South Africa

Just seen the very interesting "V for Vendetta". Was it a nice bit of agitprop cinema, hell yeah! Was it about the Bush administration, hell yeah! Can we take a bit of the message and apply it to our own country, hell yeah!

 

"People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people."

 

A simple, catchy little movie slogan, but one that makes a lot of sense if you consider its implications. At its core democracy is all about action and reaction - you deliver poor, incompetent service to the electorate and you get booted out of office. You deliver fine, visionary leadership and you are rewarded with a continued control of the levers of power. This means a healthy level of fear needs to permeate the governing group - fear of failing in their mandate, fear of the electorate calling them to account, fear of being driven from office. I'm not talking about a paralysing terror of making a mistake, I am talking about a healthy fear that keeps the government on their toes and mindful that they are not South Africa, but merely represent South Africa. Those in power need to understand that they are transitory and remain in power only so long as we allow it, not the other way round.

 

Now think of our current government, be it at national, provincial or local level - do they have this healthy sense of fear of the electorate? Or do they act like arrogant, paternalistic clowns who seem to have more in common with medieval lords-of-the-manor rather than elected public officials. This attitude can be easily seen from the Eastern Cape where this idiot was allowed to poison the Province for SIX years, to the spend-taxpayers-money-like-a-drunken-pirate-so-we-can-get... at the Department of Justice. No Repercussions=No Fear=Governmental Arrogance=Faux Democracy.

 

The governing party knows it. The opposition knows it. The electorate doesn't know it. If the government decides to do something or follow a particular course of action, there is not a damn thing you or I can do about it. Nothing. Oh sure we can moan and maybe kick up a fuss in the Court's but inevitably the government will get what it wants...because it can and because it faces no prospect of punishment at the polls (at least in the near-midterm). There is no fear. This point was ably illustrated in the last government elections and in this post where it was noted that dissatisfaction with the government led to virtually no retribution by the electorate at the polls. Suckers. 

 

In any other sane democracy Manto's handling of the Aids crises would have brought down the government, the NIA scandal would have led to widespread concern among the populace, the various service delivery protests would have led to a major reevaluation of the direction government is taking in terms of delivery. Not in our faux-democracy. Here it is business as usual and these controversies are treated as speed-bumps on the way to national (ANC) glory rather than the national disgraces they should be.

 

So keep complaining, but don't hold your breath because: no-ones listening...because the don't have to.

 

Update : No fear and arrogance in action.