The pitfalls of pursuing ideals based on party loyalty

Bertrand Russell in his treatise, Political Ideals (1917), expounded that: “In dark days, men need a clear faith and a well-grounded hope, and as the outcome of these, the calm courage which takes no account of hardships by the way. The times through which we are passing have afforded to many of us a confirmation of our faith. We see that the things we had thought evil are really evil, and we know more definitely than we ever did before the directions in which men must move if a better world is to arise on the ruins of the one which is now hurtling itself into destruction. We see that men’s political dealings with one another are based on wholly wrong ideals and can only be saved by quite different ideals from continuing to be a source of suffering, devastation and sin.”

Russell made this observation during World War I when the world’s greatest powers unleashed their military might on each other with unforgiving brutality. Every so often such conditions repeat themselves though not with same passionate intensity but we are able to draw similarities between the unfolding events of the day and history. The world as it stands remains relatively unchanged though humans have made significant progress in all aspects of life. We still face the same challenges though different in context to those who came before us. From the global economic crisis to world terror and suspect politics, we continuously demonstrate our inability to draw instructive lessons from history and change the course of history. We are our own worst enemies. The pursuit of noble ideals is based on political loyalties at the expense of the greater good for humanity.

From the beginning of time and in every station of life humans have without remorse proved to be creatures of one habit or another. We would like to believe ourselves to be set apart from other animals by our faculties of reason yet we are more instinctual and more inclined to certain idiosyncrasies than we think. The abolition of apartheid 15 years ago did not signal a sudden change of thinking in some who had long been condemned as sub-human and second-class citizens in their own land and even worst had their dignity desecrated. The psychological effects of apartheid are still visible in the conduct of some. The trauma of years of alienation prevents many from employing reason in confronting challenges without emotion clouding good judgment. They have held themselves hostage to history and refuse to free themselves; some are deliberately kept shackled for narrow political gains. As the French philosopher said, “for to be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it”.

The formation of the Congress of the People (Cope) in 2008 was a milestone in the political history of the country. It served to enthuse millions of South Africans who had since 1994 opted to exist on the periphery of political activity as the African National Congress (ANC) continued to dominate the political scene with merciless regularity. Many chose to remain dormant out of despondency that was born out of frustration with the pace of service delivery and growing perception that corruption had engulfed all layers of government and that crime was escalating despite reassurances from the holders of public office. One of the greatest statesmen ever to grace our land said, “gloom and despondency have never defeated adversity. Trying times need courage and resilience. Our strength as a people is not tested during the best of times. As we said before, we should never become despondent because the weather is bad nor should we turn triumphalist because the sun shines”.

There are those in past who in their belief and confidence in the success of the ANC elected not to be active participants in granting the government its mandate. When Cope emerged all these inactive members of society came out of the woodwork to support what they were led to believe was an onslaught against the oldest liberation movement by counter-revolutionaries. Their defence of their political party was not in pursuit of common ideals shared by all of us but rather narrow political fortunes.

The existence of Cope shook the foundation upon which political comfort zones had been established over the years. Amid the arrogance of the current leadership of the ANC there existed the realisation that the political landscape was undergoing a sudden and painful reorganisation that sought to threaten the dominance of the ruling party. We all bore witness to the paranoia and fear that gripped the corridors of Luthuli House and the hooliganism that characterised the manner of engagement with other political opponents, in particular members of Cope. The ANC threw millions of rands behind its political campaign and resorted to underhand tactics to secure support and the election results proved that no amount of money would buy a two-thirds majority.

Cope has successfully managed to erode the support base of the ANC across seven provinces and the DA did the same in the Western Cape. Interestingly, the decisive victory in KwaZulu-Natal is being credited to the sleekness of the ANC campaign when my suspicion points to ethnic loyalties. For years there had been growing disconcertion with the alleged entrenchment of the Xhosa Nostra within the ANC. Those of Zulu descent had effectively been inspired by the idea of having one of their own as state president, regardless of whatever flaws of character, integrity and judgment he possessed. Ethnic interests, as many others who elevated party loyalty and self-enslavement to sentiments of the liberation struggle, were to be placed ahead of national interest.

The ANC achieved a decisive victory and there are those who snigger and point fingers at Cope alleging the party had disappointed and failed to live up to its promises of governing. It is important that all naysayers be reminded that Cope, which only began its election campaign at end of February had achieved what other political parties could only have imagined during the 15 years of democracy.

As members and supporters of Cope, we are today able to pause and reflect on the outstanding work done over the last few months and marvel at what we managed to achieve in the 2009 general elections despite all the challenges and constraints. We are now able to savour the fruits of our hard toil, content in the knowledge that the future looks even brighter than we imagined a few months ago. What Cope has managed to achieve is remarkable; it is a compliment to all volunteers who sacrificed their precious time and almost abandoned their families to help build a young organisation and galvanise others to come out in their numbers to support their cause, in defence of democracy!

Every Cope supporter has reason to celebrate and look at the not so distant future with even greater delight. The difficult task for all of us begins now. The mandate by the multitudes of our people who gave their support to Cope impose on us the responsibility to ensure that their hopes and dreams are fulfilled; that Cope continues on the path towards unifying our beloved country and makes it more prosperous so that each person, black and white, rich and poor, can be empowered to reach beyond their imagined potential.

All supporters and members of Cope must now assume the arduous task of growing our organisation into a formidable force that will bring lasting change to the lives of millions of our people who still have to contend with degrading conditions that subject them to a vile and ignoble existence. We should be the inspiration to millions of others who remained sceptical of their existence as a political organisation and ensure that they run the course with all of us, side by side, towards a brighter and prosperous future. We may travel very slowly but make far greater progress, provided we keep always to the straight road, compared to those who, though they run, forsake it.

The next five years are crucial in liberating millions who are still slave to history and ensure they discard all ingrained notions that their hopes and dreams can only be fulfilled by clinging to historical sentiments and loyalties, to their political parties and not principles by which all of us must conduct ourselves. There are difficult days ahead. We may falter in the process of bringing change and instilling hope and our task will be to draw instructive lessons from it all in the course of improving the lives of our people and guarding against the arrogance of power and the abandonment of principles that have guided us from inception.

We have arrived!