Independence Day in a Foreign Land

Today is July 4, 2009 and the United States of America celebrates yet another birthday. She is a little worse for wear considering she is 233 years old. The United States I was born into is quite different than the one I left this year. It is also interesting getting foreigner’s views on the United States and because of the day, I thought I would write a little about all of the above.

Does anyone remember “Leave it to Beaver”? That is what I picture as the prototypical 1950’s American Family. There is a stay-at-home Mom, a Father that never misses breakfast or dinner, and two children that get caught up in mischief from time to time, all of which contributes to a happy and functional family. I liken that to Kenya now. The family unit is very strong here. There does not appear to be a huge problem with divorce or single-parent households. The children all seem to be very respectful of their elders and are home when the street-lights turn on. Instead of fast-food drive-thru’s, folks eat home-cooked meals. Instead of being glued to the television, folks sit and talk, do homework, and read books. And family is not just Mom/Dad, Brother/Sister but cousins, aunts, uncles, next-door neighbors, and the like. Everyone seems to work in a community to support each other. Of course, I could very well be shielded from the “dark” side, but in my interactions, all of the above appears to be true. I think the only thing I see that is similar in the States in youth is the cell phone. Passionately carried everywhere and constantly texting God knows who.

The things that make the United States great, in my opinion, are its people, ingenuity, and the 10 basic civil liberties guaranteed to everyone. Kenya has this too albeit without the Civil Liberties. They have something similar, but not quite close. An example, we were driving back from Watamu and got waved over by police twice…because they felt like it. I was stunned. The police were pulling people over looking for bribes, plain and simple. I told the driver that this would never happen in the States. The first time it happened, it would be splashed all over the news and heads would roll. He shrugged it off as normal and was not too concerned about it. Just about any time one is stopped, if one has enough cash on them, they can drive away. Every cop takes bribes here, period. It was explained to me that they have such an important job and get paid so very little that it is accepted. I sit here wondering what would happen if I got pulled over for speeding in the States and casually told the cop “…I do not want a ticket today, why don’t you just take this $20 and go on.”

The corruption goes on and up the ladder all the way to the top. Foreigners are amazed at this. Kenyans accept that corruption is a part of life. Sure, they would like to be rid of it but assume it is not practical. They compare the system to the one in the United States that is not corrupt. I laugh at this and acknowledge that they might be misled a bit. Sure, it is not out in the open in the States, but if one does not believe it exists, I have some great property in Kiberia to sell for KES 50 Million an acre. Kenyans are not aware of the corruption that exists in Western governments. They do not get the news regarding the powerful lobbyists, back-door deals for votes, massive government spending on pet projects, and HUGE travel budgets for our elected officials. Matter of fact, what Nancy Pelosi spent on her last “world trip” would fund the Kenyan Government for probably six months. The big difference here versus the States is that they try to hide it in the States, here it is a bartering system.
Freedom of the press is a big deal in both places. Although it is a joke in the States, here it is very hardcore. Folks who write the wrong stories…well they are absolutely allowed to but very well may end up dead in a ditch. In the States, the news media panders to the left for the most part and wields huge power in legislation, elections, and foreign policy. In Kenya, they are read, cause outrage, and the government continues on as usual. I guess it is the peoples knowing that true change can never occur here, and in the States a bunch of dumb-ass tree huggers believed it whole heartedly. Seems the Kenyan folks may be a bit smarter than the Americans in this respect. The press here is hard-hitting and has the people’s welfare in mind not seeming to run on a personal agenda. That is very refreshing to see that it still exists in the world.

I have written here in the past about the view of American Mzungu; have tons of money, owns everything in the world, and is a way to get ahead in life. Kenya counts on Mzungu dollars to float its economy. All the dollars that are spent every year on tourism, paying huge amounts of money to drive through the outskirts of town or fly across the country to see wild animals and also to see the coastal resorts along Kenya’s beaches, counts for a huge percentage of Kenya’s GDP. Kenyan’s are never exposed to anything other than the wealthy, top 5% of the American population (or British/Italian/German/French/Etc…) Kenyans stare in disbelief when I talk about the “other side of the tracks” in the States. Ghettos, gangs, drugs, prostitution, crime, rape…none of it are really reported here. They do not hear about the evening news in DFW that starts off every night with countless murders, arson, and various other atrocities. I am also pretty sure that Kenyans never hear of the huge middle-class of America that works hard every day, struggles to make ends meet, constantly oppressed by huge taxes paying for entitlements they will never see. Again, all they see are the rich folks that walk off the plane in their brand new “Columbia” or equivalent Safari Gear acting like the public should be beholden to them because of their status. I’m with the Kenyans, rich buttholes suck. However, I will take their money. Come to think of it, that was my business in DFW prior to coming here…I guess I am not that different after all.

I sit here on July 4th and do miss the States a bit. I miss the great medical facilities, awesome civil infrastructure (clean water, roads, telephony, electrical service, natural gas, transport systems), and a lot of the niceties I grew up accustomed to. I obviously miss my family a lot and friends too. However, in retrospect there are a lot of things, as mentioned above, that I do not miss at all. Just like Vincent said to Jules in “Pulp Fiction”…it’s the little differences.

Peace,

Dude
FBO