If our forefathers were to return...

Correspondent | Friday March 28, 2014 12:17

 

I however would not stop asking myself this question repeatedly. Talk of cornering yourself! The thing is; I conjure all kinds of images. As I read newspapers or listen to radio and watch television; what I hear and see is that ‘we’ are under siege. The more I listen, the more I hear panic in people’s voices. It is a panic that feels and sounds like it is debilitating us. I may not be privy to the actual statistics, but I can safely imagine that panic attacks have increased. I trust that pharmacists around the country can attest to that just by going through their dispensed ‘panic attack’ drugs’ records. What is even more disturbing is that I hear and see the same thing being discussed by all social classes. This is a strange turn of events. This is what led me to think that perhaps, ‘we’ are under siege.

For example, everyone seems to have something to say about water and power ‘issues.’ It does not matter where you are in the social ladder neither does it matter which platform is used to express sentiments. Be it politics, religion, civil servants, media, NGO’s, funerals, weddings, business community; the rich, middle or low income class, etc; the topics are the same. Judging by reactions, there seems to be a noticeable difference in what is/was the norm. What happened? I wonder what our forefathers would say to our issues, concerns and reactions.

Would they see us as failures who destroyed the inheritance they left us? Would they be disgusted by our reactions as showing our inability to think through our problems? Would they be horrified by our very militant greed that has corrupted our excellence? Would they steal ideas from one another to perpetuate this state to no end? Would they wonder where the voices of solutions are? Would they weep for a generation that cannot share tlhogo ya tsie? Would they mourn over the death of their systems of mafisa, letsema, motho le motho; kgomo, etc? Would they ask what happened to it when government says there is no money? Would they publicly deride the look, feel, weight and value of our ‘new’ money? Would they assume the ‘every man for himself’ mantra? Would they forgive us for turning their sweat and toil to naught? Would they be so hedonistic as to sell even strategic symbols like media and football teams to foreign interests without penance? Would they be ashamed to be renting their OWN properties from these foreign interests after they sold them just as they are doing with these strategic symbols? Would a single piece of land be sold under their attorney general whilst the people’s stand is that no land shall be sold? For this reason, would they still find meaning in the national anthem?

Would they wonder why children are sexually activated so early in the name of sex education? Even better, would they even discuss matters of sex and sexuality so openly? Would they ask themselves what happen to appropriate platforms that addressed such issues; i.e. bogwera and bojale?

Would they defend their actions against those who question such moral conduct just so that they keep their jobs? Would they accede to United Nations, IMF, World Bank; Asian, American, Russian, Vatican, Israeli or British ‘structural adjustments’ conditions? Would they be transparent about these conditions so that the nation would know why things are the way they are? More importantly, would they have considered anything that these entities offered in the first place? Would they imagine their independence as sold to these financial fat cats? Would their leading men and women; with a sorrowful heart, apologise to the people for embezzling huge amounts of money through bogus projects? Would these men and women be ashamed to still stand for any public office? Would they be jostling for positions, almost relishing for the total collapse of the nation so that they can ‘finally’ be king over all? Would they curse the day they allowed politics to usurp their culture? Would they spit on the faces of ALL their political parties for being [unapologetically] bankrolled by their colonial masters? Would they enquire from these political parties whose agenda they were really peddling? Would they even recognise us? I find this one to be even more intriguing; would they care/bother/flinch?

I am sure that you can add more questions to these, but would it not be great to just listen to their take on our life today? Maybe they would tell us that; perhaps, we are; at best, under an economic attack or at worst under an economic colonisation. Or that in fact, we never had an economy to begin with. It would be interesting to hear how their Mephato would react to this. Either way, it would just be great to listen to them.

K. Gaboipeoe oa Rankoe

*Member of Lehika Think Tank. Lehika Think Tank is an autonomous civil platform for sharing and developing solutions in order to address common social challenges. The views and opinions expressed are personal and not those of Lehika Think Tank. lehikathinkers@hotmail.com.