Inactive and docile citizenry gets the government it deserves

Editor’s Note by Mazwi Xaba

Experts say negative emotions like anger can lead to positive outcomes, if used or channelled properly.

They say you need to first establish whether the anger building up inside is worth expressing.

They also say your anger is telling you something important about yourself and your situation.

You need to ask yourself whether and by how much you can possibly influence the situation at hand. As they say, worry only about those things you can change.

The redeployment of former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede to the KZN legislature left many people angry and disappointed.

But when even those in the ANC’s alliance feel “baffled and flabbergasted”, as the SACP in the Moses Mabhida region reacted to the news, you realise aimlessly expressing your anger can be a waste of time.

We’ve been here before. We’re still reeling from the reinstatement of two Limpopo ANC leaders with VBS corruption clouds over their heads.

The ANC is hiding behind the “innocent until proven guilty” principle while actually relying on what I’d call the “inactive and docile citizenry gets the government it deserves” doctrine. Indeed, every nation (region, province and so on) gets the leadership it deserves.

Gumede and other ANC leaders should remember that French philosopher Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821) came up with his “every nation gets the government it deserves” gem during the French revolution when that country was ruled by kings and the alternative was unthinkable.

The Independent on Saturday