By Daniel Molokele | In 1734, Alexander Pope published his much celebrated poem entitled, “An Essay on Man”.

It is in the said poem that he wrote one of his most famous lines ever:

“Hope springs eternal in the human breast”

This particular line quickly went viral and soon achieved proverbial status.

But more importantly, it is still as resonant today, as much as when it was initially written; now almost 300 years later.

But what exactly did Alexander Pope mean to say with this particular line that immediately attained iconic status?

It is now a widely held view that what he meant to say was so simple.

He simply meant to say that “it is human nature to keep on hoping against all odds”.

Indeed, it is human nature to always find cause for optimism especially when faced by the more realistic odds of a bleak future.

Be that as it may, the efficacy or veracity of Alexander Pope’s legendary words must have been put under a severe test in the context of the prevailing set of political circumstances affecting Zimbabwe during this past week, as the nation took time to reflect on the long-term implications of the November 2017 coup that led to the downfall of one of Africa’s worst dictators ever, Robert Mugabe.

During the past week, it was absolutely difficult to find many Zimbabweans who are still as hopeful about our country’s future prospects as much as they were about three years ago in the aftermath of the coup led by the military.

Indeed, hopes were so high back then.

Expectations for a better tomorrow were so unlimited.

Almost everyone celebrated and embraced the coup with the now clearly mistaken assumption that it was the dawn of a new peaceful, prosperous and democratic Zimbabwe.

Indeed, during the past week I persnally, was forced to realise as to how far sceptical a lot of my fellow Zimbabweans have become about the future of our beloved motherland.

This is unmistakably, a far-cry from the high levels of optimism that swept across the streets of the entire country roughly during the same period three years ago.

Indeed, during November 2017 a wave of optimism and renewed hope about the future of our nation flooded the entire country like the mighty Zambezi river in full overflow at the Victoria Falls.

Yet a mere three years later now, all the high expectations and euphoria have now totally evaporated like the rare rain water in the thirsty dry sands of a desert.

Any cursory glance across Zimbabwe from the Zambezi to the Limpopo river would have clearly revealed the stark contrast of the national political mood today, when compared to three years ago.

During the past week, there was clearly no street celebrations nor any wild parties similar to those that were seen all over Zimbabwe during November 2017.

Indeed, the mood across our beloved motherland was very sombre and nonchalant.

To all practical purposes and intents, it is now beyond any reasonable doubt that many Zimbabweans have now totally lost hope about the future of a country that a mere 40 years ago, was once highly regarded as a bright prospect across all of Africa.

Indeed, during this past week a lot of Zimbabweans took to social media to confess or apologise for their active role in the spectacular street march that helped to politically and constitutionally validate the coup against our long serving dictator; the now deceased Robert Mugabe.

Many further expressed regret at how their were easily deceived into publicly endorsing what eventually turned out to be huge political sham and total affront against the democratic aspirations of the long-suffering Zimbabwean majorities.

Today, there is a clear public consensus across all quarters that a lot of Zimbabweans were all taken on one hell of a huge political ride to nowhere during November 2017.

It was all but a huge political mirage!

Today, there is now overwhelming evidence that the so called “New Dispensation” is anything but new at all.

If anything there is now mounting evidence that it is now proving to be worse than the so-called older dispensation that was led by the late dictator Mugabe.

As such, as our country marked its third anniversary of the November 2017 coup, a lot of the initial goodwill that was evident at that time, has now been totally lost.

It is also evident that from a socio-economic perspective, life has now become so much tougher for many Zimbabweans, when compared to what it was like prior to November 2017.

Put even more succinctly, the majority of Zimbabweans are now even more desperate to such an extent that they now seem to view the period before the November 2017 coup as the good old days.

Worse still a growing number of Zimbabweans now even think that Mugabe was a better leader than Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Some are now even missing him in the most fondly of all terms.

But can we conclusively say that all hope for a new Zimbabwe is now totally lost?

In this regard, I have a clear and unequivocal answer.

It is my humble view that it is too early to give up on all hope for now.

I verily believe that inspite of the obvious setbacks that our country has experienced in the last three years, it is still too early to write off Zimbabwe and declare it a totally lost cause or failed state.

There is still a glimmer of hope for a better future.

Indeed, during this past week, one particular ray of hope still managed to shine bright in total defiance against the dark clouds of political gloom and doom that were hovering across the future of our beloved motherland.

That ray of hope was none other than Hopewell Chinono (@daddyhope)

I was one of the people who personally attended the Harare High Court bail application proceedings for Hopewell Chinono on Friday 20th November morning.

I vividly remember that it was a jam-packed courtroom on that morning.

I have attended several bail hearings in the same courtroom F before; but I have never seen it so full as it was on Friday morning.

Just like me, most of the people who were jam-packed in the courtroom had specifically come in solidarity with Hopewell Chinono.

Some of the recognisable names I could easily identify in the courtroom included Douglas Coltart who was one of Hopewell Chinono’s defence team of lawyers.

I also spotted the feisty and outspoken Fadzai Mahere.

There were also some legislators who had accompanied me: Trevor Saruwaka (Mutasa Central), Jacob Nyokanhete (Masvingo Urban) and James Chidakwa (Mabvuku-Tafara)

On my part, I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that I had positioned myself right next to the shoulder of the most popular politician in the country today; President Advocate Nelson Chamisa.

But I do digress.

I listened intently as Justice Tawanda Chitapi delivered his bail application judgment; word by word, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, page by page, until the very end.

Throughout the reading of the judgment, Hopewell Chinono was asked to stand up.

And so he remained erect, towering tall and strong, throughout the reading of the judgment.

As he stood tall, I felt that it was a very crucial turning point for me as to how I personally viewed the state of political affairs in our beloved motherland.

Hopewell Chinono was not just standing up for himself.

Hopewell Chinono was also standing up for the long suffering millions of Zimbabweans not just here in Zimbabwe but also all across the Diaspora.

Hopewell Chinono was not standing up merely against corruption but even more crucially, he was standing up against an increasingly paranoid and repressive regime.

Hopewell Chinono was standing up not just for his own generation but also for all our future generations.

It was in that particular moment and time that I came to realise that therein lay the answer that we as a nation we have been searching with regards to the future of our beloved motherland.

Hopewell Chinono was simple doing his personal patriotic duty.

Hopewell Chinono was also daring me and millions of his fellow Zimbabweans not just here at home but also across the Diaspora to start playing their individual roles in helping to define the political future of our beloved motherland.

In a week were many openly enthused as to how so much we had been sold a democratic dummy by the military in November 2017; it was also fitting that Hopewell Chinono was able to end that very same week still standing tall, in total defiance of the increasingly intolerable and repressive regime.

What is now needed is for more and more Zimbabweans to start realizing that it is actually their patriotic duty to also start standing up in total defiance against this increasingly brutal regime.

We owe it not just to ourselves but also to our future generations.

Our posterity will judge us favourably if we all start standing up in unison in order to defend the democratic future of our country.

We are our own liberators.

Indeed, as the iconic late Robert Nesta Marley put it in his now celebrated ‘Redemption Song’, none but ourselves can liberate us from this increasingly unpopular and oppressive regime.

Now is the time to stop looking forward to some specific individuals like Hopewell Chinono to continue to be victimised on our behalf as a nation.

Of late Hopewell Chinono has been busy playing his patriotic part.

But his individual contribution may never be sufficient to bring any realistic political change in Zimbabwe.

What we now urgently need to save our beautiful motherland is more of us to start standing up tall, like Hopewell Chinono and defy this unpopular and oppressive regime.

As the late John Fitzgerald Kennedy put it at his presidential inauguration January 1961; “Ask not what your country can do for you. But ask what you can do for your own country”.

Now is also the time to stop blaming others for the failure of political leadership in this country.

Now is the time to listen to the inspirational lyrics of the famous song, “Man in the Mirror” by the late iconic entertainer Michael Jackson.

Now is the time to start living by the proverbial words of the late Mahatma Gandhi that challenge us to “be the change that we seek to see in the world”.

Change is still possible in Zimbabwe.

Progressive democratic change for that matter.

But for that to happen we must start talking less and start acting more.

We must tone down on all the empty rhetoric especially on social media.

We must stop agonising and start organizing.

What Zimbabwe really needs today is for all of us to join hands and unite in a determined and defiant fight against this unpopular regime.

Now is the time to go beyond the misplaced trust on political parties.

Now is the time to unite and build a broad based all stakeholders national coalition for all forces for progressive change in Zimbabwe.

Indeed, now is the time for all of us both at home and in the Diaspora to unite and start exercising our Constitutional rights especially as enshrined under Section 59.

“Every person has the right to demonstrate and to present petitions …”

Now is the time for all of us to rise up and join the likes of Hopewell Chinono and stand tall for the prospect of a new peaceful, prosperous and democratic Zimbabwe.