Role Models

Hi there,

Regular readers of my blog (Laugh now. Haha…) will have noticed that I have done a little rebranding. For one thing, I have changed my name to Mr. Fox. I think it’s appropriate – I love the movie (Fantastic Mr. Fox that is) and the fox picture is cute so what the hell. Also, this is some kind of record – 3 blog posts in less than a week? Amazing… What can I say? I’m enjoying it.

Today, I’m going to talk about role models. Some people don’t feel the need to have one and that’s fair (Ms. B, I’m looking at you). However, I have a few. And one thing seems to link them all – a ruthless streak. I don’t know what that says about me. Some of them are fictional (Walter White and Don Draper) while some of them are historical figures (Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla come to mind). I’ll tell you why I find them so awesome.

Walter White: To put it simply “He is the danger... the one who knocks!” Breaking Bad fans will know what I mean. Anyways, I like Walter White because he is able to assess situations objectively and take the most appropriate action even if it is not totally ethical. He is willing to do what needs to be done. He is also a fascinating character because he is deeply flawed – watching Breaking Bad these last 5 years opened my eyes to the fact that humans can live with anything. I came up with a saying (I do that from time to time) – “Human beings are like elastic bands – stretch them far enough and they are never quite the same again.” Over the seasons, Walter White escalated his behavior and continued to find things he could live with. His character gives a fascinating insight into human nature.

Don Draper: Another deeply flawed character but also an extremely cool one. Don Draper is the kind of man men want to be and women want to be with. As I’ve said, he is flawed – he can’t seem to find happiness and is always looking for his next fix. And while I find that I’m generally a person who finds contentment in simple things, I cannot deny that I want to be as cool, smooth and suave as he is. A man’s man any day of the week.

Gaius Marius: He is a former Roman consul (what we would call the senate president these days but with a lot more power). He was consul 7 times. To do that in those days, you had to have your wits about you – a hell of a lot of it too. He was extremely cunning and that’s why I admire him. (I am contemplating naming one of my future sons after him. I’m still undecided since madam must agree. Haha)

Lucius Cornelius Sulla: He was a former Roman general and consul. As a matter of fact, he and Gaius Marius were close until his ambition drove them apart. Sulla was probably more cunning than Marius but in addition, he had a seriously ruthless streak and the will to push ahead with whatever he felt he had to do. The man basically took Rome hostage until he was declared consul – he became a dictator. At that time, doing that meant huge balls and brass ones at that. The man had cojones. (I am also considering naming one of my future sons after him. I feel more strongly about this one and madam will hear my argument when the time comes by God’s special grace).

So tell me: who are your role models? And why? I’d really like to know.

That’s all from me for now. Till next time, I remain your fantastic Mr. Fox.

Not Totally Random Thoughts.

Things are moving really fast these days. My friends (the guys!!) are getting married. Boys don dey old o. I guess it’s all good though. It’s the natural order of things. In the middle of all this, it’s hard not to think about it too and while I've always known that I would get married one day, I always seemed to be somewhat removed from the whole thing. And now, everyone around me is getting married and it suddenly seems to be in my face – and I find it hilarious. Don’t get me wrong - I love kids and would want nothing more than to have mine. I always look at my old man – he vexes me sometimes but if I’m able to do for my kids what he’s done for us, I’ll be happy. I’ll have lived a good life.

Why am I talking about this? Well, my friend is getting married this weekend. It’s a huge step but I have never seen him this happy. You know how people say that love changes a person? Well, he’s completely different, especially on social media. Haha… Anyways, I just want to wish him all the best.

I was in church yesterday and the minister was talking about faith. A lot of churches out there preach prosperity – “God will give you this and that”, “This is your year…” “You will get a visa” (this one is cringe worthy) and so on… But they never seem to emphasize that we have a large part to play in this exchange – It is an exchange; make no mistake about it. And when the pastor was preaching today, a lot of things started to make sense. Having faith is not easy. To totally trust someone you cannot see, touch, hear, smell or taste is a daunting task. Luke 17:6 says “The Lord replied ‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea’ and it will obey you’ ”. Trust me, I've googled mustard seed and let me tell you, it is tiny. I think that passage summarizes how difficult it is to have faith. And that is all God wants. The message really hit home and I pray that God gives me the strength to trust Him completely, to let Him show me the way and to be ready to go when He does. Faith is the sixth sense and it may be the most important one of all.

Sometimes, it is difficult for me to reconcile my philosophical views with my religious ones. This is because philosophy focuses on ‘self’ – self-examination, self-improvement etc. And while philosophy is a big part of who I am, my religious views have helped me become a more rounded person because it has helped me focus not just on myself but on God. I am a happier person these days because of it.

On a totally unrelated note, I saw “RoboCop” two days ago. It wasn't bad. Although I like to think that I’m a critic, deep down, I just want to be entertained. If work has been put into the production, I will probably enjoy it unless the story just doesn't grab me. Jose Padilha, who directed the “Elite Squad” movies (I've seen “Elite Squad: The Enemy Within” and it is awesome) did a pretty good job especially with the action scenes. To be honest, I watched the movie because he directed it. I also saw “47 Ronin” a few weeks back and I really liked it. Keanu Reeves was limited as usual but it worked for him. The movie was cheesy but I don’t care – I liked it. Bite me…

I’ll probably see “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” sometime next week and I’ll let you know what I think… if you care.

That’s it from me for now.

Till next time, I remain your fantastic Mr. Fox.

It's good to be back..

Hello again,

I guess I should say “Happy New Year” to everyone... This is pretty ridiculous because I haven’t been here in about two years. However, I’m feeling the impulse to write again partly because I see my friend, Dipo, writing furiously (He is a Man U fan so you all can understand the frustration. In my opinion, his blog is hilarious. Visit www.dipoogun.com when you have the chance). I have also been inspired by someone I won’t mention… yet. Anyways, things are changing... For one thing, I’m back in the country which gives me a first-hand view of how bad things are but I’m not going to talk about that today.

Those who know me know that I fancy myself to be something of a philosopher – I once took an IQ test (back in those days when I was obsessed with my own brilliance) that said I was a “Visionary Philosopher”.  I will tell you that my score was pretty high but that’s all I’m saying. Anyways, in the last 8 months, I've taken a very active interest in philosophy, especially in how it affects politics and shapes political systems all around the world. One thing that seems to stand out to me is that a lot of political systems are influenced by the way people see the world. I have been most influenced by Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau so I will use them as examples.

Thomas Hobbes believes that the natural human state is one of war – that in a world with no law, we would constantly be at each other’s throats and people would only do what is in their own best interests. Being a believer in the fact that people respond to incentives, you can see how this view would be appealing to me. Thomas Hobbes’ solution was to give up some of this freedom to a third party, a monarchy if you will, who would make sure that there was peace. This would involve the monarch having absolute authority (apparently, he believed in the divine right of kings which is probably why he was against the French revolution in the late 1700s). So in Thomas Hobbes view, law is something that inhibits freedom. This makes sense because if we were constantly at war, we wouldn't have a moment’s rest and while we would be “free”, this “freedom” could be taken from us at any time and nothing would be done about it. It is therefore in the best interests of the people to limit their freedom so they can have peace. This seems to be in line with what one philosopher, whose name I can’t remember, said – “All laws are necessary evils” This is because every law will alienate some people and limit their freedoms… It is therefore the job of government to pass those which do that the least.

Jean Jacques Rousseau, on the other hand, believed that man’s state of nature was very peaceful – in fact, he compared us to wild animals. He believed that the introduction of private property created divisions among men and this led to the state of nature described by Thomas Hobbes. Apart from this though, the key difference in these philosophies of nature is that Rousseau believed that instead of limiting freedoms, laws enhanced them because they brought us closer to that state of nature. In creating laws, Rousseau also advocated a social contract with a ruling body but had misgivings about an absolute monarchy (which makes sense given what we are seeing in Syria today). He also advocated breaking the social contract if the ruling body was not doing its duties (It wouldn't surprise you that he supported the French revolution). It is also worth noting that Hobbes grew up in war time England while Rousseau grew up in peaceful (is there any other way to describe it?) Switzerland.

Why am I saying these things? Ultimately, it comes back to our political system in this country. Given what you know now, who do you think is correct about man’s natural state? Hobbes or Rousseau? And how would you apply said state of nature in formulating a political system for Nigeria? And if you don’t agree with either of them, propose a system based on your beliefs.

I’d really like to know what you all think.

Honestly, if I had only one wish (apart from constant power, law enforcement, good Wi-Fi… man, I miss that) it would be that philosophy and history are made mandatory subjects in our secondary schools. In my opinion, philosophy doesn't just teach you what to think about, it teaches you HOW to think. It teaches you to question everything and to arrive at conclusions that make sense to you.

From time to time, I’ll post stuff like this just because I can. Ahh… It’s good to be back.

See you around,

Moyo.