Cultural analysts understand memes – units of cultural transmission, according to British biologist Richard Dawkins – as the most effective means of explaining society in the modern age, thanks hugely to the internet.
In Kenya, memes are the fodder that feed the social mills daily. The cost of living in Kenya is at its all-time high. One particular meme that has gone viral in the recent weeks endeavors to mirror the situation. “Chunga sana venye unaongelesha watu sahi. Watu wamekasirika hapa nje (be careful how you engage people in these times. People are angry out here),” it reads.
According to this meme, Kenyans are apparently angry because of high cost of living. Two liters of cooking oil costs Ksh840 today; one year ago, it was Ksh350. 400g loaf of bread goes for Ksh60; one year ago, it was Ksh45.
There is rise in the cost of virtually all basic commodities. If recent statistics by World Happiness Report is anything to go by, whoever created this meme was right.
This year’s happiness index is interesting. For the fifth consecutive year, Finns are still seen as the happiest people on earth despite their country being a victim of a cold war that is the deep-seated geo-political crisis between Russia and the West.
Kenya ranks 119 with an average life evaluation of 4.5; two positions behind Uganda that has an average life evaluation of 4.6. Life evaluation is determined by such factors as dystopia, public perceptions on corruption, generosity, freedom to make life choices, healthy life expectancy, social support and GDP per capita.
With such factors on the table, it’s not surprising that Kenya and Uganda are playing in the same league. Five liters of cooking oil in Uganda goes for UGX49,000 – Ksh1,562 – whereas in Kenya it’s Ksh1,680. You get the picture?
As Israeli historian Yuval Harari observes in Homo Deus, throughout history numerous thinkers, prophets and ordinary folk defined happiness rather than life itself as the supreme good.
Most people believe that it takes the effort of the government in terms of sustainable planning, equitable distribution of economic resources and political goodwill for the citizens to achieve happiness. “If your country is torn apart by war, if the economy is in crisis and if health care is non-existent, you are likely to be miserable,” Yuval argues.
Conversely, the level of happiness in a country isn’t solely the job of the government. There is an important statement, for purposes of this argument, in the American Declaration of Independence. The so-called Founding Fathers of the United States declared in 1776 that everyone has the right to the pursuit of happiness, not the right to happiness itself.
A government doesn’t owe its citizens the right to happiness. If it did, constitutions, including ours that is said to be one of the most progressive in the world, would talk about it. Philosophically speaking, ability to achieve happiness is a personal responsibility.
Epicurus, ancient Greek philosopher while defining happiness as the supreme good, warned his disciples that it would take hard work to achieve happiness.
“Material achievements alone will not satisfy us for long. Indeed, the blind pursuit of money, fame and pleasure will only make us miserable,” Yuval writes. That said, anyone who tries to make you feel like you have a right to happiness is fooling you, and perhaps fooling themselves too.
