JUSTICE MALALA: Will you back SA's shot at redemption with your money?
'Is it perhaps time for a once-off tax on the wealthy‚ all the wealthy and high-earning‚ black and white‚ that goes into a reconstruction and development programme?'
The iconic writer Ursula K. le Guin died last week. She was mourned by many the world over. In her story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas‚ she writes of a rich‚ happy‚ peaceful city called Omelas. Here‚ everything is “abundantly pleasing”. Tables sigh with the weight of food packed upon them. Music rings through the streets. The buildings are perfect‚ the gardens verdant‚ the children bright-eyed and joyous. Happiness and laughter abound.And yet for this wealth‚ peace‚ serenity and joy there is a price. Somewhere in the bowels of this city a child is kept in a dungeon‚ living in perpetual filth‚ darkness and misery. This child is chained‚ hungry‚ pained and alone. No kindness is allowed to this child. If the child is freed and cared for‚ then the entire city will fall into normality — rich and poor‚ healthy and frail‚ up and down‚ tough and easy‚ unequal and brutal‚ war and maybe peace. At some point‚ as they grow up‚ every child in the city has to be shown this child and have the...
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