angry generation

On reading the news in the last few years one my wonder ‘has the world gone mad? ‘Perhaps the question may better be put, what is wrong with our nation? A few weeks ago, while driving past a local night spot, I was caught in the midst of an act of violence. While walking down the street an incredibly drunk man arbitrarily decided to throw a bottle at a passing vehicle. The owner stop got out his car and proceeded to remove a crowbar from his boot. Within seconds the street flooded with people throwing bottles, wielding knives , throwing rocks. There I was watching, them chase this guy and his friends down. With murderous intent. I have no doubt if they had caught him they would have killed him. For throwing a bottle. What is wrong with a nation which feels it has the right to take undue revenge on another human being outside of the law. Has our criminal process failed so badly we feel this is the only solution to our grievances? For in my mine it’s fairly easy to kill a man with a gun you need not even see his face. But to chase after a man with a bottle, rock or crowbar revealed something else; this is personal this is some other sort of madness.
By way of illustration a few years go, I visited Rwanda. A country which has been marred by violence, of this horrendous sort. What drives a man to take the life of a family member or neighbour? The overwhelming sense was best summed up in this statement ‘I was over taken by some devil ‘ But what I came away with was the sense that unless we learn to love, we will learn to fear, and fear will turn to hate.
When over come by hate we turn to senseless violence, it would be as if we where overtake by some force of nature. If our countries recent events of mob violence against foreign nationals is anything to go on, then it is clear something needs to be done and soon. When one reads in the news that polices have fired upon one another over wage negotiations and the national leading party has killed their own members in violent factions one must become concerned.
One might ask how we could have gone from a national of peacefulness, to this state of violence in such a short time? The answer is simply, we have always been a violent nation. We are a nation with a lot of anger suppressed. Be it by apartheid oppression, joblessness, inability to support ourselves or our families. Lack of educational equality, inability to understanding today’s problems as global issues. If one Lacks faith in the government to defend one form global issues or local political problems. One may simply see no hope for a better tomorrow, all things which have lead to our current simmer.
One finds most disturbing perhaps is our inability to see other human beings as valuable, as indispensable to our well being. Gone are the slogans of ubuntu. Post 1994 south Africa has shown more and more to be a time of take what you can get. Line your pockets and screw the guy next to you. It is reflected in recent court cases of embezzlement, in charges of corruption , of wasting government funds ….We are a nation sick from the ground up. We are hungry and not fed, we are cold and not warmed, we are sick and not given access to medicine. While some few elite people line their pockets with money intended for others , while we lie steel and destroy. Were we believe I am the most important person we will only move closer to the cliff. One might blame poverty, one might blame the white man , one might blame the government . When what we aught to be doing is looking to ourselves. When last did we give a without asking anything in return? When last did we offer a kind word to a stranger or a seat to the elderly. When we realise that other people are people too, young or old , rich or poor , black or white , male or female. When we take a look around, and realise we need each other. When we realise violence aught to be a last resort. Then maybe we may be able to take a step back from the edge.
How do we begin to do this ? I believe the nation will go where it is lead. When our leaders change their attitudes and start to behave like leaders we will begin to see change. While our leaders advocate violence, and criminality of all kinds we will remain as we are.