To be human is to experience crisis. Some will be caused by societal tragedies such as the August 4 1998 Nairobi Bomb blast. Some will be caused by natural disaster such as earthquake, hurricane or some other large magnitude act of nature beyond our control. And some will be caused by more personal experiences such as illness, death, or another difficult experience that comes to knock on our door. Some will be caused by the careless nature what I call attitude of some human beings like the December 2007 election crisis in Kenya.
Everyone will react differently to the same crisis. But in all these cases one thing always stands out, people are at their creative best in the time of crisis. They think their way out of the trouble that sometimes leaves permanent changes either in a positive way or negative way. Just before the World War II the ambition and eminence threat of Adolf Hitler led USA to develop one of the most devastating weapons of all time. The birth of Atomic Age came as a result of World War II crisis. The ironic part of it is that, it is the same arsenal which ended the World War II with devastating effect, which is still being felt in Japan up to date. At the same time the origin of UN is traced back to the end of the war and we must agree the formation of UN was a brilliant idea but which came out of crisis.
Back in Kenya the disputed December election ushered in a coalition government. On top of this we might as well end up with a good constitution which all Kenyans have longed for. The major obstacle on the way of new constitution in Kenya as been the executive power and the post of Prime Minister. Now that that is seems to have been solved, apart from the Kadhis court issue, a smooth path is available for the adoption of new constitution.
The fear of the societal tragedies is great and overwhelming. And that is why we pray everyday to be safe. It is very common to be afraid when things are happening to us that are completely outside of our normal experience. Our safety has been shattered and our future is unsure. This insecurity can rock our foundation and cause stagnation in our thinking.
We may be absolutely floored by some particularly bad news. It may take some time to process the actual meaning of some crisis situations and their long term affects but underlying fact is that it sometime becomes a necessary evil for the advancement of the human development. So you may disagree but?