do with the country .
The few principled and courageous republicans who dare to question his truth and his way of doing things are subjected to ridicule and outright hostility in such a fashion that it is no longer deemed worthwhile to engage in polemics with fanatics .
The very fact that Trump even imagined and supported the January 6th insurrection that so profoundly shocked the American people and the international community since the bastion of democracy was behaving like an authoritarian country in support of a vainglorious despot .
History will judge Trump harshly since it is not lost to history that it is Trump that undermined his NATO allies and withheld military support to Ukraine that paved way for the current invasion of Ukraine by Russia troops .
Trump ’ s admiration for Putin is well documented and is the first American president to side with the traditional adversary to the chagrin and despair of European allies . For Trump to back Putin against the advice of allies is betrayal , but Trump operated on his own rules .
Trump was so taken by Putin and his grip on power that he wanted to have his own show of power on the fourth of July to showcase the American military might . Trump coveted power and hoped that he could have unfettered access to it .
Putin , being a canny political operator took full advantage of the silent support that he enjoyed from the only country that could scuttle his expansionist agenda . He began to quietly put his machinery in place knowing the US would be neutral .
The collapse of the Soviet Union is a source of grave and ongoing embarrassment for the ambitious Russian leader and would like to see the day when Russia wields the same clout it did during the cold war and before the collapse .
Putin is the master of brinkmanship and he had hoped that he can recreate the union by threats alone without actually having to fight his compatriots . This plan was thwarted by the interference of the West and has put him in non-preferred course of action .
In the brinkmanship game Putin has even threatened the use of nuclear warfare , since this threat cannot be aimed at Ukraine it is to be assumed that it is a threat to any other nation that may dare to assist Ukraine to resist Russian onslaught .
But the threat has clearly worked since neighboring Nordic countries have gone on alert and started to wonder about Putin ’ s long term game given that attacking his traditional ally will not age well among Russians but a foray against a foreign country could be popular back home .
Ochieng is aware that the threat of violence is an effective destabilizer and has been used closer home to achieve political ends . Remember that the famous handshake was the result of continuous threat of violence that the opposition had successfully staged .
Ochieng has always wondered how peace-loving Kenyans who live side by side somehow manage to erupt into violence every five years like clockwork . The threat of violence is a control mechanism however cynical and unprincipled it is .
Unfortunately that same threat of violence can have an undesired outcome in that it may deter people from going to vote . There are those that create a perception of violence to chase potential voters when their candidate is weak and a poor turnout improves their chances .
Politicians are crisscrossing the country spreading fear on what a Kenya Kwanza presidency would mean and the other group warning the dire consequences of an Azimio presidency . Both are trying to scare Kenyans into voting their way .
The last word is that as unprincipled and disgusting the use of fear is , it has been , is and will continue being a strategy that gains quick traction since there is usually no time to question the allegations which are normally unsupported .
Those who sponsor violence and create despondency and fear are uncouth types and one would like to believe that one cannot be intending any good for the country by using nefarious methods . There is truly no right way of doing the wrong thing .
Ochieng later learned that Mephisto ended up in jail after a gang-fight which resulted with two fatalities . His jailing for manslaughter brought no joy or relief and his incarceration in no way compensates for the torture and anguish that he caused Ochieng during his schooldays . But then , there is Karma !. ■
96
MAL 47 / 22 ISSUE