Sunday Sermonette

Tai Solarin 


There is a tradition among some bloggers to make Sunday posts to praise to a freethinker. I'm so pleased that Proud Ugandan has joined this blog now and we can begin a dialog. Proud Uganda is a hero in my eyes because he's a freethinker where it's very unpopular to be one.

I also have some concerns and worries. Sometimes people are made to pay for their free thinking in most harsh ways. Sadly poor people are the ones who most often pay and can least afford it. Reporters Without Borders has created a Hanbook for bloggers and cyber-dissidents and Ethan Zuckerman whose wonderful blog is called My heart's in Accra is ontop of this critical issue for example in this recent post.

I don't imagine that this blog will capture much attention. Certainly the intent is not to stir up trouble. Rather both Proud Ugandan and I envision ways that blogs can be valuable for Ugandans and others in Africa to empower themselves through Internet communications.

The custom on the Net is to provide links, but I don't remember where I saw that Ugandans are among the most entrepreneurial in the world. Still, that impression rings true from my limited exposure to my Ugandan friends. There's a real "can-do" attitude, and certainly Proud Ugandan provides a good example.

We want to be careful here. This blog is a way to learn about blogs so that some of the uses we imagine for them can be realised. For example, Proud Ugandan is very concerned about the ethical uses of technology, especially as that subject relates to Africans. Proud Ugandan hopes to provide forums where Ugandans can learn and offer their views on this important subject, and blogs may prove to be a good forum.

But freethinkers are often unpopular. I've already let the cat out of the bag as far as Proud Ugandan's gender, he's a man. Whoops! It's not going to be easy to keep his cover from a determined investigator. Since he already has some exposure on the Internet, he's not as worried as I am about this as I am. I'll follow his lead on this matter. I think mostly we'll steer clear of extreme controversy here. Still we both know that freethinking can be hazardous to ones health and safety.

The picture is of Tai Solarin. I admire Solarin because he lived honestly holding unpopular views; views which nonetheless were brimming with his belief in human potential and goodness. Richard C. Carrier has a good paper about the life of Tai Solarian. He tells a wonderful story about Solarian:

Dr. Solarin says that "blacks hold onto their God just as the drunken man holds on to the street lamp post--for physical support only." He paints an interesting analogy from a childhood memory. He made a long journey with his mother once, who gave him a "bicycle" to help him finish the journey--which was really just a wheel he had to hit with a stick to keep it going. He says that without the "bicycle" he would never have made the forty mile walk, but upon reflection he realized that he had really carried himself and the bicycle all along. Religion is like that bicycle, Tai says. We only need it when we lack the confidence and determination to face the world alone. "To get the young Africans weaned from their almost congenital reliance on fate," Tai says, "they must be educated to stand on their feet." And the best way to accomplish that is for the government to copy the Mayflower School throughout Nigeria.

Proud Ugandan has confidence and determination. I hope others will get a glimpse of that here in this blog. And that others more resourceful than I will contribute to his development as a strong African determined to improve his life and the lives of his fellow countrymen.