To You Who has Such Wonderful Talent

The gossip pages like to call you a celebrity. I do not know if they say it lightly. I however take it seriously. I celebrate you and your talent. You who sings, you who dances, you who is a motivational speaker, you who is an actress/actor, you who is a journalist, you, in whatever field you are.

I am a bit sad though, that i do not hear your voice when I Think it should matter. Let me explain myself before you get defensive.

The other day, this black man was shot in the US. When i read about it and saw the video, i thought, 'Lord Jesus, what do we do when things like this happen?' I was grieved and i was scared. I saw all these angry people responding to the shooting on social media and i remembered what anger does. Anger that is unfettered. I decided to visit the social media pages of the people i look up to when i cannot understand the world. T.D Jakes, Nicole C Mullen and a few others. They were all bothered by the shooting. They were talking about it. They were calling for justice but they were also reminding the people who follow them to be calm. They were not fueling the hate.

I thought back to the car accidents on what has now come to be called Massacre road (Masaka Road). I read somewhere that just this year alone, about 200 people have died on that road. 200 isolated incidents. I suspect when Kibwetere killed those people years ago in the Kanungu massacre, it wouldn't have been such a big deal if he had done them in one at a time. It grabs people's attention when the thing that happens affects so many people at a go. So i thought of the accidents. I went running to the social media pages of my Ugandan inspirations. I was looking for a message from them to give me hope and a sense of direction. Something to remind me to remain sane and not go the way of the bush. Nothing. I was ashamed. Let me explain why.

Human beings live on hope. Without hope, you are simply a walking corpse. If you knew that nothing was going to come out of all your hard labour, you would get whatever savings you had and sit by a bar and drown yourself in brew to not think about the hopelessness of it all. We go through each day because we have hope that something will work out tomorrow. Sometimes, when we lose hope, we look up to other people. That is why many people are religious. They need to have a dose of hope each Sunday to take them through the week.

My Celebrities were quiet about the accidents. They have been quiet about many things too. The few who have spoken out have confused me more than encouraged me. In my times of hopelessness, your political affiliation is none of my business. If the taxi that rammed into the car was being driven by an FDC supporter, an NRM supporter, i do not care. The taxi driver probably forgot that he was FDC or NRM the minute the election fever was over and he realized he couldn't depend on the free fuel from the candidate anymore.

I am sad that my celebrities were quiet. I feel that they have the voice that many people do not have. If we can come together and collect money to help a cancer patient, why cant we come together to speak about road carnage? No one is asking for money. Just for you to use your status and remind the people who follow you, who believe in the things you say, to drive better, to not drink and drive. When i see my celebrity pointing fingers because he or she has been told the problem is with the boda men and these boda men belong to a certain party, i get sad. When i see my celebrity upload another precious picture of themselves on the day when a bad thing has happened to the nation, i immediately tell myself that they have not yet heard the news. If they had, they would have said something in solidarity. A call to some kind of action maybe...something...anything.

I understand the celebrity has a life of their own and they have to live it. I just wish that sometimes they would use the voice they have to draw attention to things that affect the people who love and support them. Things like  murder, rape, violence, tribalism, racism, disease. I like your new shoes, the ones you just posted, yes your skin looks pretty in that selfie, and your everything is flawless but i would very much like for you to, every once in a while, remember me who watches you and looks up to you, and send me a word of encouragement. Remind me to be calm. Remind me not to hate. Remind me to rethink my angry decisions. Remind me to do right by my country.

I guess you underestimate your voice. You do not know the power of your voice. You do not know the power of the images you post.

I guess you do not know that the words you speak, very many take to heart.

I guess you do not understand that many people look up to you. They want to think like you and act like you and react like you. If you say let us walk in protest, they will. If you say let us steal guns and go shoot the ones we do not like, some of them just might. If you say let us treat our wives and husbands this way, they listen. If you say or show that it is okay to share drugs with teenagers, they listen and think it is okay. If you say indecent dressing should result in rape, they will listen. If you sing and say it is okay for women to be beaten in discipline, they listen. You might think this a small matter because you never really see the effects immediately but they are there in the long run.

I guess i want to know that talent aside, you have a heart too. A heart that cares about the people who are rooting for you. I guess i want to know that you are using your influence to be the kind of change that is going to take this country forward. There is a reason as to why God has blessed you and elevated you to the level you are at. Don't play with it. Show people how to channel their anger in a positive way.

In the words of one phenomenal man, Martin Luther King Jr,  "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, What Are You Doing For Others?"