MERRY MOUNTAIN MOON
Corruption worsens racist inclinations MyView
AMORAL and just society has certain immutable rules that dictate not only your conscience but also your actions.
This ideal is very hard to uphold in a society as diverse as South Africa’s, which has been striving to accommodate multiple languages, cultures and races since 1994.
There has been a push to achieve a unity and patriotism devoid of the encumbrances of a past best forgotten.
The primary objective has been to bring about a radical mind-shift, to rid ourselves of the racism that had been the hallmark and foundation of an oppressive system.
Yet travel along the road of democracy has been punctuated by racial acts, raising the question of how much our hearts and minds are in tune with a constitution that is against racism.
Plato said: “The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men”. He had a vision of an eternally just and fair society devoid of the prejudices that consume all the good and diminish the ideals of good men and women.
In the South African context, the destructive nature of racism combines with another evil, corruption.
This sickness is evident across the board in many organisations, clubs and social groups. Many who claim to be upright are steeped in prejudice and devious behaviour.
The inequities of the past suggest reconstruction is necessary to achieve a just, fair, open and equal society.
But in the quest for an equilibrium, we are in danger of creating yet another monster that will deepen the abyss of racism, to the detriment of all.
Some individuals ride roughshod over principles, integrity and honour to maintain their nefarious agendas and realise their ambitions. These are the corrupt individuals we should be wary of.
They are fostering a cancer that will undermine all that has been achieved by those honourable men and women who paid a high price for our freedom.
The destructive nature of corruption and racism is indisputable. As long as a position is guaranteed or some benefit is derived or power promised, the corrupt individual will persist. And their numbers are soaring.
Racism is manifest not only as white against black but also black against white, insidiously, through the guise of legislation such as affirmative action and black economic empowerment.
While the notion of levelling the playing fields is noble, the consequences can be dire if the process is not thoroughly considered. We then imperil the future with another set of potentially destructive inequalities.
While government tries to “rationalise” society in demographic terms, those disadvantaged by race or whose advantages have been curtailed or removed could resist.
A war of attrition could result, disguised by covert actions that lead us to gravitate ominously towards a fractious society with no prospect of healing.
There is no panacea for racism and corruption, but we should not condone any act or omission that serves to enhance the blight.
We have suffered terrible atrocities in South Africa. We now need to rise beyond selfish agendas and although our society has been mildly transformed, turbulent undercurrents arise every so often.
Riptides flow from racist and corrupt acts, tugging at our conscience to act – and act we must, with patriotic fervour to eradicate any diabolical acts that undermine our society.
Edmund Burke wrote: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
He went on to say that “no one could make a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he can do only a little”.
We must bear this in mind and confront the clandestine racists and corrupt individuals at every turn, until we reach the point where we can revitalise South Africa and turn it into the country we dreamed, allowing for a much brighter future than the current outlook suggests.
I have a dream that one day, through sincerity, honesty and freedom from the shackles of bias, we can unite in diversity, recognising each other’s individuality and uniqueness, with mutual respect and understanding. Racism is a reality throughout the world, but when it morphs into exploitation it transforms from a surgeon’s knife to a madman’s dagger.
The danger with racist individuals is that they are exposed when their latent emotions are betrayed only during an unguarded moment.
There is no art that enables you to find the mind’s construction through a study of the face, according to William Shakespeare. Thus racist individuals disguise their prejudices in such a way that even the most virtuous can be contaminated – leading to unfair advantages and privileges for a select elite
That would not be possible in a society of transparency and justice.
Left unchecked, individual racism becomes institutionalised. Like a rash, it spreads, invading the body politic of a nation.
The born-frees may experience sanitised racism without realising how the dignity of the citizens of this country had been trampled upon – and we need to ensure they are never exposed to such an atrocity.
Racism and corruption are boils that must be lanced the moment they arise if we are to achieve true freedom and democracy.
Mncwango is the leader of the DA in KwaZulu-Natal.