Donna Saslove And Simon Lugassy - JO LEE Magazine

THE POWER OF MOMENTUM
On Human Nature
By David C. Wesonga
Nairobi – Kenya
“One can make this generalization
about men: they are ungrateful,
fickle, liars and deceivers, they
shun danger and are greedy for
profit; while you treat them well,
they are yours. They would shed
their blood for you, risk their
property, their lives, their children,
so long, as I said above, as danger
is remote; but when you are in
danger they turn against you.”
Niccolò Machiavelli
I have never taken time to read in
between the lines of Machiavelli,
but trust me, yours truly knows a
thing or two about human nature.
A thousand and one people can’t
be wrong. Lessons in humility are
best learned in nobility. And it has
really been humbling – the journey,
I mean.
As for momentum, human nature
dictates every single bit of it. On my
arrival in South Africa, I was at a loss
to explain my decision to shun my
notoriously public life for something
albeit hidden, but true to self. I
wanted to live “the boy next door”
and just be him. But I also wanted
some real heroes. The historian
Walter Bagehot would deny me were
he to learn of my moralizing Gordon
Brown’s failed prime minister-ship,
liberalizing David Cameron’s Blairlike
abilities and just plain labeling
him another Blair. But look at
Obama. A major gain in health care
reforms, where Hillarycare failed in
the Clinton era, another huge gain in
the stimulus plans and the bailouts –
I still believe most of the banks bailed
out would have ruined me, but what
the heck, I don’t need a bank account
now! And here’s another scoop in
international relations – human
nature just handed him and my
favorite speaker of all times, Nancy
Pelosi, a staggering defeat in the midterm
elections.
Shakespearean tragedy would
have labeled it nonpareil on
political fronts, but the world is
devoid of understanding, patience
and ignorance. Ignorance? Yes!
Remember where ignorance is bliss?
Sometimes, we shed so many tears
trying to retain what in reality should
be ours, legally, that we forget the
little things that matter in life.
Social commentary is riddled with
arcane tales of 40 under something
and Forbes this and that, but has one
ever stopped for a minute and given
a thought to the darling princes and
knights out there, standing amidst
false innuendo and friendships,
to gather enough momentum to
propel oneself forward? The odds are
usually stacked against the one who
leads the clarion call, but it is usually
worth it.
Back home in Nairobi, I am told
the world is scared stiff of one man,
Senor Luis Moreno Ocampo, who
is coming after leaders of the post
election chaos in that country. I have
no problem with that, but pray, the
biggest supporter of the International
Criminal Court (ICC) is the U.S.,
who, amazingly, is not a signatory
to the Rome Statute that binds
countries to the ICC! Talk of fickle –
there you have it. Ditto Ocampo.
“And that prince who bases his power
entirely on...words, finding himself
completely without other
preparations, comes to ruin.”
Niccolò Machiavelli
JL
Jo Lee Power 2011 71