The core of SONA
Correspondent | Friday November 23, 2018 12:41
In it, the nation expects to be given the diagnosis of the state of the nation, the prognosis of the state of the nation followed by the regiment plan designed to remedy the outcome of the diagnosis, and the subsequent SONA is supposed to relay the evaluation of the previous regiment plan and goes on to repeat the circle in light of the development of the state of affairs.
However, extensive analysis of symptoms does not demonstrate competence; in fact it may itself be an aversive tactics to mask lack of understanding of the core of the matter.
The patient’s (the nation) attention is obviously on the symptoms as they are the eminent source of discomfort, and when the patient hears precise articulation of his symptoms, he is comforted but not healed. And this is where the problem is, the one diagnosing may not know the core of the matter, but may understand the psychology of the patient which he then bends to his design to the satisfaction of the patient, but not the healing of the same, a mostly applied technique by witch doctors.
In the discussion of the SONA along the corridors of power, what normally lie at the centre of their discussion are their points of views on how the symptoms should have been relayed to the patient and what was left out in the regiment plan that should have been included.
In this the patient may find solace in another’s opinion at the expense of his own health. The health of the patient is ignored through the blessing of the blindness of the patient and this is the dire situation which is addressed in Luke 6:39.
A blind man does not know where he is and what is going on around him. He is totally at the mercy of those around him who are endowed with sight to guide him. The most important thing to a blind man is the restoration of sight (Mark 10:51) for without sight he misses out on much of the information from the information grid, which is mostly carried by light. The problem will escalate if the guides are also blind and they do not know it. It would be a situation similar to the one depicted in Matthew 12:22, the engine driving the man does not allow steering in any direction and the vehicle does not have lights and is going fast.
From my point of view, the patient needs brutal and honest analysis of the findings of the diagnosis and the regiment plan no matter how bitter the pill may be, since this is a matter of life and death.
As thus, the patient must be put in a position to plan for his life in light of the state of affairs. Masking them does not help him; they need the light and true light for that matter for them to see and know.
My own analysis of the core of SONA in the current state of affairs is that, the heart of the nation is not well at all. If anything should be done, it is the immediate attention to the state of the heart (SOTH) as it is the centre of life to the rest of the organs of the body.
The major problem is the system at the centre of our self-governance, and this has nothing to do with any political party, as it is a personal and private matter. Firstly our own social contract is premised on a lack of understanding of the nature of governance as inherited from the colonial system.
We do not know our point of participation and how we should participate in the management of our self-governance, as this is shown in voter apathy as a symptom of a larger problem.
It is not a result of internal squabbles within and between political parties; it is lack of comprehension of one’s responsibility in the whole matter.
In the apparent estimation of the individual as a member of the nation as a whole, there appears to be a relegation of the management of life affairs to the politician to think and decide on matters of life for the nation and on behalf of the nation, so that when the nation dies it may have a finger to point at somebody.
Secondly, the upper echelons of leadership do not understand their role in the augmentation of the matrix of self-governance of the nation as shown in their manifestos that tend to make the nation believe that they are mandated and obliged to do it all for the nation, the ‘atlhama ke go jese’ stunts, and the ‘we can create more jobs than you can fill’ rhetoric.
The nation goes on the riot for unavailable jobs thus rubber-stamping the premise of the mindset of leadership. In this regard how can any one politician correct the other without offending? Matthew 7:3.
This is not a sign of a healthy heart and eyes that can see; it is classic blindness. The SONA should work at the heart of the matter first for it to be of any relevance.
The heart is running out of time and it is now that it should be attended to with the nation at the helm of the problem. In the next article we will look into the suggested regiment plan for the healing of the heart – The National Heart Transplant. See John 9:40, 41.
PATRICK T TLHAGWANE
God bless you
With J Radibe, Baki, and Josephine