ISMAIL LAGARDIEN: Getting to Mars past the populists
Thrill of going to the red planet cannot be dampened, but it will not happen in our lifetime
My father was an unpleasant man. His entire outlook on life, apart from the drudgery of 50 years on a construction site to feed seven hungry children, was shaped by a profoundly austere religiosity. I remember clearly his remark the day we heard over the wireless that Neil Armstrong had stepped on the moon. “God gave us the earth. I don’t know why they’re messing around in the universe,” he said in kitchen-Afrikaans, interspersed with his de rigueur bits of cussing and colour. I remembered my father last week when I walked (if I am allowed some literary freedom) past Voltaire’s butchered wives still clutching their infants to their bleeding breasts, the scattered brains and severed limbs in the wake of public protest, viral videos of hijackings and cash-in-transit banditry, images of spasmodic violence against foreigners (“Nigerian drug dealers”), the revelations of the Zondo commission, the rape of a child, and the end-of-empire-type excesses of SA society. It is really difficult t...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.