Sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, in his book In Search of Politics, cites the philosopher Cornelius Castoriadis as observing: “The problem with our civilisation is that it has stopped questioning itself. No society which forgets the art of asking questions or allows this art to fall into disuse can count on finding answers to the problems that beset it – certainly not before it is too late and the answers, however correct, have become irrelevant.”
This observation is prompted by the shenanigans that have been taking place in the National Assembly in the past four months or so, and this has to do with the way South Africans, especially politicians, interact with one another.
The vituperative attacks and disrespect directed at President Jacob Zuma speak volumes about the society we have become or the society we want to nurture. The future we conceptualised before the birth of our democracy is turning out to be not what we had hoped it would be. A lot of introspection needs to happen before the damage to our psyche becomes irreparable.
The behaviour of the EFF towards the president has left a bitter taste in the mouths of so many people. Never have so many been hoodwinked and held to ransom by so few so many times. Is this the culture we are bequeathing to our youth, that is, it is cool to disrespect the elderly?
Julius Malema, like any ordinary citizen, has the right to raise matters of national concern. But how he does it is another matter. This has to do with the way we address one another. The question of manner of address is a serious one because it involves various culture-specific codes that we ignore at our own peril. Call it the spirit of ubuntu if you like. Our culture of public discourse needs a basic degree of civility to survive in our environment.
Democracy, and our government in particular, needs feedback, especially from the public, and Malema, by all accounts, has been equal to the challenge. It seems odd and an anathema that when we talk of democracy we emphasise the issue of rights over responsibilities as if the two are mutually exclusive.
In exercising our right to speak in an institution such as Parliament, it must become second nature that we do so with responsibility, and with a modicum of decorum.
These are certainly not the standards of engagements that Malema would want to find in the office should he get there faster than all of us could imagine. However, it remains a prerequisite that one should adopt a manner of address that does not detract from the principles that one claims to uphold. Has Malema forgotten respect for elders?
Lest I be misunderstood, I am not saying young people should not speak their minds just because they are being respectful. Young people should learn to engage elders intelligently and without being insolent or rude. This also applies to the elders; they must learn to allow young people to disagree with them. In short, the inculcation of respect for elders should not be done to stifle robust intellectual and political debates. Malema can disagree with Zuma without resorting to character assassination and disrespect/insolence.
I strongly feel Malema’s erratic behaviour can still be corrected if the elders around him stand up and take their rightful place by way of counselling the young man whose innate leadership qualities cannot be doubted but still need a lot of guidance and nurturing.
The late stalwart of the South African Communist Party, Moses Mabhida, who was the political mentor of Zuma, perceptively advised him that in difficult moments he should always “radiate calmness, and breathe hope and certainty of victory”.
Judging by the way Zuma carries himself, it could be that he took his mentor’s advice to heart. After all, how does one explain the myriad triumphs Zuma has achieved amid the turbulent political vicissitudes he has had to weather so far?
T
he problems we experience as a society can, to a large extent, be attributed to the silent majority of credible people who choose not to involve themselves in societal matters. This vast silent majority of our people has left the public sphere to a select few who seem to set the agenda and control the terms of public debate.
Hendrik Ibsen, the great Norwegian dramatist, puts it aptly when he argues that “the worst enemy of truth and freedom in our society is the compact majority”.
It is “the damned compact majority” that has failed Julius Malema. It is also the very same compact majority that has accepted the culture of disrespect that has become so pervasive in this country. Why are most of our people so quiet when a youngster disrespects an elderly person with impunity, like Malema does Zuma? It started with Malema calling the former president, Thabo Mbeki, by name.
The disrespect Malema displayed during the time of Mbeki should have been nipped in the bud by religious and political leaders of the compact majority by standing up and saying “enough is enough”. In hindsight, this was a lost opportunity to rein Malema in from the start, when this monster called disrespect was beginning to rear its ugly head.
In conclusion, Waldo Emerson is spot on when he observes that, “things that matter most should not be at the mercy of things that matter least”. After all has been said and done, the government is its worst enemy for not having an effective communication strategy to communicate the milestones it has been able to achieve. Surely what the government has achieved cannot be dwarfed by the Nkandla matter?
People need to be constantly told and shown that the government is doing something, so they are not fed with the impression that the government is doing absolutely nothing for its people. In short, the government is found wanting in terms of communicating its successes and the public is also hardly informed of government projects.
If one, for example, looks at the recent budget allocation, can anyone in their right mind say the government led by Zuma is doing absolutely nothing for its people?
Maybe the messages that communicate the programmes of the government to the people need not be louder but they certainly need to be clearer, more concisely stated, more accurately spoken and delivered more frequently.
The best advice one could give Zuma is to take heed of Hannah More’s famous observation, “obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal”. The goal of Jacob Zuma is nothing but to serve the nation.
Perhaps it is in times of adversity like the political cacophony that has been taking place in the National Assembly that we can draw upon Sir Edward (Weary) Dunlop’s indomitable spirit and optimism to give us comfort to soldier on, with compassion and care for all our fellow men. I would like to end by quoting him. “Old and proven virtues appear to be declining whilst we tread the perilous path down which other civilisations have gone whose fault was giving too little and asking too much.”
* Shongwe works in the Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal. He writes in his personal capacity.