Through the Arusha Declaration as it were with the Declaration of Independence, we proclaimed a set of values as a governing faith in order to keep us in balance.Īs a result, Ujamaa was simply an idea that became our faith governing our actions towards fostering a greater societal good.

It is for this reason, that the founding fathers of this great nation like those of the United States of America (another great nation born out of an idea) made it of paramount importance to seed their Statehood (the idea of ‘who we are’ as a people) over and above doing the work of building governing systems (infrastructure, communication, education, economic etc) that enable us to seamlessly operate as one body. If there is any take-away from this article you should leave with it is the fact that, as in one’s individual pursuit, our societal pursuit cannot persist without adverse consequences to our collective self and environment, in the absence of fostering a set of shared set of values that truly influence our national conscience towards a greater good.

This technically means that people no longer think, feel then do but rather they feel, think then do!įeelings or emotions are dependent heavily on a deep level of understanding that consequently becomes our faith governing what we think and feel and what happens after – our conscience or in a more spiritual context – our soul. For centuries we have been able to influence the actions of people by influencing what they think, feel then do making it easy to draw a line between the source and the audience.ĭigitalization of communication and information sharing, has had the effect of not only merging the source and audience, but also increasing the level of feeling (emotions) as opposed to thinking (rational) in our dialogue through the use of emoji’s, reactions (likes, shares, reposts) and short messages which are better at projecting emotions than solid ideas. And thus, the greatest and most enduring battle fought throughout our existence, as a human species, has been the battle for control over communication dominance.Īdvances in technology have played a central role in how this battle line has been drawn. This makes communication (messaging) and the values it seeds in a society to be the most critical factor in our survival as human beings. Christ, as a result, can also be taken as a symbol for the governing values that underscore our sustained existence as a dominant species – our humanity. Christians believe that this is actually the essence of our humanity and that we are not just one body – the connection and functioning of different parts as one body but rather ‘one body in Christ’ – the connection and functioning of different parts as one body governed by a shared faith. It is for this very reason, for example, that Christian Scripture proclaims that “we are one body in Christ” Romans 12:5. This connection between what you think, feel and do is effectively ‘who you are’ (your behaviour) and is dependent on messaging/communication within you in relation to what is going on in your environment. The human body is a collection of organs and complex systems united as one body that is kept in balance by the conscience – what you think and feel, consequently affecting what you do and how you do it. To understand and sustain our humanity as a collective good, we simply have to understand our humanity as individuals. The secret to our sustained existence as a human species is encoded in God’s greatest creation – the human being. Part 1 – The significance of media and communication at large So, who controls the media and why does this matter now more than ever before? Whether it is business tycoons, or conglomerates with significant advertising interest, as it was with government owned media, the golden rule remains the same: ‘he who controls the media controls the people’s actions or reactions.

pay per view cable networks, and digital media, there has been a significant increase in private interest in media, changing the nature of the battle for control over whose values media and communication, at large, should uphold. Media was also once positioned as a public good offered exclusively by Government but after the advent of commercial communication (advertising), national broadcasting. Who Controls The Media And Why It Matters.Īfter education, which is universally offered as a public good, the most powerful feeder of the conscience through communication is media.

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