Maybe we all need to calm down

Submitted by Setumo Stone

It only dawned on me after he had said it, that this man was once an executive major. He was definitely not your average taxi driver.

What he said also made sense: “It is about time that South Africans calm down, and pay each individual respect, regardless of whether we feel they are wrong or right.”

The message resonated with one of the ideals I have held close to my heart. What good does it do to ridicule and attack the next person if the act itself does not help move the debate forward?

It was unimaginable during Nelson Mandela’s rainbow nation era that such a hopeful society would find itself consumed by politics of hatred and ridicule, characterised by — sometimes unfounded — personal attacks.

How does it reflect on the sacrosanctity of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights if the spirit, interpretations and applications of both documents are limited to narrow political aspirations and agendas?

I reflect on all these issues against the backdrop of Barack Obama’s election victory in the US. What stood out for me was his unwavering position against playing the politics of ridicule and personal attacks on opponents. In my opinion, that is one of the biggest lessons Obama has offered politicians all over the world.

At some point he was portrayed as a “Muslim threat”, attacked because his middle name is “Hussein”, attacked because of comments by his pastor etc. It is remarkable that Obama never once stooped to that level.

The same cannot be said on the home front.

What message of hope and change can Mosiuoa Lekota bring if he initiates and leads mudslinging, mocking and personal attacks on political opponents?

Just recently, Helen Zille went on about Jacob Zuma “dodging” a debate with her. This is the same Helen Zille who has never missed a chance to label Zuma, despite no ruling by any court in that regard. When the Constitutional Court expressed during its statement on the Judge Hlope saga that “there is no suggestion that the litigants [Zuma, Thint or NPA] were involved”, Zille was first to call for Zuma to “clear” his name.

How then does she expect the same man to grant time, attention and energy on a debate? What for? … More insults and attacks?

Pardon my bias for the ruling party and its leaders in this regard. It is only because they have enjoyed the most vitriolic attacks in the past 14 years. That said, it must also be a cause for concern on their part that they sometimes respond in a similar manner.

Where will we find hope and change when supporters of different parties applaud and celebrate the status quo? The same people come back and claim that there is more rhetoric and less policy. We cannot engage constructively if we are overly consumed by hatred and despise of one other.

Fly-by-night titles like “champions of the Constitution” or “champions of democracy” are unlikely to assist in eradicating poverty. They can only gain the horn-blowers unfettered media attention. The poor people of this country do not need self-styled heroes and heroines, they need a better life.

Having gone through writing this piece, I realise that it is near impossible to engage the state of South African politics without risking a rise in blood temperature. How ironic is it that I find solace and hope in the comments of a “taxi driver”.
If we could all calm down, maybe we would realise that it actually takes a “simple” but “authentic” individual to give us hope.

Setumo Stone is “… one of [the] most prolific and controversial writers … his views have elicited scores of letters … strength in Setumo’s writing is that he is able to initiate new issues or cast a fresh light on existing ones”. — Peter Malherbe (Editor — Reporter.co.za/Avusa Limited).