I know I am a patriot..

What is a patriot? Off the top of my head it means having an undying love for your country and the willingness to sacrifice your life for the sake of it. I can jokingly say, if that is the case then I am definitely not a patriot.


If am to use my home country; Kenya as an example, to be honest, the only thing that pulls at my heart strings to make me feel proud to be Kenyan is our athletes and sports persons. Watching them crossing the finish line with their arms flailing in the air, smiles smothered on their faces, wearing their red, green and black gear with their names plastered over their chests I feel proud. Then the medals ceremony ; ooh, as I watch the Kenyan flag hoisted in the air, flailing in the wind, the stadium echoing our national anthem, draws tears to my eyes; I am proud to be Kenyan.






When the rugby team wins a match I am proud, when I am cheering my lungs sore in the national stadium watching the Harambee stars national football team I am proud to flap the flag around. I feel the ‘Kenyan spirit’ when I see Eric Wainaina when he sings at major concerts. I feel it also when I see Susana Owiyo in a picture with President Nicholas Sarkozy; she is truly representing who we are as a Nation! That’s until they come home, arrive at the airport and the only ‘heroes’ welcome is their family members and close friends and if they are lucky, extended family members; potential beneficiaries of their jackpot.


After all is said and done how willing am I to die for my country even with all the rot that I see now, that wears me down with every waking day? One thing that I am learning and I choose to take you all to task on, is to look at the good in your country and for the next 40 days pick something new each day. It’ll become a habit. Once you see your country in a positive light you’ll be building the will to sacrifice for the betterment of your country. If you don’t believe me I’ll take you on, I’ll do it as well. I’ll call it the Patriot’s Diary!


First I’ll name my country-- Kenya, and the second thing I’ll say is something positive about it; it has a cosmopolitan capital. I can literally make friends with people from everywhere; Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kuwait, China, Japan, Malawi, Uganda, America, Canada, Norway, Romania, Colombia you name it. So that’s day one, catch me tomorrow and I’ll tell you what else is great about Kenya other then the wildlife and the Maasai (Not to be rude, I have amazing friends who are Maasai.)