“What’s
in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet...”
Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet
Act 2; Scene 2
After months of squabbling a section of
road finally got itself a name, or renamed I guess. What was wrong with the old
one, who knows, I suppose mankind’s inability to stop claiming things as theirs
will be to blame one day, but for now let’s just call it ‘acknowledging’ those
better than us.
Now while I can’t say whether or not FW De
Klerk is a better man than most, having never met the man myself, I say he is a
man of history and men like that are quick becoming hard to find as we turn
into a society too lazy to create their own way as they live off the legacy of
others. But I digress; I remain a human peanut waiting to be disproved by my
species.
The recent news of the renaming of Table
Bay Boulevard has caused quite the stir and not just because it was in the
honor of the last president of our country’s toughest era, but because it
showcased quite a bit of power play between the DA and ANC as the latter was
locked out on the streets and left to hear about these things like the rest of
us while the big people made the decisions. But I suppose that’s what you get
for throwing a tantrum and banging your heads on tables like a six year old in
a bid to get what you want.
Of course the ANC, along with their
supporters were quick to voice their disapproval and while I find myself being
able to understand a tiny bit of why they would, due to all those pent up
feelings from the dark days suffered under the reign of men who looked like FW De Klerk. I
can’t help thinking that maybe it has more to do with the fact that the DA and
other involved parties disregarded the whining ANC and pulled their power card,
kicking them out and there was nothing the ANC could do about it.
That kind of power play would probably
scare me too, especially with a certain campaign being slowly prepared in the
background. Ah~ But who am I but a humble human making my observations.
Still, all this fight and spittle over a
stretch of road while talks could be conducted on how better to fix our growing
power struggle or maybe even address the housing issue or service delivery
troubles that never seem to matter enough to take up their time?
It seems to me, our government’s priorities
become a teeny tiny bit more twisted as the days go on and all we do is watch
and wait for the house of cards to come tumbling down. Honestly, if it were up
to me it wouldn't matter how many roads were named after whom or why, be it in
honor of or as a cultural reminder. Because at the end of the day the roads
would still be roads and they wouldn't matter half as much as the people who
traveled on them.
Source:
http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2015/01/29/anc-locked-out-as-da-renames-highway-after-fw
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