Selfless gesture had contagious effect on society
THOMAS Gray (An Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard) wrote: “Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air.”
Had it not been for the media’s report on the magnanimous gesture of Mr Suleman Bux, a self-effacing person who provided unconditional support, and the voluntary and emotional disclosure by the recipient, Constitutional Court Justice Raymond Zondo, such reciprocity would have gone unseen and unnoticed. The media must be commended for fostering such stories that manifest the human spirit and restore confidence in humanity itself.
We are, after all, forged in the same image and form.
We are also our “brother’s keeper”, a symbol of an expression of love and friendship and a commitment to respect others and to help in any way possible.
The significance of the exercise is embedded in the fundamental concept of democracy as translated by these persons.
The thread that each person contributes through his humanitarian deeds weaves the fabric of democracy.
While our constitution recognises “We, the people”, it also places a responsibility on the “individual” to adopt it as a living document.
Mr Bux’s contribution and Justice Zondo’s acknowledgement are noble examples of individual commitment to foster our democracy.
Mr Bux’s beneficent spirit is a sterling example of fellowship we share in a non-racial society.
Mr Bux provided help because “it was the right thing to do” and was motivated by his deep religious conviction that the “right hand must not know what the left hand is doing”.
Nothing was sought in return, not any publicity or expectation of some reward, but the joy of giving rather than taking.
It had a profound impact on the course of one person’s life.
That single gesture had a contagious effect as Justice Zondo, in turn, will assist society in whatever way he can.
The multiplier effect of such solidarity will contribute not only to a caring society but will also sustain our democracy and freedom as envisaged by the founding fathers.
William Wordsworth penned: “That best portion of a good man’s life: his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.”
Let this expression be a guide in our acts of goodwill.
DS RAJAH Musgrave