[Ugnet] Taking a Stand Against Immorality: Bush Shows EA the Way

US President George Bush must be the world's most talked about man these days. He confounded the pundits and on a popular vote won himself another term in the Oval Office, despite the human toll that his senseless war in Iraq has cost that nation. George Bush's all-America bigotry closely resembles that of the late hard-liner Ronald Reagan, whom the world loves to hate, but can't help but admire.

It is telling that George Bush, love him or hate him, won the poll on the strength of the vote of middle-class white America for his stand for the right to life, traditional family values and against the homosexual lobby. Let's call a spade a spade, semantics aside, forget about politically correct language - America voted for the Christian values. White middle class bible-reading America stood up and was counted.

Last week, a good number of our medical profession in Kenya made a stand for life too, and in so doing mirrored the convictions of a majority of their compatriots (82 per cent of Kenyans do not support abortion, according to a 2003 Steadman poll). In a similar vein, the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya, Benjamin Nzimbi, and his Nigerian counterpart have made their stand against the proselytism of the all-powerful gender-bending lobby.

If the early Christians paid for their faith by impalement in Rome's Colosseum, then today's Christians must withstand a relentless barrage of derisive names and labels; conservative, moral absolutists, right wing, homophobic! Let's face it, faith-based convictions are not PC in the modern human rights activist's handbook. Sample this: In popular modern culture, it's heroic to fight to save endangered animal species; but an infringement of women's rights to choose to fight for the right to life of each unborn child.

Anti-discrimination laws safeguard the homosexual lifestyle and culture that is introduced to children under the guise of sex education; while Christian moral values have been taken out of the classroom.

Reproductive health legislation has granted children access to contraceptives and abortions below the age of consent and deny parents a role in their child's reproductive development; except where medical complications arise as a consequence of the dependant's independent sexual choices.

The children's rights lobby has branded parents as failures and enacted worldwide legislation on children denying parents a say in their children's education, the right to discipline their children or teach them their faith.

Women in the poorest parts of the world, including East Africa are "empowered" by being given full access to most types of contraceptives (without information on any negative side effects); but ultimately remain slaves of poverty, have no access to clean drinking water, decent housing and have to feed their families on less than a dollar a day.

Traditionally the law served to safeguard civil and economic rights, and human rights were synonymous with the right to vote, a fair wage, freedom from torture etc. But having successfully enshrined civil liberties in most world constitutions, the human-rights movement has moved into the social realm.

By so doing, "human rights" have in many instances become inimical to Christian religious rights and freedoms. In many instances, legislation is incompetent in dealing with social issues, read human issues, because however well intended, "social laws" will inevitably impinge on the culture, values and ethos of one group or other.

The social disruption realised and yet to come under the guise of the reproductive-rights movement will be the subject of study for future generations; but in the present time, one wonders why the vast resources channelled into such dubious social legislation and programmes is not channelled into wealth creation, wealth redistribution programmes (not more studies or cash guzzling commissions please!), and environmental conservation (vs rhetoric).

There is a certain nefarious breed of human-rights activist that revels in a sea of rhetoric, and implements and justifies unsuccessful programmes with a trail of studies and reports, while leaving the victims of the ultimate injustice of poverty perpetually economically disempowered.

Back to Bush, under his first term in office, the millions of Aids dollars channelled into my country Kenya, actually started being directed towards the A and B of Aids control for the first time since the government launched its Aids programme as far back as 1985! Now that he's back in office we can expect to see more "Tume-chill"-type of Aids campaigns. And hopefully, the next phase of the campaign will get deeper into how young people can chill.

An informal survey carried out for the True Love Waits organisation in 1999 found that 85 per cent of young people aspire to live in abstinence but don't know how to do so - in terms of media choices, danger of alcohol, benefits of group dating and so forth. George Bush won the election, and all East Africans of Christian conviction ought to be glad because he's taken a stand against amoral social programmes. I guess its time we took ours.

Ciru Githongo is an independent television producer

[Ugnet] Taking a Stand Against Immorality: Bush Shows EA the Way

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