PARLIAMENTARIANS DEMEAN OUR NATION

THERE comes a time in the life of any society when someone has to raise a voice in affirmation, defence and protection of those who are vulnerable and without voice.

In most instances a voice such as this comes at a time when the rights and privileges of such groups are trampled upon and blatantly ignored by the powerful.

In our dire situation we have a constitution that guarantees the protection of these rights and yet our national parliament – an institution with a public mandate to live the prescripts of the constitution and to ensure that all groups’ rights are affirmed, defended and protected – is the one found wanting in this regard.

We have parliamentarians who flout the very same rules that they expect all of us to abide by. They are the first to abuse children when the national call dictates otherwise.

The behaviour and character of some of our parliamentarians puts on the agenda how this nation handles and treats children.

It is now over three years that this supposedly august house of the people of South Africa has consistently exposed children to the use of vulgar and foul language, wanton acts of violence, the use of brute force on fellow members of parliament, the hurling of insults and a deliberate display of contempt by and among members of parliament.

Self-respecting and decent South Africans, let alone those who are in positions of leadership, are expected to embrace values of public morality at all times. But what message are our children receiving when leaders across the party-political spectrum shout obscene and vulgar words in the glare of media.

What lessons are our children learning from this conduct except to believe that it is acceptable for adults to exchange rude words in public?

It is expected of all parents to bring up children in an environment devoid of hostility, violence and emotional harm.

To execute this, leaders and parents have to act to with restraint and a great sense of responsibility in order to serve as a good example to those who hold them in high esteem and are supposed to learn from them. As matters stand, some of our incumbent parliamentarians are a disgrace and therefore cannot serve as role models for our children.

The level of hatred and venom that we often witness articulated between members of the ANC, EFF and DA in particular is a great disappointment if we were to allow children to learn anything from their conduct while in Parliament. That they are in parliament on our behalf is often hard to believe because over time they have arrogated to themselves the right to demean the nation and throw away every little moral principle that this nation ever fought for.

On the occasion of the recent SONA we witnessed how their wild chanting and howling drowned the voice of a child who took pride and time to be in Parliament as a praisesinger. This child was invited and yet could not perform his skill because those with powerful voices cared less about his presence.

They were more concerned about serving their own narrow political interest and in the process causing hurt to someone innocent and vulnerable. The child could not do anything about their behaviour. He was drowned and sent away by men and women who were supposed to listen to him and applaud his gifts. They clapped no hands for him. No ovation for him. In their mind an ovation is meant for them when they say almost nothing to us as a nation.

This is arrogance of highest order and it must be discouraged. As a nation we have to react extremely strongly against those who use their position of authority to abuse the children.

South Africans who love this country obviously dream of a different future from those in Parliament. While those in Parliament are abusive and arrogant, ordinary South Africans look forward to a nation where values of self-respect are held supreme. On the contrary, we are exposed to parliamentarians who have no respect for the constitution of the land and are even prepared to defend themselves against wrongdoing.

The clarion call is that we need our children to be well-mannered by growing in an environment that does not contradict the values which as a nation we try so much to inculcate in them.

Some of them are a disgrace and therefore cannot serve as role “models for our children