April 2010

Once again the challenge to think and cease to lament confronts me, I can no longer ignore the burning desire to have mental engagements with myself, to allow my thought to roam and have scenarios and questions that challenge to see tomorrow. There should not be much to dwell on when you talk about that, thought should be welcome, it is either you are thinking or not, We have taken on a notion that seeks for thought to be explained and defended, and Society has deemed thinking to be an unwelcome thing, something bad and unwelcome, if you have a sober face one would ask you what your thoughts are  as if were the cause, Granted some thoughts are indeed sobering, but then what would we be without it ,we all need an invasion on a somewhat passive and monotonous existence.

Of course thinking should sober you up it is not meant to bring frills to your life rather challenge you to stop existing and start living, Thought is a catalyst for action, and when you make a decision to live a life of thought and action you cease to exist but live. Since I started sharing with you on the Think about it column I have harbored this fear that I would exhaust everything there was to say about thinking, boy was I wrong at least for now What is there not to think about, take a pick.

We are currently surrounded by a lot that at some point it seems too much to soak in and really unpack with thought. A  50 million rand wedding and a cancelled tender, A daughter of a late minister and a questionable tender once again it becomes a maze for our humble minds we seem to think ,but is it really or we are weary to think lest we be challenged to do something about it .

But my roaming mind keeps coming back to a rowdy youth leader and there I question who he represents are we a rowdy youth of the Republic, I beg to differ, and hopefully I have your support dear reader. In my humble knowledge of what the African is and should be regardless of color and creed at minimum we are schooled in the the most basic and fundamental way of respect. And we call all agree that in recent times we have engaged on a public platform in the most tactless and disrespectful manner.

In the midst of all the madness you are then confronted by the glaring unfixed and crumbing infrastructure and right now we give all praise to the sinkholes that represent potholes on our roads. You imagine the World Cup scenario of our visitors getting stuck on their way to a stadium hilarious but suicide for the Country’s PR and then you are blinking at the word READY. Are we? One cannot help but shudder at the thought of June 12 2010, where we will make history as the dumb and dumber South Africa or as having hosted a brilliant World Cup tournament.

Barely 30 days and we will be there ,what does it mean for us, and by us I do not mean the Danny Jordan and Irvin Khoza’s who got bonuses I mean the ordinary street corner citizen making ends meet ,the man expected to buy a 1050 ticket to watch his country play. How do we always manage to lose the plot, we host the world cup and fail to make provision for our citizens who eat and breathe soccer.

Whose heads did the money go to that they failed to think beyond themselves to the point where this tournament was for every South African and the bonus that came with it was just for their so called hard work. Yes today we thinking the World Cup and our world cup qualifying potholes ,the un roadworthy public transport that kills people every given week if not day, the death of sportsmanship for the love of money and the total disregard of the the South African citizen by its ,leaders.

Today I’m thinking closed off free ways with uneven roads and lanes cut in the middle and riddled with sinkholes of cars flying off the roads. Today I think the term biting more than one can chew and choking on it and my parting question is “Are we choking or chewing “I leave you with the responsibility to think about it and hopefully engage on it. Unlike our elders we do not sweep matters under the mat lest we trip on them.

My head is busting at the seams.

Think about it and engage.