he state of Israel, which portrays itself as the only true democracy in its region, has recently been experiencing ongoing, divisive, mass public protests. Then, Al Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem was attacked. Much violence followed. Israelis were killed. Israel bombed Lebanon and Gaza.
Mandated by the Constitution, our constitutional court has on numerous occasions set aside legislation and conduct of the executive, including the president, as constitutionally invalid. President Nelson Mandela’s early acceptance of a judgment against him helped. Many of our problems are related to the enduring, disabling, tragic poverty which stays with us — a state of disaster. Our Constitution caught the attention of the world, especially by the inclusion — alongside the civil and political rights — of socio-economic rights such as access to housing, water, medical care, education, social security and education. The motivation was that many civil and political rights mean little to the poorest of the poor.
Nine-year old children are slaughtered on the schoolground with freely available assault rifles. Republicans refuse to understand that all constitutional rights, including to bear arms, can be legally limited. Not all of them are stupid; the lucrative gun industry is powerful. Talk show hosts use freedom of expression to broadcast that the murder of children is a hoax, a left-wing plot to disarm upright Christian patriots.
Chinese streets are reportedly safe. Is this the result of the eradication of poverty, or of the death penalty and scant regard for fair trial rights? In Xinjiang they tortured and sent many Muslim Uyghurs to “re-education camps”, before developing the region.White right-wingers blame the Constitution for the load-shedding, potholes and crime, unknown in white areas before 1994. This opportunistic, dishonest, racist or dumb attitude is perhaps negligible.
Academics involved in the useful study of critical race theory and decolonisation point out that the Constitution is the result of violent colonial conquest. Historically true, as a matter of physical causation. But, so is the existence of this author and millions of other South Africans. What now?
'far from perfect'? Are you lot on hallucinogens? Finland is far from perfect. Norway. Sweden. The US. Britain. They have functioning public services and a govt. SA is a failed state where there are no functioning public services outside of the WC! There is no national govt here!