As a general air of public gloom descends and surrounds us it is worth noting that at the end of the day what is more important is our health, family and friends. Money is important as a means to an end and yet is not, in itself, the root of all evil.
No the root of all evil is, they say, “the love of money†and with that I can whole heartedly concur. Yes we will feel the pain of less disposable income, higher fuel prices and more expensive shopping trips, but weighed against the massive benefits we have all enjoyed over the last five years they are but nothing!
There are 70% of South Africans living on R1,000 or less and to be honest I find that statistic an international embarrassment. Every time I think of uttering a moan I stop and think twice about those 7 in every ten people existing, because that is all it is, on R1,000!
When I see the pictures of little kids in what are still townships, forget the politically correct informal settlements, knee deep in filthy water inside their wooden or cheaply built starter homes I know that anything I and my family may have to weather daily is but a grain of sand compared to their plight.
I look back, as you often do during your birthday month and remember your childhood and how different that all was.
Our united goal has to be the production of an educated black middle class in South Africa. I have long believed that education and education alone can propel a country forward and that requires that we all do something to help educate the generations to come, however we can. Language, Mathematics, Sciences and Social Skills create a solid class of people who can then build an even stronger nation.
The last few months have shown how many things that people take for granted can change almost in the blink of an eye and I firmly believe that nearly all financial collapses are caused by human greed of one dimension or another.
Our latest woes can be directly traced to an unflinching pursuit of oil and a disregard of all alternatives, a pursuit personified by the American foreign policies under Bush. Oil companies are not our friends and no amount of Green propaganda should convince you otherwise. Our housing and financial issues are simply caused by an irresponsible degree of lending by the banks who ridiculously believed this could continue without its obvious and inevitable collapse. So let’s keep the long term goals close to our hearts, take and give solid and sensible medium term advice. Do your part to put back, remembering that long term education alone will place South Africa where it should be.
70% of our population living on R1,000 or less is simply not acceptable to any decent member of society and we need to do whatever we can to improve all our citizens position. Education stops poverty, it ends crime and it leads to a healthy and enlightened country with stronger family values.
On a lighter note, it is actually getting lighter! We are past the shortest day and heading towards summer although at times itâ’s hard to believe. Clients need us right now as it is a shocking period of uncertainty and doubt. So whatever your field let’s give advice that explains the long game and what they have enjoyed for at least the last five years. Rome was not built in a day and you know its still there today despite all that was done by different barbaric hordes to pull it down.
We may just survive the Bush’s and the Banks and find ourselves in a more sensible, sensitive and secure world!