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Canaan and the historical Utopian Imagination

By

Dr Adan Saman Sheikh, PhD

The bungled August 8th election was perhaps, one of the most
competitive elections in Kenyan history. There were promises and
counter promises by all sides, with Kenyans spoilt for choice, from free
secondary education to promise of biblical proportions freedom from
slavery and deprivation aka Canaan.

Now, with all seriousness, and some light moments too it was the trip
to Canaan that caught the national imagination, though it seems a good
number did not find it viable enough to place their votes on it.

The trip to the promised land is still finding its way in the maze of IEBCs
technological wilderness. The forty years of wandering for Joshua and
his fellow travellers may have just begun, but Canaan, and its Western
equivalent, Utopia, has always animated and informed progressive
thinking, providing direction and a sense of purpose to struggles for
social change and emancipation historically.

Interestingly like our aborted Canaan flight, all Utopian projects are
tinged with the seal of religious narrative. The Garden of Eden, Platos
Republic, the City of the Sun, El Dorado, and the New Atlantis, were all
used by noted philosophers and theologians as examples of perfect
societies.

El Dorado was used as a metaphor to represent an ultimate prize or


"Holy Grail" representing true love, heaven, happiness, or success. The

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Garden of Eden, described most notably in the Book of Genesis
chapters 2 and 3, represents a mythical paradise. The world the way it
used to be. A utopia of apples, figs, snakes, and everything else
humankind ever needed to live, including the Tree of Knowledge.

The City of the Sun written in 1602 was inspired by Plato's Republic and
the description of Atlantis, a fictional island representing
the antagonist naval power that besieges "Ancient Athens", the pseudo-
historic embodiment of Plato's ideal state. It describes a theocratic
society where goods, women and children are held in common.

Thomas Mores 1516 classic, Utopia, a socio political satire criticizing


Europes political and religious hypocrisy takes the gold medal for an
ideal state, a land where the citizens elect their leaders, work for no more
than six hours a day (with plenty of time left in the day to discuss
philosophy), have universal health care (including the right of
euthanasia), have religious harmony (with both male and female priests),
feel that it is a disgrace to go to war (and hire others to do their fighting
for them when wars do break out),- a very Kenyan phenomena during
and after elections, have long-lasting romantic relationships (where
potential mates get the chance to see each other in the nude before
agreeing to marry, and where divorce while not encouraged is at least
allowed), and perhaps best of all, where there are no lawyers, Oops!, and
of course supreme court.

Canaan maybe a metaphor for social and political change for our political
leaders, but for them it is real. It is where they converge at the end of the
day to collect their allowances after ranting and raving at each other at
rallies and funerals. Its where they high five each other, laugh and drink
together, while we insult and kill each other. Its where they set and
decide their salaries and other packages.

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The political class, whether in government or in the opposition are and
will always be in Canaan. The holloi polloi, who come out in their
numbers, to vote their preferred tribal kingpin should know that, If
Heaven is reachable, its only after death. The Garden of Eden is ancient
mythology; the Peaceable Kingdom and Never-Never Land are literary
constructs; and when Thomas More wrote Utopia in 1516, the name he
chose for his imaginary ideal island is Greek for no place.

Dr Adan Saman Sheikh. PhD Comments on social issues.

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