TRAVEL, it is said, broadens the mind – which, of course, is at least some consolation given the terrible destruction it unleashes on the bank balance.
Even so, here at the Mahogany Ridge, we were greatly surprised that Julius Malema had returned from Perfidious Albion filled with enormous enthusiasms for its apparently civilised customs and mores.
It was as if someone had drawn aside the curtain to show the Economic Freedom Fighters’ commander-in-chief the bigger picture: Lo, stuff works! And then some!
“[The British] are a highly civilised society,” he told the Mail & Guardian. “We said: ‘We want to be like you; we want to have a situation where there is reliable public transport and roads.’”
And this was indeed an interesting situation to have, considering Malema’s own involvement, through his Ratanang Family Trust, in the R4.6-billion Limpopo roads and transport tenders for pals shenanigans. You can bet that part of his past wasn’t mentioned when he was introduced to the toffs at the Oxford Union and Chatham House.
But it wasn’t just the roads, it was what they did on them that was just as impressive.
“And then there was the civilised conduct of the people,” Malema continued. “The way they treat each other, with respect. Even with people who drive cars, they give each other time and space, I don’t think I heard people hooting there. And the levels of punctuality and the respect for meetings and professionalism gives you an inspiration that one day our country will be like this.”
Yes, a time will come when the commander embraces the concept of being on time and the days of his being several hours late for public engagements like fund-raising dinners and rallies will be a thing of the past.
Worryingly, this fulsome praise of so-called British civilisation did however suggest a failure to understand the innate nature of same; that behind that veneer of sophistication was a rigid class structure that underpinned an unhealthy longing. Much like the Americans want to be loved, the UK’s ruling elite want to be obeyed, feared even. But in a proper, civilised manner.
There has been much praise for the speech made by British shadow foreign secretary Hillary Benn in the House of Commons on Wednesday when lawmakers voted in support of UN Security Council Resolution 2249, which calls on member states to do anything necessary to prevent and suppress terrorist acts committed by Islamist State or, as they wish to be known, the caliphate.
“And we are here faced by fascists,” Benn had charged. “Not just their calculated brutality, but their belief that they are superior to every single one of us in this chamber tonight, and all of the people that we represent. They hold us in contempt. They hold our values in contempt. They hold our belief in tolerance and decency in contempt. They hold our democracy, the means by which we will make our decision tonight, in contempt.
“And what we know about fascists is that they need to be defeated. And it is why, as we have heard tonight, socialists and trade unionists and others joined the International Brigade in the 1930s to fight against Franco. It’s why this entire House stood up against Hitler and Mussolini. It is why our party has always stood up against the denial of human rights and for justice. And my view, Mr Speaker, is that we must now confront this evil. It is now time for us to do our bit in Syria. And that is why I ask my colleagues to vote for the motion tonight.”
So, yes, a brilliant speech, an oratory of the sort that was all too rare in the Babel that is our own parliament. It was so impassioned some MPs reportedly wept. But we forget that great speeches – like the great speech former prime minister Tony Blair made when he led Britain into the Iraq war in 2003 – can often lead to great mistakes.
In that regard, Benn’s speech was in fact much like Blair’s. It was a speech, after all, supporting prime minister David Cameron’s plan to extend the bombing of the caliphate from Iraq into Syria. And, God knows, but these jihadists need to be stopped. But will more bombing do it?
Think about it. These ragged, bearded weirdies are now probably the most bombed people on earth. Everyone’s bombing them. The Russians. The Americans. The French. The Turks. The Syrians. The Saudis. The Iraqis. The Iranians. Maybe other people that we don’t even want to mention.
You think more bombs will help? That’s the plan? It’s not very clever, is it? In fact, it’s a bit like Libya all over again.
This article first appeared in the Weekend Argus.
