With almost everyone in the country now a political expert of high moral standing, those who have risen to stand in the gap of absent leaders are people we least expected.
We have seen community organisations, sometimes labelled as vigilante groups, gaining traction as “the emancipators of the people”, the likes of Operation Dudula and the March and March movement.
The conversation now shifts to whether politicians are the only ones we need to spearhead the country back to functionality – this at a time when thugs in suits are slowly gnawing away at the country with the help of the politicians.
In an age of entrepreneurs, new creations and innovations, of imagined visions and goals attained, no-one ought to stand in our way when we set a target and aim to achieve it.
We live in a time where anything is possible, in a time where the sky is too close to be the limit, but, sadly, we live in a time where we simply exist.
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The government, no matter its many faults, provides every child with the opportunity to attend primary and secondary education, free of charge – no child should go through life without basic education.
In these formative schooling years, children will encounter no less than 12 teachers, each a builder of a foundation of their life.
No matter how bad we may claim the South African teaching system may be, there must be at the least one opportunity for the child’s life to be shaped positively in an entire schooling career.
It is impossible to not encounter at least one teacher who can teach our children to not only dream, but to dream big.
Yet, it would seem, educated or not, thugs are churned out in large numbers.
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In a country that guarantees 12 years of free basic education, it is deeply troubling to see individuals emerge thinking formal employment is a futile pursuit, to be avoided, or worse, supplemented via corruption and crime.
This raises uncomfortable questions about what we are producing as a society and what values are being reinforced along the way.
How did we get to this point where individuals whose credentials cannot be verified are entrusted in positions of authority, their elevation being celebrated as “black excellence”?
Celebration should not come at the expense of scrutiny. Too often we rush to applaud success without questioning. We are too quick to celebrate without asking what darkness makes these stars shine.
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