An old man’s crisis of patriotism

What puzzles him is what he gets in return. What happened to his rights and privileges? For example, are these fellow citizens who are flown abroad for medical treatment, all fees paid by the government, more Ugandan than he is? “My God, I cannot even get a Boda Boda ride to a decrepit old hospital in Kigezi!” 

The old man startles, sits up in his bed and reaches for his copy of the Constitution. He turns to Article 17 and reads the list of his duties as a citizen, all straight forward stuff, with which he agrees.

“But what about my rights?” he asks. He thumbs through the document. “Do I really have a right to defend and resist anyone who seeks to overthrow the constitutional order?” he asks. What does it mean to be a citizen anyway?”

The walls remain silent. Then he suddenly bursts out laughing. “It is a strange world in which we live,” he mutters. “This is what my son would have called a crisis of patriotism.”

His son died in the struggle for freedom. It is just as well.

muniinikmulera@aol.com