Many are blinded by negativity

Idrove to OR Tambo International Airport on Christmas morning to see my brother, who was in the country and on his way to Cape Town. It was the first time in seven years I have seen him. Nothing has changed – apart from the fact that he has Australian children now. They speak with a strange accent, they are excited by the curios in the airport shops and can’t wait to see the wonderful continent called Africa.

Of course, people overseas are told fantastic tales about our great country. A lot of people abroad swallow the fable that we ride to work on lions and elephants. Ha! Those gullible fools actually think we have jobs.

People are told about corruption, potholes, the collapsing of the infrastructure. But my nieces’ excitement about their African adventure was palpable. Everything was fantastic, new and awe-inspiring.

Which got me thinking. Sure, South Africa isn’t perfect – far from it. But it is still the greatest place on earth to live and our own negativity blinds us.

I pity the ignorance of anyone who disagrees. It’s a perfect stew of tastes and sounds and experiences, from Table Mountain and the Western Cape fynbos in the south, to the treasures of the bushveld in the north.

Every corner of our breathtakingly beautiful piece of this sad planet contributes to an unrivalled mixture of people, cultures, nature and ideas.

True, it’s no place for wimps. We have a stuttering economy, crime threatens domestic stability and an unacceptably large percentage of the people whom we have elected to rule our country are nothing more than thugs in expensive designer suits.

But everything is changeable. Is the level of education our children receive in state schools insufficient? We can improve it. Are public hospitals a greater threat to health than any disease? It can – and should – be fixed.

But the biggest challenge is to change our attitude. We don’t have problems, we have challenges. And each and every one of us has the responsibility to do our part to overcome them.

Yes, the wider population. Not government. Because turning this country into the utopia which we deserve is far too important to leave to politicians.