There are many young and older members of the Zimbabwean community who look at our country from different socio-economic and political environments and can’t help but conclude that something is twisted in a political culture that denies what they plainly see elsewhere: health care systems that provide better outcomes at lower cost and for everyone; better airports, faster trains, more extensive urban public transportation and even, amazingly, better highways; more upward mobility; more sustainable energy policies; elections that work more quickly and inexpensively, with more rational discourse and greater citizen participation.
The list is long. This is the Zimbabwean Dream we aspire for, which is more real in many other countries but seems an impossible dream for those who refuse to believe it’s possible.
Many young Zimbabweans usually return home with openness about the world that many of their parents lack. Not less patriotic than when they left, they see how curiosity about other ways to do things can only make us a stronger country. They were taught, as we were all taught, that strong nations are built to greatness on ideas borrowed from the rest of the world and improved here. That is what the Zimbabwe Dream Project intends doing.
We need to search for the kind of things that can fuel a Zimbabwean lantern of attraction for future generations. Perhaps more than anything else, it has been the universal desire of all parents that their children will lead lives better than their own. But that dream seems not to exist. And it can't be created if talented people sit on the political side-lines or don't attend the game at all. The media also are complicit in the dysfunction. Not only has the kind of responsible journalism that once characterized much of the Zimbabwean press not yet found a new and a sustainable model of profitability, but political dysfunction is profitable for the irresponsible press, the shock jocks and the vitriol slingers. Yes, the Internet, and blogs, can be wonderful alternatives, but they also facilitate pre-filtered news and can spread outrageous falsehoods. This combination of our constitutional scheme and the role of money make action on most critical issues so difficult. The rich private interests have many ways to block change.
This is why our new constitution has been a see-saw in the first place; that is why there is no public option; that is why security reform legislation is now near impossible; that is why Zimbabwe is one of the remaining countries in the world in its inability to have free and fair elections free of violence; that is why none of the GPA agreed reforms can be enacted.
Enough of my cry baby sentiments, my point is not to depress. It is to express my hope that as young Zimbabweans study and live away from their home country, they will give serious attention to what they see around them and engage politically when they get home. I am not suggesting that all of them should run for office or to choose work in the public sector. But I am urging them to get as deeply involved as they can.
For those who do go into Zimbabwean politics, I hope they will go with their eyes open and their values firm. For Zimbabwean politics today is ugly. There is too much preening to the rich, and often to the ignorant, narrow-minded, and prejudiced, while there are few rewards for dedication to the dispossessed. Public governance needs extraordinary talent, reach, ambition, and problem-solving skills.
Much of the work the next generation faces will be frustrating. But if they stick to it, the personal satisfaction they gain, and the lantern of democracy they help to reignite, will surely compensate for the pain and effort of getting there.
So what are you going to do, be a critic and observer from the side-lines or actively play a part in ensuring this dream becomes a living reality?
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