This is a beautiful but rather melancholic text. As a Brazilian, I think I can share this frustration with the story of having a bright future but then arriving at that future and seeing that none of what was dreamed of in the past has come to pass. At the same time, we are a slightly older nation state project, and I think the specter of disintegration is something that affects us less than it does South Africa
What an analysis. I usually quote one or two passages from an article I share or comment on when it struck a cord in me, but this one desreves being read as one big quotable analysis of what is at the heart of our South African tragedy of late. Tragic events which started to destroy the rainbow nation potential some 15 to 20 years ago and which made our promising Rainbow Nation then disappear. In contrast with forces of nature which cause real rainbows to disappear, however, so-called leaders destroyed our dream.
What I particularly like about the analysis, is the fact that the well-known SA Tragedy is not descibed in detail (i.e. not the symptoms), which most analysts do ad nauseum, but that his reaserch points out what the real causes of our failure are; and a way forward is suggested at the hand of international examples. Although I fully agree that we do not currently have a leader which can nationally pull us out of the mire by inspiring a vision which can unite us, and who can build the institutions to back it up and sustain it, I want to point out the Helen Zille example in Gauteng. It is still a long way to go for her, but I see her grasping all of what Johan so competently pointed out as preconditions for success. Her efforts and probable success might just inspire a leader at national level to follow suit. I said it before, and want to repeat it again: if South Africa was a "normal" nation, Zille would have been our President by now...
A very good and solid analysis.
This is a beautiful but rather melancholic text. As a Brazilian, I think I can share this frustration with the story of having a bright future but then arriving at that future and seeing that none of what was dreamed of in the past has come to pass. At the same time, we are a slightly older nation state project, and I think the specter of disintegration is something that affects us less than it does South Africa
What an analysis. I usually quote one or two passages from an article I share or comment on when it struck a cord in me, but this one desreves being read as one big quotable analysis of what is at the heart of our South African tragedy of late. Tragic events which started to destroy the rainbow nation potential some 15 to 20 years ago and which made our promising Rainbow Nation then disappear. In contrast with forces of nature which cause real rainbows to disappear, however, so-called leaders destroyed our dream.
What I particularly like about the analysis, is the fact that the well-known SA Tragedy is not descibed in detail (i.e. not the symptoms), which most analysts do ad nauseum, but that his reaserch points out what the real causes of our failure are; and a way forward is suggested at the hand of international examples. Although I fully agree that we do not currently have a leader which can nationally pull us out of the mire by inspiring a vision which can unite us, and who can build the institutions to back it up and sustain it, I want to point out the Helen Zille example in Gauteng. It is still a long way to go for her, but I see her grasping all of what Johan so competently pointed out as preconditions for success. Her efforts and probable success might just inspire a leader at national level to follow suit. I said it before, and want to repeat it again: if South Africa was a "normal" nation, Zille would have been our President by now...