Culture is on trial

Maasai Morans

Nairobi; Kenya: Gone are the days when a village was united by a set of moral values. The child belonged to the community and could be guided and punished by any of the community members. There was a sense of authority, from village chief to the village elders. Community members gathered and prayed together. Traditional wedding and initiation ceremonies are some of the events that brought the community together. All these activities led to a strong bond and cohesion among members of the community. Hence, moving from one village to another and a story is born.

Societies had a way of doing things in accordance to their traditions and cultures. Roles and responsibilities were shared among the community members. The big question is , what happened to all these structures? Culture is an integrated system of learned behavior patterns which are not a result of biological inheritance. But in Kenya today, do we recognize our cultures and traditions? If we do, then it’s a combination of ignorance and illiteracy that interferes with our lifestyle. But in my opinion, culture is on trial.

For once, allow me to justify my words. As thoughts clash like swords in my mind, I foresee a rotten generation. Values and principles will be foreign words without meaning. Take a second and look at the television programs that are aired nowadays. Our children are now adopting the Western culture. From dressing code to their behaviors, speaks a lot of a lost sheep in the wilderness. Young men have long hair and earrings while on the other hand, ladies are almost naked in streets. Rumor has it that men of the cloth have declared the end of the world. Even though it’s subject to discussion, the topic has been the talk of the day.

Our education system has lost its value. Teachers are always running up and down to improve mean scores in their respective schools. Little do they realize that a child cannot perform well without discipline. They need to invest time on life skills lessons. Gone are the days when our parents gave us lectures on life skills. Today, they are always busy in their jobs and businesses making money that will never be enough. The child lacks attention from both the teachers and the parents. In the end, where does the African child belong in our society?

Having mobile phones in schools has increased access to pornographic materials among students. Parents give them money to buy phones all in the name of becoming digital. I wonder if these are the kind of leaders we will have in the next years to come. How do we come up with our laws? We need to come up with laws that will protect the present and the future generation to come. The law makers should consider our traditions and cultures before they proceed to enact laws. Some laws are contradictory based on our backgrounds. Just to mention, do we really recognize African customary laws? That is a story for another day.

To be sincere, the issue of culture is becoming a thorn in the flesh. Therefore, as we try to find out where we are as a nation, let’s also remember where we have come at the society level. Based on the facts laid above, you will bear with me that culture is on trial.