Like it or not, your life over the next year has already been diarised - day by day, month by month.
You don’t have to move a muscle because a collective of well-meaning souls has conspired to organise your life in such a way they’ve set up dates throughout the year to commemorate a range of causes.
There are anniversaries for every occasion, some quite weird and frivolous. For instance, did you know there’s a Take Your Dog To Work Day in June or a national Ask A Stupid Question Day in September?
Where was I when the lights went out because I didn’t realise there’s a Global Orgasm Day in December; nor are most politicians aware there’s a Day of Silence in April which should quite frankly be extended over the entire year.
I often wonder how many fellow South Africans take these awareness anniversaries seriously? Or do they just blithely observe them to salve their consciences?
What about government which sponsors many of these campaigns? Do they have their heart in such causes or are they just happy that these anniversaries help create the perception that something’s being done to bring about change?
Take the annual campaign for 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children which government adopted here 20 years ago.
Who are we kidding? Some of the most atrocious crimes against women and children are committed in this “grace” period. We know that as a fact.
Cash-strapped South Africans would have observed Consumer Rights Day on March 15, only to be slapped with a knockout increase in VAT only a couple of weeks later.
Would you have ever have imagined that in a month when we are supposed to be honouring and celebrating the role of women in our country, a prominent chief executive would say something so derogatory and condescending about women that virtually relegates their role to child-rearing,
Isn’t it also a sad commentary of our times that during Nelson Mandela Month in July, the name of the Father of the Nation was being denigrated by some populist commentators who had the audacity to accuse him of selling out at Codesa?
My hope is that when the International Day of Happiness arrives, it won’t last a mere 24 hours.
* The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.