Country we inherited in 1994 has evaporated like ether

THE pidgin-style saying, “monkey see, monkey do”, is often used to describe the kind of behaviour that is mimicked by children.

When I first entered high school, I had a penchant for world leaders and learning about them – what they represented, who they represented and how they behaved in leadership roles.

Unlike today, I had to painstakingly search for such information the old-fashioned way, in the absence of modern technology.

One speech that I came across in a textbook at the time was delivered in South Africa in 1966 by American senator Robert F Kennedy on the affirmation day of the young people of South Africa at the University of Cape Town. This was at the height of apartheid. His poignant words resonated immensely and made a lasting and seminal impression on me to this very day.

“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million centres of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

None of us can deny that South Africa had its fair share of good men and women who exemplified this trait that actually led us to the freedom and democracy we so enjoy today.

But the country we inherited on that lazy April day in 1994 has evaporated like the proverbial ether.

Injustice, unfairness and inequality have found a new home with new masters, who relish their bigoted malevolence, much to the detriment of all.

Yet, most of us teach our children to stand up against such practices as they diminish the spirit of both patriotism and a common humanity which we all should share, without exception.

That would be the right and noble thing to teach the generations who will receive the baton of life from us.

But the simple questions then begs: Are we merely paying lip service to ideals that we should be seen to be acting on?

I abhor injustice and unfairness and inequality to the point that I believe I have a genetic predisposition to such repugnant qualities.

And Robert F Kennedy’s words have shaped my resistance to the extent that I cannot even contemplate acquiescing an iota to such disagreeable aspects.

Many of my teachers and colleagues from high school and university will bear ample testimony to the fact that I played my little role in fighting for this free and equal country.

They will bear testimony that I was “in that number when the saints went marching in”, only because the words of an American senator had a lasting influence on an impressionable young lad at a time when he was only learning about the ways of the world.

It's a credo I live by to this day, with all the trappings that call for action when needed.

Children and young minds, especially young minds, can only make the world a better place if they see that the spoken word has a meaning that can be translated into action.

Simply telling them to stand up against the ills that are being perpetrated by others,without actually standing up yourself against such ills, defeats the purpose. Many will eventually adopt the same attitude until, of course, it’s much too late.

There is much to be grateful for in our beautiful country, but there are many people around, some masquerading as leaders and saviours whose levity at times depletes the citizenry of its value. And if we are afraid to stand up firmly against them, albeit with some inconvenient sacrifices, then we lay bare the fact that our children will one day submit to the very meekness we portray.

The words from the song of the late Whitney Houston, “teach them well and let them lead the way” should remind us all that this world expects more from us than mere words of wisdom.

It demands that the theatre of life must come alive with the many acts that must be played out for all to see – and indeed emulate.

NARENDH GANESH

Durban North