Idyllic Ignorance and Hypocrisy

Pandemic, Covid 19, Coronavirus, COVID-19

It is hoped that in the aftermath of COVID-19 an independent social scientist will carry out a study to determine the state of heavenly and blissful ignorance that many of us reside within. The root causes that contributed to this status quo should also be looked into. Far too many of us have been subjected to social manipulation which ensures that we embrace our ignorance regarding areas such as the study of our planet and universe, geopolitics, our history and our social behavior.

This investigation into our societal development does not stop there. Many of us have been mentally fashioned and organized in ways that prevent us from realizing our ignorance. A manifestation of this ignorance is our knack for commenting on topics we know very little about. We do not utilize due thoroughness as a means of educating ourselves. Our minds have been powerfully manipulated to accept untruths as facts. This happens when critical thought is not engaged. Unfortunately, critical thinking is an asset many of us have yet to acquire. This, too, is by design.

The corporate media, our government, (pre-and-post- 1994) and our school systems have all played significant roles in the ignorance we adhere to. This was by no accident. It is as premeditated as the planning and implementation of the Cold War and the “rooi gevaar”, “die swart gevaar” bogey and the Apartheid system and lately, Islamic “terrorism”. Keeping the masses as politically unschooled, while indoctrinating them to believe they are actually competent and proficient, assures that the unacceptable status quo will be kept in place for eternity.

That status quo has much to do with economic domination by the ever-growing middle-class, both black and white, and the concentration of power within the creepy hands of a small minority. They also control the corporate media (newsprint as well as electronic), to program the unwitting into believing they are comprehensively educated by virtue of their news reporting. As a result, we are not only geopolitically undereducated. We are also stuck in a morass of dismay and anxiety, mere pawns to further the destructive global campaigns within the politics of empire-building. Their “historic mission”, wrote Frantz Fanon in his prescient classic – The Wretched of the Earth”, has nothing to do with transforming the nation: it consists, prosaically, of being the transmission line between the nation and capitalism rampant though camouflaged”.

Operating within the cooperate environment, subsequent South African governments took their cues from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. South Africa, noted George Soros in 2001, had been delivered into “the hands of international capital”.

It is an indictment on us that we fail to see the lies and hypocrisy though it may be palpably in our faces. During the Zuma-regime in our country, the pillaging of our state resources was blatantly obvious but we failed to identify what was really going on. The main actors in this destructive process blatantly lied about their roles and continue doing so. After all, you have to know that you are being lied to before you recognize it. Unfortunately, many of us do not know where to look for the truth.

The coronavirus is a common enemy. The fight against this enemy must be unified, concerted and decisive. There is no place for political point-scoring on this battlefield. Concentrating on meeting human needs and having respect for life must be the basis of our human security. Three areas where funds need to be channeled by the government, business and civil society are education, security, and health.

COVID-19 has highlighted the failure of politics and politicians. This common tragedy has reminded the pseudo-politicians of the futility of trying to go into hiding and sit it out, ignoring the threats that we face. We need to humanize our politics and political thinking and transfer funds to the purposes of serving human security. Above all else, security should mean providing food, water, which is already in short supply, a clean environment and, as a top priority, caring for people’s health.

To achieve human security we need to develop strategies, make preparations, plan and create reserves. This should be the responsibility of all leaders; national, communal and at a family level.

Preparations should start now with an Emergency Session made up of the government and all political parties, business, civil society and religious formations, as soon as the situation is stabilized. It should be about nothing less than revising the entire personal agendas.

The Mantra should read:

  • Those who have must share with those who do not have.
  • Those who know must teach those who do not know.
  • I will not go to bed while my neighbour is hungry.