We have a chance to rewrite script

As you know, I am somewhat of a sucker for good war movies.

Come to think of it, is there such a thing as a bad war movie?

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War is such a repetitive scenario that every generation has its own to romanticise, relive and perhaps even get a shot at winning on the silver screen or on television. In the past 120 odd years, the
world has lived through the Anglo Boer War, two world wars, a war in Korea, the never-ending war in Vietnam thanks to Hollywood, the Cold War, the bush war, the Gulf Wars, the war on drugs… just to mention a few.

And every one of those wars make for great movies. Hell, some of them, like the Gulf Wars, even made for brilliant live television!

Today, we are all foot soldiers in the war against Covid-19. In decades to come, the rest of the world will probably be fighting and winning this war with ever increasing success on their screens.

Here in South Africa, however, there’s another war brewing: perhaps far more sinister and dangerous to ordinary South Africans than all the wars mentioned above.

It seems that the various factions in the ANC have, in the past, couple of weeks upped the ante.

They are no longer prepared to play out their war of words with rhetoric and deception. They are escalating their conflict and taking bold action, because the coffers being looted are running dry.

And the first casualties are starting to make headline news.

Citizens, who are under the illusion that the ANC has seen the light and has decided to purge the party of the corrupt, haven’t watched enough war movies.

What we are witnessing live on our news channels daily and reading about in our newspapers, is a war between the gangsters in the ruling party. And when this movie is eventually made, it will be for adults only, because the victor will be the biggest gangster.

As citizens, we can, however, rewrite the script. We can do it with an X on the next ballot paper.

It’s the only way we can ensure a happy ending.

Danie Toerien.

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