ED’S LETTER

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”

Many years ago I arranged a rugby tour for my team from Otavi to Swakopmund in Namibia. One member of our team had never seen the ocean, so along the way he talked with great excitement about seeing the ocean for the first time. However, as we finally got to the beach, as soon as he had stuck his head out the window, he withdrew it immediately with a look of disgust on his face and exclaimed: “Fish! I just smell fish!”

Having observed the rise of Elon Musk since I wrote my first article on the young South African entrepreneur after he had founded SpaceX in 2002, the hostile reaction that many people, and South Africans in particular, show towards Elon Musk never ceases to amaze me as it reminds me a lot of that young rugby player, whose life had been so miserable that even in a moment that was cause for celebration, all he could do was to revert back to the misery that life had bestowed upon him.

I find it strange that at a time when good heroes are in short supply, and great visionaries in even shorter supply, people prefer to slander Musk instead of celebrating his successes, all of which aim to help all of humanity, from sustainable energy to space exploration, and solutions for traffic congestion to a brain interface that could restore crucial functions for people with serious brain or spinal injuries.

I am at a loss to explain why society will hang on the lips of the most devious politicians, worship the most dull-headed sports icons, and drool over the next “vanity-am-I” Hollywood celebrity, while ignoring or slandering one of the world’s most intelligent individuals, and arguably the most brilliant and influential industrialist of all time, who is single handedly changing the world for the better.

Call me old school or “boomer”, if you must, but I value intelligence, integrity and drive as much as I loathe fake politicians masquerading as statesmen and stateswomen, and emptyheaded celebrities embracing the next politically correct fad, along with the necessary apologies.

If anything, the world needs more Elon Musks and less corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. Our children are in desperate need of real heroes, not superheroes portrayed by vain actors.

Here’s to Elon Musk, our fellow South African, and a true example of what is possible if you put your mind to it and work like crazy to achieve it.