South Africa, the movie, is the tag line of a local podcaster, and it really resonates.
As the unprecedented accusations from the provincial police commissioner reverberate around hallowed halls and shebeen walls, it is clear that change must come. That’s nothing unusual because nothing is permanent, however, this time it feels like it might bring justice.
While there are always three sides to a story, and nobody is 100% good or bad, the light that is being shone into the dark areas of the worst systems and society carries a powerful momentum.
We often discuss with compassion how it must feel to go to work in an organisation that is compromised, and the sad reality is that people need to feed and take care of their families, and options are currently very limited.
In these toxic environments, it’s often safest to keep your head down, do the time, collect the paycheck and stay safe, so opinions are often withheld, solutions not discussed, and illegal and irregular activities are not reported.
However, the scales are finally tipping and values and morals that should be guiding us are being re-examined as even religious groups find their environmental voices, recognising that clean air and water, with healthy soil, apart from being constitutional rights, are somewhat critical to all of our survival… the evolution continues to happen.
We hope that more people will be encouraged to ‘do the right thing’, speak up and out, be measured and polite, and start taking responsibility for their own actions while creating a culture of accountability, particularly those who are supposed to be managing the machine of government.
Let’s promote a ‘fit for purpose’ attitude with particular regard to people in positions and solutions to the polycrisis situation we are in, and let’s build a nation that serves everyone more equitably.
Sounds simple on paper, but it’s terribly dependent on each and every person making ethical choices as much as possible, being discerning in decisions and not accepting less from authorities, after all they are supposed to be ‘leaders’ guiding us to better days – choose them wisely.
Ending on a musical note from Depeche Mode in 1983, ‘Get the balance right’.
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