Who knew that our hard-won democracy would be hijacked by horrible, selfish rights?

AFTER hooting and rooting and writing and clamouring for this concept – thought to have originally descended from heaven – many of us now realise that we have been backing and fighting incessantly for this abstract word called “democracy” without fully understanding what it really implies.

Apart from the usual delusional notion of “equality” “one man, one vote”, “the right of movement”, “the ability to live in any affordable area”, etc, democracy also slaps us in our faces with some less friendly realities.

These have always been around, but are now frighteningly highlighted by the current Covid-19 crisis: democracy means one can flaunt emergency rules – such as refusing to wear masks to protect, especially, others.

One can organise parties, funerals, weddings and prayer meetings with the full knowledge that it’s impossible for the law to fully control these sporadic, illegal infringements.

Democritus – the Greek philosopher – probably did not envisage that his idea of individual freedom also meant a horrible, selfish right to smoke harmful substances and not only block vital hospital beds while suffering from emphysema, asthma and lung cancer, but also completely and unnecessarily overload overworked medical personnel while placing a hectic financial burden on innocent taxpayers.

Democracy also means to engage in consuming alcohol freely and either ending up killing innocent motorists and pedestrians, besides ending up in, again, valuable hospital spaces as a result of inflicting violence on others or becoming victims of drunken abuse.

Democracy also means that spoilt, wealthy, youngsters who are bored due to the Covid restrictions can use urban streets that were once extremely busy, but now very quiet, to now noisily speed, drag-race, disturb and scare others, kill innocent people or hopefully themselves!

All of the above can happen even in a police state, of course. Only, we expected far better stuff from a hardfought-for democracy. EBRAHIM ESSA | Durban