Thamsanqa Mkwanazi.
Beetroot. That is what I hope for all of us in 2017. Yes, that plant synonymous with funerals and weddings, depending on who is in your circles. I am one of those people who never learns, and absolutely every single time I eat beet, it messes on my clothes. It is even worse when I pack it to work. Somehow, my airtight skhafthini seems to know that I have packed beet, and the red stuff simply flows out and stains everything.
As we start the year, I hope one of our resolutions/goals is to be as infectious as possible. Have you noticed how quickly a subject or topic can go viral, so it can definitely be done.
As I write this, I am eating red oats for breakfast, and I will be indulging in an exotic MasterChef-worthy dish of red rice, red mince, red green salad and beetroot as a side.
Like beetroot, we need to ink absolutely everything we see that is positive, and make sure it spreads. We are a nation that is full of such great potential, but we are also bad at telling our stories.
As much as I am not the biggest fan of the Americans, they have clearly learnt a few things from beetroot. If a single thing happens to an American, the entire world will know all about it. That is the power of beetroot.
To prove my point, beetroot was in place when so many people shared the story of former soccer player Ryan Botha, who risked his life to save another. Botha broke his leg and ankle when he jumped down about five metres on New Year’s Eve in order to get to a man who was injured.
At the same time, beetroot should also be at the back of the mind this week so that we can tell our leaders in this country exactly what we think of some of their decisions, which end up affecting us in some or other way. The department of higher education ended up releasing last year’s matric results, and boy we needed a lot of beetroot.
While the Independent Examinations Board is boasting a 98.67% pass rate, which is up from 98.3%, we were told about why we should accept the government’s attempts at educating those who cannot afford private schooling.
We must hashtag all over social media in protest at sub-standard education for the masses. It is only when we beetroot together that our leaders listen to us, and change their minds. #Beetroot