An advantage of being an American “Kenya junky” as an amateur, rather than a careerist is that I am free in a way that I could not afford to be if I was on someone’s payroll or looking for something next as opposed paying my own minimal expenses of making my thoughts and occasional research available for anyone interested.

So, to my last post teasing a suggestion that Amb. Kyle McCarter could offer some sort of “maverick” departure as an individual “breath of fresh air” to the United States Government’s role in Kenya away from pretenses of recent years — the attempts to clothe whoever ends up in power in whatever Kenyan institution with democratic and even “developmental” legitimacy irrespective of how nakedly imperious their actual behavior.

Do I seriously believe that McCarter, appointed by Donald Trump of all people, could play that role? I do. Do I believe it is likely? Of course not, I am just finding a survivor’s hope, as well as offering a “thought experiment” about what could be and suggesting that it makes sense to keep the door open while paying attention and working with earned wariness but not cynicism.