Being politically ignorant has become symbolic of young people today, but, unless we wake up to a full understanding of how the African National Congress now poses a threat to democracy itself, we risk losing the freedoms we come to take for granted.
There are three things no person should ever boast about - being a drug addict, being a social media “expert” and being politically ignorant. It is, therefore, with a sense of disquiet that I note how many young South Africans proudly declare “I don’t know anything about politics, and I don’t want to know because it doesn’t affect me.” Is it any wonder then, that the ruling party can steamroll constitutional rights with gay abandon, safe in the knowledge that their constituency will do nothing to stop them?
A few columns ago, I defended political apathy among the youth by saying, “We are creatures of circumstance – we act upon and react to what life throws at us. Our circumstances allow us to become politically apathetic. Our struggle is not about politics – it’s about economics. Our struggle heroes are men like Herman Mashaba.”
Things have changed drastically since then. The government and ruling party have mounted one of the single greatest threats to democracy in South Africa by introducing a mass of new legislation, including the Protection of Information Bill and laws that would put in place a media appeals tribunal. Our circumstances have changed, drastically changed. Our situation no longer allows us to be politically apathetic.
Democracy is a demanding ideal. It requires an active constituency that keeps the government in check at all times. Democracy demands that the government should be fearful of the people. Totalitarianism on the other hand, requires nothing more than for people to do as they are told, to blindly follow their government wherever it leads and for the people never to question the government.
North Korea and Kim Jong Il have become the embodiment of the “cult of personality” in our times. We may be tempted to congratulate ourselves for escaping a similar fate in South Africa. But when I observe the almost unthinking adulation for the ANC by young people, despite the party becoming consumed by the naked plunder of state resources, corruption and the “African big man” mentality, then I begin to wonder whether there isn’t a cult of personality of sorts here, aimed not at an individual, but at a political party as a whole. It’s not as if it hasn’t happened in other African countries before.
The ANC is elevating itself to the position of sole protector of rights, as it is busy elevating itself to sole “liberator” of the people, and we are complicit in this perversion of history and government by not questioning and criticising the government. The ruling party believes that since it single-handedly wrested democracy from the hands of the apartheid government, the ANC alone can rule and alone can give or take away rights.
Not all is well in the media, but a media appeals tribunal is not the way to go about fixing these problems. Anyone who would think the way to solve problems within the media is through government control is throwing the Constitution into the dustbin, and abandoning all pretences of living in a constitutional democracy.
The saddest part is that my generation is not equipping itself with the tools necessary to become an active participant in the democratic process. We are not reading up on critical investigative reports that expose corruption and mismanagement of public funds. We are not reading at all. We are woefully ignorant of the erosion of our rights and our freedoms. We stand idly by as the government launches a broadside attack on the media because we don’t grasp how this could possibly affect us. We’d rather concern ourselves with what Khethiwe did on “Generations” than with the future of our country.
Is it any wonder that race still dominates political discourse in this country? It’s all we know. That’s where we’re safe, where we can hold our own ground with rank clichés and bumper-sticker slogans. When macroeconomic policy or the rule of law come up, we quickly hide behind, “I don’t care about politics because it doesn’t affect me”.
The woeful absence of anything that begins to resemble an attractive opposition party aside, we are voting with our hearts, not our heads.
What a dreadful, dreadful mistake we are making. We trust our government. We trust the ANC. If we were voting for the ANC because it presented the best policies and leaders of all, and if it stood to lose its grip on power at any moment if it did anything to upset the constituency, there would be no talk of a Protection of Information Bill and there would be no attempts to muzzle the media.
We can still save this country. It’s not too late yet. The first step is to stop blindly trusting the government and the ANC. They are in power for us, not for themselves.
Repeat this myth often enough and it becomes your truth.
Healthy democracy requires changing governments frequently. Those who love the ANC would be doing the party a favour by giving it a chance to practise being Opposition. Broadening the party's experience can only strengthen the party. Equally, its healthy for the nation to ensure that other political parties get experience at being in government. How else can they learn to govern? And how else are the voters going to build themselves credible choices for future governments?
Sipho, its voices like yours that should be educating and motivating fresh generations of voters. Enough chest-beating and bewailing the ANC's authoritarian intentions. What are you going to do about it?
The problem with lack of political parties with anything worth voting for is a result of secret campaign finance factors. Last year I was approached by one of the political parties to stand for them in a local by-election, I agreed but had two conditions: (1) The party must be totally 100% transparent about all its campaign finance, I wanted to know who was paying my salary, and I don't practice or endorse secrecy; (2) that anyone who wanted to vote for me, had to sign an affidavit that they had read my 'manifesto', and knew exactly what I stood for, and asked me questions, because I did not want one voter voting for me, who did not clearly understand what I stood for, including my mother. Naturally of course, the party changed their mind, and withdrew the nomination as I suspected they would, and which I had no objections to; cause they don't have the courage to practice what they preach on behalf of transparency and accountability.
;-)
;+)
If you could be more specific about what exactly you are referring to when you say 'anally retentive', then I can examine your feedback on that issue.
As for 'Lara Johnstone' focused, if you were the only member of a particular culture, and you were being persecuted, were repeatedly arrested without arrest warrants, and no other culture, no media, nobody spoke up for you; should you just lie down and be raped and keep your mouth shut, or should you speak up for yourself and demand your rights, even while those who think you should shut up while you are being raped, consider you 'lara johnstone' focused?
If they can do what they did to me, and you remain silent and expect me to shut up, when I am being repeatedly arrested and detained, what -- or more likely, when -- will they be coming for Ms. Bridget Evans?
Anyway, if they do, let me know and I shall be happy to speak up on your behalf.
You are evidently scarred from some traumatic experience which remains unresolved, and could explain your apparent need to frequently self-reference. I apologise for my hurtful remarks, but seriously, therapy might be more helpful than inappropriately relating personal anedotes on public blogsites.
Hi. Well, I guess we have different definitions for 'irrelevant'; would you provide yours please; so that I know in future, what your definition of 'relevance' is.
I get that what you implied my intention was is your interpretation. I am not sure how you got to it, without asking any questions, or even confirming whether your interpretation was correct; but you seem pretty certain you are correct. No worries. For the record, your interpretation of my statement was not my intention, in fact there is a rather large discrepancy, but if your conclusion makes you happy, by all means keep it. In fact there is a small social science experiment going on to determine how SA's feel about 'honesty in politics' and or politicians who refuse to lie to get a vote; and would rather get nobody's vote, and be totally honest, than get millions of votes by means of lies. Its interesting -- very! ;-)
As for your psychological theories about me.. I'd be curious which psychological discipline you are basing your opinions on? I ain't got a clue what you mean by 'hurtful remarks'... What remark was 'hurtful'? Maybe in your intention, but certainly I did not consider anything hurtful.
As for "therapy might be more helpful than inappropriately relating personal anedotes on public blogsites"... well that was really hilarious! Thanks! I had a great gaggle of a giggle! May i ask, with a Freudian sense of humour, is 'missionary style' the only 'appropriate' method of sexual relief for you?
The ANC is fighting paper tigers in the media while we head towards an economic Armageddon with increasing rapidity. The rapacious plundering of the economy by the not-so-good in Government, their relatives and friends looks more and more like the rats stealing the cargo as they desert the ship they are busy scuttling.
But the real story is even worse. We do not have the skills to turn our economy around, we do not have an education system that can provide us with the skilled people in sufficient time, and even if we did, we do not have the warm bodies of a suitable age to receive that education. We are betraying our children. The sad thing is that they don't even seem to care.
Point 1 – a people crisis:
- A population of 52 Million or so, plus an estimated 10 Million in legal and illegal immigrants.
- The official unemployment rate is given as around 25%. Unisa calculate 45%, and the advertising industry use a figure closer to 65%.
- About 20 Million people are dependent on welfare grants
- 5.7 Million people are HIV positive, dying at a rate of about 1000 per day, mostly in the economically active 15-45 age group.
- Average life expectancy has tumbled from 60 in 1990 to 40 today
- Disengaged, functionally illiterate, innumerate and uneducable individuals in youth and middle age
- There are about 5.3Million registered taxpayers upporting the rest of us. About 1 Million provide 75% of the tax income. According to Mike Schussler and others, an unsustainable economy.
Point 2 – an environment crisis
- Dysfunctional electricity reticulation and generation
- Less than 5% of the sewage plants in the country (around 30 out of 930) operate correctly
- Just over 10% of all municipalities (30 out of 280) can provide clean and safe drinking water
- Water with the acidity of lemon juice will flood central Johannesburg and poison the Gauteng environment in about 18 months time, the legacy of gold mining.
Point 3 – a governance crisis
- A wholesale loss of skills and expertise from 1994 onwards as experienced and competent civil servants were replaced with deployed ANC cadres. A simple replacement, no handover or skills transfer
- The consequent failures in service delivery
- Relocation (theft) of state funds by tampering with contracts, tenders and pay-offs has become an acceptable secondary income stream
The result - large areas of society are governed by thieves and incompetents
While the gradual erosion of government could be hidden a facade could be maintained, but as soon as the electricity crisis hit, followed by an admission of the forthcoming sewage and water crises, the inadequacies in governance were literally brought home to citizens. Questions were then asked about the general appalling level of service delivery. The Emperor suddenly had no clothes.
The Government/ANC is reacting, and not in a good way. It is trying to close down avenues of information, by preventing the media reporting on it, by attempting to close off areas of the Internet, and by adopting the philosophy that everything is secret unless deemed otherwise. Local Government is becoming increasingly dysfunctional and irrelevant.
Where do we go from here ? Towards an increasingly autocratic society as we slip into the “African” model of a polarised economy of an ultra rich minority and a subsistence level majority ? Unless something changes that is what will happen.
We need to invest in our youth and wake that generation up to the realisation that without services they will not be able to recharge their phones and MXiT each other. It's their future that is going down the flushing toilet, if they have a house with a working one in it that is.
While your argument may hold water, you undermine it by playing very fast and very loose with facts (sacred) and data (compelling, as per Friday's DM piece). In the area about which I know a lot:
* the population of SA at present - in TOTAL is just on 50 million. So that's 4% out.
* There are not ANOTHER extra 10 million immigrants - are you bold enough to assert that 1 in every 6 people in SA is migrant? Get real. The 50 million is probably close to an all-in count.
* 10 000 HIV deaths a day would mean 3.65 million deaths a year. That would depopulation the country pretty damn fast, and would mean the epidemic would not be one, as people would die before being able to pass it on. All told, in SA there are roughly 1 million births a year, and somewhere around 600 000 deaths. TOTAL.
* And on the unemployment rate, you are comparing apples with pears by muddling definitions.
It is hard to avoid the suspicion that if I bothered to research the rest of your 'facts' and 'data', I would find them equally meretricious. Come on, if you want to up the level of debate, don't try to do it by fabricating the evidence and marshalling bollocks in your arguments.
Yes data is sacred, and the figure I took for immigrants (legal and illegal) was over 9 million. You are right, your arithmetic is compelling and I misread my source. The immigrant number is actually included in the 50 Million.
I didn't write 10,000 HIV deaths per day, but the DoH estimate of 1000 a day, 365000 a year which as I understand it is not too far off.
Unemployment - official figure around 25%. The Unisa Bureau for Market Research calculates 41%, and the advertising industry standard figure is currently 63%. Yes the bases are different, but what cannot be argued is that the number of people who are unemployed is considerably greater than 25%. The real tragedy is that there is a rump of youth who have given up looking for work and never expect to actually earn a wage.
Numbers or no numbers, my basic argument is that the economy as currently structured is unsustainable and the Government are basically playing the fiddle. Unless we address the underlying reasons why we aren't creating jobs and focussing on service delivery, then nothing will change, and it will only get worse.
Humble shit-eating apologies. You did write 1000, not 10000 (I struggle to count zeros beyond 3).
On the unemployment, it's a matter of when you are defined as unemployed (not working; not looking for work; too depressed to look for work ....). They are not comparable - horrendous as each is.
As I said initially, I share (many of) your sentiments ...
Apologies, again.
No need for apologies, and certainly no need for crap for breakfast. I know Ghandi used to swear by a pint of his own pee first thing, but enough is enough.
It's the curse of immediacy. Once in a while, and recently more often that once in a while, I read something, thunder over to the keyboard in a rage and pound away. A few moments reflection would tell me that what I read was bollocks, my interpretation at best intemperate, and my response a bag full of donkey droppings.
If I still had to write "Dear Sirs, ", with a fountain pen in best copperplate on monogrammed letterheaded stationery, stick it in an envelope and schlepp to the Post Office to send it, quality might be improved, but quantity would certainly drop to a trickle.
He passed an opinion on the timing of the assualt on the media.
Local Elections are due in 2012. If there is an ongoing litany in the media about service delivery protests (6000 last year apparently), and the doings of the great and not-so-good as they plunder the public purse, then the ANC will take a hosing at the elections. They will have no mandate in large swathes of the country, people will see the benefits of a properly managed municipality, and give them another tanking at the next parliamentary election.
Knowing that the cadres can't improve because they are unable to manage their way out of a wet paper bag, even if they are facing the open end, the ANC is completely buggered. So the plan is to stop the litany at source.
The main flaw of the plan as Ian says, is when the infrastructure finally collapses, and it will, the peasants will pick up pitchforks, light their lanterns and descend on the houses of the mighty. Dragging guillotines and tumbrils behind them.
So, the current political philosophy is to make as much hay as possible while the sun shines (aka plunder away boys and girls) and pack for Perth when you hear the merry cries of the peasants as they toyi-toyi down your street.
No doubt the infighting will be bloody and let's just hope that no skeletons emerge during this period.
Like you though, I do expect that just before the election we will find out that Helen Zille is a cross-dressing alcoholic satanist who regularly eats babies for breakfast, and Patricia de Lille is the outcome of an unnatural coupling between Steve Hofmeyer and the World Cup mascot.
Shame on you for picking on little Steve though.Maybe you have spome awesome whisle blowing information concerning those two?
I suspect a little exaggeration, and not a little jealousy there though.
Sipho I share your point of view except that I dont think that our gov. threatens democracy but rather much more importantly our liberties. Remember Zimbabwe according to a recent published test/article is the best democracy in Africa.
Like school - 150 words please on why it is necessary to have liberty to have democracy but not necessary to have democracy to have liberty.
Answers on both sides of the paper. No green ink, and no mention of Voltaire, Engels or Adam Smith if at all possible.
to experience an about turn in terms of leadership style. The country may not
radically shift from a technocratic approach to a direct form of democracy. Direct
democracy is "perhaps" unsustainable, too chaotic and not suitable for policy implementation. The recent events under the current ANC leadership, however, have elevated criticism of a non-liberal centrist approach towards the media. Even those who are targeted by the populist movement (the perceived centrists) have launched a counter-movement based on populist sentiments as well. Populism in this country is not necessarily a threat to democracy but rather a wake-up call. Experience has taught us both the leasership & the masses "democratic society" that populism is not a predemocratic state, but an interpellation on democracy. Looking @ the commentary as stated above, this is truly a well-read article. For the record, I tend to agree with Stephen for noting a compliment in the manner in which Tom & Iain adress each other. Big up to that.
Resorting to personal insult means that you have lost the argument before you start.
Good grief, are we becoming too civil ? Bring forth the vitriol of honest discourse, the cut and thrust of vigorous debate, the blood and thunder of mighty armies of opposing views.
On the other hand, another glass of wine might just do.
Let start with another glass of wine will do!
What happened to the Bells?
The real question is how to get the youth, under 40's, to become politically active.
It would seem to me that they are too busy with getting the kids through school etc.