History.
A romantic word.
And yet these past weeks in South Africa, we have experienced a plethora of emotions and actions that have been devoid of any romantic notions .
History!
Who does it belong to?
I suspect it belongs to us all.
In the South African context we all have a part in our history. A link to someone or someplace that forms a part of who we are; of our life experience; our heritage.
Depending on our world view, we will hold the narrative of our countries history either tightly or rather loosely.
History is one of those realities that afford us a precious window to look back and to learn. There is much to learn from our humanity or lack thereof. History , surely helps us and points us in a direction that is better than the past ?
In an ideal world perhaps.
Man is broken and sinful and stubborn. We seem not to want to learn and grow.
I found myself in a crisis of sorts this week. I have listened and read the debates on both sides all through the past few weeks. What should we do with the statues of the past men who represent our sad and broken history? My thoughts have jumped around and I have not been able to really settle on a good solution for myself.
Standing in our local Woolies two women struck up a loud conversation about The Rhodes Statue being removed from UCT. I could not but hear what they had to say. I found myself asking " what is it that I really think?"
On the one hand I hear that some of these statues are reminders of our painful past and represent if not celebrate the pain inflicted by Apartheid. They are an offense. I really do hear this.
But, on the other hand I do not like destruction and chaos and so reject the way that some are attacking statues around our country.
I often think about history in its time. Does that make sense. We will be judged with the moral lens of the future and it is like that with history. We judge the people of the past with the moral lens and place that we in the future have.
But they lived in their time.
That of course does not justify racism or the many atrocities that history has shared with us.
It simply helps me remember that they lived in a different time.
I wonder if people feel that they have no voice in the new SA. Are these destructive actions a way of people really being heard? I wonder if our sad and sorry attempts to created a non racial society have failed and this is an expression of that. Of course individuals have managed to bridge gaps and divides in extraordinary and beautiful ways, but as a nation are we still divided and is racism still alive and well?
Last night over dinner with friends, we touched on this topic. I thought that given our ability to come up with good, inventive, creative solutions to problems. it seems a tragedy that we, as a nation, can not come up with something good that can be done with something painful.
This is an opportunity to build and unify rather than break down and further divide and already divided nation.
Collective ideas bring creative solutions to problems all the time.
Sadly, I fear, we will opt for less of a dialogue and unifying approach and adopt more of the destruction and shouting approach. Through all the noise we can not hear one another.
The voices of a few clutter the thoughts and actions of the many.
I pray that these divisive actions of the few really lead to good dialogue for the many and more than that, that we, the people of SA. restrain ourselves and fight the urge to let this all slide into racism and rhetoric.
A very sad time in our new democracy.
Lord have mercy!!
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