Musings of a Timid observer

On Kampala Traffic and the Social Contract It's 4.50 pm and you look out the window of your office building and see the traffic mounting. You decided it's time to leave and you jet out to your car as fast as you can. Things seem to be moving pretty well until you reach the 8th circle of hell(That junction on Acacia avenue. The Kabojja school junction. GOD HELP US ALL). As things slow to a crawl, you notice something peculiar but all too common. Drivers are pulling out of the lane and driving along the shoulders trying to creep up to the front of the line. You shake your head in disbelief hard enough to announce to anyone that might be looking that you disapprove of this action.  However you start to notice that , these people who are jumping out of the snail lane and then forcefully merging ahead , annoying as they might be, are actually getting ahead. If the goal is to get home in one piece as soon as possible, they're winning.  The police don't see...

At the time of writing this piece, 13th July, 2017, the Great Lakes Summit will be taking place in Munyonyo for two days. According to the website, Kampala will play host to a gathering of politicians, businesses and pro-market advocates from Europe, East Africa and beyond. The summit will explore the vast opportunities for greater trade and investment in the region: and make the ethical case for free trade as a means for poverty alleviation, conflict resolution and social justice" Many things have been thrown at the issue of poverty since the 70's. From billions of dollars in Aid, to education and health. The problem persists still, not because the efforts that are being made are not identifying problems(emerging economies like Uganda do need a healthy populace with sound education who can better reach their potential, economically and otherwise) , but rather because these problems are part of market systems that are failing and thus they need a market system approach. ...

John Locke loved his socks. So much so that there's a paradox called "Locke's socks" -very similar to the Ship of Theseus. In Locke’s paradox, we're asked to assume that John has a pair of socks. These socks happen to be his favorite socks and he wears them a lot. Unfortunately, these socks become worn and one of them gets a hole in it. If this sock is then patched can it still be called the same sock? If the answer is yes, then what what would happen if the sock required a second patch or a third? If over time none of the original sock exists can it be considered the same sock even though it has none of its original material?   This idea is one of great interest for a species of creature that changes cells every day and reasonably, one can imagine that the cells present in the baby Charles and Serinah named Joel are no longer the same ones present in the bearded rogue(my self image is beyond criticism. Shut up!) typing this. I look completely differ...

Uganda hosts over 1 million refugees with a vast majority coming in from South Sudan(About 900k) and a big reason for the whole week of recognition the country received are the progressive laws that provide asylum seekers entitlements to live with dignity. Concerns over resource usage and culture clashes do abide ,but by and large, these have been peaceful settlements with Uganda being a great host especially in comparison to other host communities around the world Now a few people have pointed out that they're skeptical of the 'hospitality and friendliness of Ugandans towards refugees and site feelings of hostility, and "What about us" sentiments that are expressed by citizens. It should be noted that these anecdotes are mainly sourced from the Central part of the country which oddly enough have seen refugees come through and work , almost on equal footing with other citizens. Refugees in the central also tend to be wealthier and better educated and so gravitate...

I have a tattoo on my wrist that reads XXIV for the year in which everything about me was turned upside down. I lost my faith and gained enlightenment..My world got much bigger and I felt ignorant of so much and this empowered me to have a hunger and thirst for knowledge only the younger, more curious version of myself could rival. In the zest for life, I returned home from school and felt a mix of excitement to share the new things I'd learned but I suddenly felt a cold shiver. I knew that my talking about the beauty of philosophy, the elegance of science and the humility of admitting we don't know about the maker f the universe that itself perplexes us was not going to be greeted with applause. But still I shared. In the safest way possible. On Facebook.  Away from the emotional faces and the smell of the air getting thick with tension as you told someone you believed their belief in God was irrational. People started to inbox me, asking what had gone wrong. At first ...

I was asleep in my bed when I turned 32 yesterday. Some people had been kind enough to send me a few messages , joking about how old I was getting and I had had a fantastic weekend so I went to sleep at about 11 pm. I woke up to a day filled with so many surprise calls and messages and lots and lots of food. I was really touched by the outpouring . Not just because it's January and people are just trying to make it till pay day. No, because I genuinely do find the effort people put in just to make me feel like I matter to them powerful. It's very easy for us to be disillusioned. It's almost a mark of intelligence now to be cynical and removed. To observe the world with a bemused indifference. How else can you see all the shit around you and NOT say "Well we're all fucked" and simply laugh and drink and be merry . Others just don't see the point and resign themselves to that sweet spot between actually giving a fuck and It gives you a great va...

There's one thing you've come to learn. We're all mad.  Seriously . All of us. All our conversations should be centered on trying to figure out just how mad the person sitting across from us is. Some of us think, "Well it's them. They're mad. I'm the normal one. Why can't people be more like me ?" Others take pride in being weird( and miss the irony that that's probably the most average impulse of them all), others simply pay it no mind and keep themselves busy with work or twerking. For you, well you always knew you were a little mad , but growing up has shown you just how crazy you are. Some of it might be considered whimsical or harmless like your disdain for all things pit bull or how you can find comedy in dark and terrible ideas or how you're the most outgoing introvert I know. Your other madness is a little more subtle. It's what causes you to sabotage my own happiness. It's what makes you seek out the familiar des...