Like my many right and like minded fellow human beings I soend a lot of time wondering about why the world seems to be so divided and so at odds with each other.
I recently replied a Tweet with these words; ” I still hanker back to the ‘Old Days’ of the internet when one could say and debate anything in an atmosphere of mutual trust. Now we restrict and profile everyone in an atmosphere of distributed distrust!” and this hit me:
With regards to South Africa: We have always had a divided populace – Afrikaans/English; Xhosa/Zulu; British/South African; White/Black; Male/Female. This has been happening ever since the various colonising groups descended upon the Southern tip of Africa and robbed the true indigineous people of their land, lifestyle and culture.
And what drove that fighting and stealing? Greed, pure and simple.
Unites States of America: The USA, like South Africa and every other country in the world, has also had a divided population: Settlers/Indians; Settlers/Slaves; USA/Britain; Whites/Negroes; North/South; Republicans/Democrats.
And what drove that fighting and stealing? Greed, pure and simple.
The World: We are constantly in a state of ‘war’ – WWI, WWII, Vietnam, Korea, Falklands, Middle East, Rwanda, Uganda, the list goes on.
And what drove that fighting and stealing? Greed, pure and simple.
Presently we are dealing with the Coronavirus Pandemic which has been overtaken by the #BlackLivesMatter movement after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, USA.
All through these crisis we destroy each other whilst crying out for hope and guidance.
We KNOW what the right thing is and what to do but we remain paralyzed by either a Victim Mentality or by our Blinkered Prejudice.
The one failing from our leaders – and here I refer to policical leaders as they seem to have usurped religous leaders in terms of mass influence – is a clear apolitical declaration on what is right and what is wrong. A clear rallying call around the building blocks of a decent civil society is also clearly lacking.
All we want from those we have enrusted to lead us is a return to that atmosphere of mutual trust and a return to the feeling that our contributions to society actually matter.
As a white person in South Africa I do not feel as though my contributions are as valued as the contributions by my fellow South Africans of a different skin colour. As a white male in South Africa I accept that my contributions are not wanted. As a white person in South Africa I battle every day with the unfairness of apartheid and with the challenge to assist in enabling my fellow black South Africans who suffered and still do as a result of that unjust system.
As a loyal South African citizen I long for the day that our political head of state will come out and acknowledge the contributions made by all of us along with a change in attitude that will encourage us all to give of our best in service of our country.
Maybe one day we will once again live in an atmosphere of mutual trust?
Alan Straton
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