After President Zuma's "Night Of The Long Knives" style cabinet re-shuffle in the dead of night last week, South African social media is in a frenzy. Profile pictures are being changed to express dissatisfaction, today we are all supposed to wear black in a show of our defiance against the "system".
Ho hum, I am wearing tie dye. Are Zuma's actions not shocking to me? Not really. Am I complacent? NO!!!
I feel very strongly...but this Zuma issue is only a tiny symptom of an issue so all-encompassing we can barely process it. Protesting against Zuma would be like protesting pain experienced while suffering from cancer. If you haven't figured it out already our entire world SUFFERS from a rotten political system. There are conspiracy theories galore as to why this may be the case. Some have more than a kernel of truth, others are outlandish. One indisputable truth is that business interests and political agendas are one and the same.
The Problem: Government has too much control over our lives.
At one stage there were anarchists galore on Steemit. Apparently it seems anarchy needs higher financial rewards to continue the fight. Truthfully I found the arguments for and against (anarchy) convoluted and very often my eyes would glaze over. I doubt anarchy is the solution, but government control over our lives is at about a 90% surplus\overreach.
What can we do?
I don't know?
What would I like to see?
An elected politician should be held to the highest standards. Somewhat like a parish priest. A politician's duty should be to SERVE the people, with 100% accountability as to decisions made and 100% scrutiny of their lifestyles. Politics should be a calling, as in religion, or charity work. Salaries should offer reasonable remuneration and all perks cancelled. Politicians should fall into the same category as social workers and teachers, in turn whose salaries should more fairly reflect the duty they have to society. Any public service job should be subject to 100% accountability and transparency. This would immediately be a blow to big business who would have to find an alternative way of operating. The transparency of blockchain technology could be utilised...?
Small business should be given the support they need, as they provide a service to the communities they are part of. They offer employment and reasonably priced services/ commodities, as they do not have the exorbitant overheads of big business. How many private business do you find in malls? None can afford the overheads. Communities need to be developed and supported. If financial pressure eased, we would have more time for educational and spiritual pursuits and the family unit could reclaim its rightful place in society. A country less governed would provide so many more opportunities for everybody.
Personal Responsibility
The ideal life I envision would entail so much more personal responsibility. We all need to take a look at our lives and really see where we are influenced by greed. GREED is at the heart of the human ailment. We just want more. We never seem to have enough personal possessions. We feel ENVY towards those who are perceived to have more. We covet what other's have, including other people's husbands and wives or current partners. We don't care who gets destroyed, especially children, in the entitled satisfaction of our needs wants. Then we self-medicate with whatever we can find to make this life tolerable.
Is Marching A Step In The Right Direction? Or Is It A Fashionable Event That Will End Up Meaning Nothing?
(White) South Africans feel like they are mobilising. I've spoken to my (Black) staff and customers. There is fierce debate in their communities over the Zuma issue, but they have no idea/don't care about the facebook/whatsapp initiatives. If we do not act as a nation as a whole what would we be achieving, really? I have not yet seen anyone wearing black today. (Except on facebook.)
I Believe We Are ALL Angry
Except for the few the status quo benefits. This is not only a South African issue. For example, what did the Women's March after Trump's inauguration actually achieve?
We have an energy now, as our anger over the state of our world/society/country can no longer be ignored. What are we going to do with it? Realistically - can anything be done at this stage, or are the tentacles of corruption so deeply entrenched that all there remains is for us to be wiped out as a human species? Will human nature EVER change?
Personally I feel angry and confused most of the time. How do I be my best self in the environment I find myself in? What is it that I can do to improve anything? And these questions often move onto the back burner as I am ground down by the practicalities and financial pressure of keeping going in this society we find ourselves in. Which is our fault entirely, as we have allowed to happen.
Do we have ANY hope? I don't know? I'm doubtful that changing profile pictures on facebook, wearing a certain colour clothing, or going on a one day march will amount to much. And I have one more question. How is it that we can get so INFLAMED about a political situation yet quite easily watch starving children and families bombed into oblivion on the "news" while we eat our dinner. Is it because these situations don't threaten our comfortable lifestyles?
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(images: pixabay)