Stand up against threat to our democracy

ALBERT Einstein once said: “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil; but by those who watch them without doing anything.”

He may well have uttered these words today, where, in what seems like an unravelling of our country, many of us, especially the influential and informed middle-class and professionals, seem to keep an audible silence – both in word and action (activism).

Historically, the pioneers of our democracy were all middle-class professionals who took the bull by the horns, both in debate and activism. Such names come to mind as the iconic lawyer-activists OR Tambo and Nelson Mandela, Ruth First, Charlotte Maxeke, Dr AB Xuma, Anton Lembede, John Langalibalele Dube, Helen Joseph, Lilian Ngoyi and many of such ilk.

These, our forefathers, showcased the power and importance of an active citizenry against the injustices of their time. Of course, unlike us, they were up against a brutal imperialist regime that was all too happy to shed innocent blood without consequence. But still, even then, it was their sheer determination that saw them defeat one of the most inhumane systems of our time.

Fast-forward to today, and the same can’t be said about our middle class. Our relative silence and inactivity, in times of national crisis, betrays the legacy they bequeathed to us. We seem to be the generation that will drop the baton as it is being passed on to us in our continued stance of relative silence in the face of national unrest and uncertainty.

Notwithstanding the few marches we have seen, our overall response, especially as professionals and the middle class, has been glaringly inadequate and, at best, all but limited to shouting from the terraces of social media.

The majority of us, despite our strong views, seem comfortable with not belonging to any formal structure or organisation – if only to back our Twitter rants with action. Our activism is best expressed from the safety and comfort of WhatsApp banter. It seems we still suffer from the “what’s in it for me” or “I will mind my own business” syndrome.

Fellow South Africans, this country, our democracy, needs a middle class that will stand and speak with a unified voice. We are the ones who have to be at the forefront of debate and national dialogue. For what we see now, the gutter politics, the voices of misguided youth structures, is the result of a vacuum in superior debate and discerning views. Such is the plight of an inactive middle class. And history will rightfully judge us as such.

For no member of society needs permission to lead, and where there is inactive citizenry, accountability in government also disappears. And where there is no accountability, state collapse is inevitable.

Our role, indeed our duty, setting aside, if only for a while, our phantom gains (read bank-owned cars, houses and credit cards) is to lead the debate on national issues.

Ours is to be the voice for the voiceless masses made up of our mothers, fathers and younger siblings.

We have to be the architects of economic transformation, considering that our week days are spent in offices that continue to propagate this untransformed economy.

We need to understand that this yet undefined radical economic transformation will remain evil political rhetoric until there is a blueprint for it – with proper guidelines and measurement mechanisms.

Our value, the benefit of some of us being educated by single parents who worked themselves to the bone, is to ensure that the economic fortunes of those who come after us are greatly improved.

But we cannot do this until we become a little more than social media activists. If anything, we have learnt that no amount of bad publicity (and social media heckling) can change the mind and resolve of any politician in South Africa.

So, no, let us not prove Einstein right. Let the good among us stand up against the prevailing evil.

We cannot betray the legacy bequeathed to us by Struggle icons

Tshwane Malope is a member of the ANC Professionals and Academic Volunteers. The group is open to all professionals who seek to come into active participation on national issues. To join, visit their Facebook page ANC Professionals and Academic Volunteers. Malope writes in his personal capacity