I am sure many South Africans from all background share my sentiments in that we are TIRED of all the mudslinging and accusations of corruption, being from the devil, whites are racists, blacks are racists etc. etc. etc…
I am, however, not sure how much of this has to do with actual party politicking, or newspapers wanting to fuel anger and hatred as part of their marketing and sensationalism strategies. It has to stop. But can we stop it? Are we mature as a nation?
In my opinion we are seemingly an immature nation as is visible when one reads the comment sections on articles. We are seemingly immature as a nation when our political parties resort to every tactic in the book on how to talk badly about the opposing party, or have to resort to dancing, or wearing berets or bandanas, using beliefs pertaining to ancestors or demonic forces to win or keep votes.
Today we celebrate Human Rights Day and yet I am incredibly sad as the one right that is never talked about, being the right of every citizen to be responsible for what you say, what you believe in etc. We should however not blame our political parties for anything as they are only representative of the emotional and mental state of the average citizen of this once great nation. This statement does not in any way single out a specific sector of the South African nation, but is a direct accusation against each and every sector (white, black, poor, rich etc.). We expect our leaders to act responsibly and to be accountable for things they do, but we, the general public, seem to abscond our right to judge objectively based on facts (including political manifests).
Maybe one day we will see a democracy based on sound judgement where choices are made looking at party manifests. A democracy where party coalitions are opposed as political views are inherently different (e.g. NOT having a democratic party and a socialist party combine forces – I mean really!).As millions of other South Africans, I will be casting my vote soon, but I do it with sorrow for we vote for parties that in my view are behaving very similar to what I have witnessed amongst children. Alan Paton said it all – ‘Cry the beloved country’