Of Sycophancy And Conscientious Politicking: Our Bane, Our Hope

Kenya Parliament

No matter how you look at it, the mother of all decisions rests on our ability to play around with information. This is more evident in governments, religion and business spheres where the ill-informed mass of followers survives at the mercies of the controlling class.

In this case, those with information at hand wield immense powers and influence to such levels that the gullible mass will stop at nothing to “protect” its controllers.

Kenya is no different from this. For no one can convince me that we are mature politically when we can't decipher our true role as citizens and by extension locate our rightful place in the pecking social-political order we call Kenya.

This is why we must rethink. Our democracy is founded on quick sand.

Democracies, we are told, thrive on "warfare" of thoughts channeled through an all-encompassing spectrum with a view to winning and moving along with the masses. The premise of this is simple and clear: it is to thrash, conquer and win the opponent plus his/her supporters without resorting to blows. 

The "tool of work" is robust thinking, foresight, persuasion and the ability to propel an idea to the wider public. Thus conscientious politicking.

It is commonplace to find several orientations in an all-time politically-charged society like ours with little or no understanding of what those groupings are or stand for. 

I came face-to-face with this reality in the last two weeks when I received a barrage of questions on what I understand by sycophancy, its genesis, dangers and if there is a possible way to confront it head-on.

These issues are germane to the Kenyan intelligentsia, social makeup and our comportment viz-à-viz politics. They, by far, define who we are and how we conduct our business.

I elect to look at sycophancy in two different perspectives. We, mere mortals, stand to be classified into two sub-groups. Either we possess the mind to think or we bank on the efforts of others to think for us.

It is universal truth that we aren't wholly self-sustaining. We depend on others - directly or indirectly - to scale the walls of life. This, at certain times, applies to the mind.

As thinking humans we are presumed to have the "original voice" and the "deciding vote" in matters that touch our very existence and survival. One of them is politics. 

At the center of this is the collective pursuit of mutual understanding. It is what gives credence to the concept of democracy we have gladly adopted and codified.

Sycophantic mind thrives not in such mentality. Sycophancy is inherently grounded in willful ignorance and the "power" to bewitch (dull) the minds hence the resultant effect of obeying all they read, hear or see. 

From which corner you look at it, it is evident that a sycophantic mind is a sworn enemy of facts and collective good. In this, information destined to the wider audience is the first victim. It is deliberately distorted, re-designed and propelled in a manner that the subject (master) looks more saintly than he is.

It is all for one solid reason: To advance individual interests. Anything public is mere talk.

Which brings us to the core of our talk. Sycophancy, just like conscientious politicking thrives on information. Information as a factor in itself can be used to empower or suppress a people. Survival of democracy - all over the world - depends on this.

Yet few of us appreciate this simple truism. We have countered sycophancy by sycophancy. We have taken leave of our senses and adopted the philosophy of our masters. This is the far we have “advanced” our democracy. Poor Kenya!

Isn't it possible to deviate from this and inculcate a new thinking among ourselves?

When two extremes fail to strike a balance it behooves for a third force to exert its position and seek relevance.

Look at the anatomy of the two extremes. They have maintained a stranglehold over the tools of communication and public discourse. They know that no people-unfriendly system prospers by ceding control of information to the governed. That there is always room to tinker information to keep the people mute.

Awareness premised on hot-air is a farce. It must be remembered that at the top of our priorities as human beings is our individual well-being. It is therefore foolhardy for any right-thinking person to isolate the daily needs of lowest of the low.

The third force must provide solutions to them. Lamentations and endless condemnations alone won’t win their hearts.

I am convinced that there is still room to make amends. It is time we looked at how to strengthen and expand the Third Way. This is our hope!

Lemukol Ng’asike is an architect. Twitter: @mlemukol. E-mail: lemoseh89@gmail.com.