OUR FORGOTTEN TRUTHS
GARETH VAN ONSELEN: Forgetting history is a killer for ANC elective conference
You would struggle to find a richer, fuller and better understanding of politics today than that which our history can give us — but none of the historical references that are made is inquisitorial or critical
It has become exceedingly difficult to analyse SA today, as it faces a series of crises that are not just profound, but fluid and subject to perpetual change. Many of these crises are quantifiable to a degree, but usually only so far as the facts confirm the scale of the relevant problem. The state of the economy, corruption, the condition of the education system and the ANC’s decline are all-consuming. They dominate debate but, in their inherent uncertainty, end up fuelling much speculation. Many other crises are subtler, but no less important. How and why is it, for example, that political assassinations have exploded in KwaZulu Natal? Why is it that the ANC voted against the motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma? What exactly is the structure of the informal patronage network that dominates our country? Understanding this isn’t helped by our environment of low self-esteem, fear, secrecy and distrust, which often come together to manifest as conspiracy theory and ne...
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