The country of the brave is no more

There is no bravery anymore. Our politics is filled with sycophants who, without constitutional convictions, robotically regurgitate scripted monologues across every platform. When interviewed they say "Yes, but …" and then they go robotic. They bizarrely repeat the nonsense scripted for them.

Then they rinse and repeat for the next audience. They have been trained to ignore questions by saying "Well, did you know…" and then they regurgitate their robotic, scripted message. They don't answer questions. 

Author Patric Mallet recently wrote a commentary that said something like “It’s no longer about ‘We the people, it’s about ‘We the party.’” Individual conviction, intelligence, and bravery is no longer a requirement for political party membership. Enforced compliance or expulsion are the only choices. Political parties have become echo chambers, where factional beliefs are reinforced and where constitutional truths are either misinterpreted or not pondered at all.

The pursuit of our profound constitutional ideals has become too great a risk for our political parties. Having built their voter base on fears, corruption and perverse ideological obsessions, they can no longer find the exit sign. They have constructed an ideological prison for themselves, with the majority giving assent to their lies, while squirming in their seats.  

South Africa is in an ideological crisis. We are a constitutional democracy, but we find ourselves in constant conflict about how to advance our constitution through effective policy development. From education to equal and equitable employment, to policies on energy, global human rights, as well as rogue states and trade, we have political agents who inflict ideological and constitutional confusion on the citizenry, and which an uneducated and ill-informed voter often accepts without testing its constitutionality.

Our constitution has become a mute piece of Africana, used mainly by political parties to conduct lawfare, and not to develop policy agendas to advance our people. The aspirations, ideals, and promises written in the constitution for the people’s prosperity and advancement are often used by political parties to develop ideologically misdirected policies, for the party has become greater than the people and their constitution. 

While the need for equality and non-discrimination in the present is without dispute, how do we address historical discrimination and inequality? How do we address generational racial trauma? It seems that some believe that by waving a magic wand, everyone will be equal and no longer discriminated against.

I was walking in a Constantia mall recently. In my rush to get to a bookstore, I found myself walking behind an individual who was slowly pushing their trolley. I was trying to dodge patrons to get past the trolley pusher. My attempted overtaking manoeuvres caused the trolley pusher to turn around, and as they saw me, they stopped their trolley. My feeling was that they thought I was up to something bad.

Once inside the bookstore, I stood in a queue with my purchase. The person in front of me looked around to see who was behind them. They then moved their sling bag to the front of their body. My feeling was that they thought I could be up to something bad. Transfer the micro experiences of these parties – them and me - into our education, health and economic systems, and you will see how our mighty constitution is not used as a recourse to give us the power to overcome our stereotypes and fears. It gets binned to accommodate our apartheid perspectives – mine and theirs - of other people. 

Unless political parties begin to make work of advancing our constitutional democracy with its central message of “We, the People," they will never succeed in moving South Africa beyond "We, the white people” and “We, the Black people." Our political parties have won votes by intentionally exploiting fears about "the other" to gain voter support. Fears win votes. They, lacking all bravery, have been unable to develop an ideological message that celebrates our constitutional aspirations as one nation. 

Cape Argus