This was a quick but disturbing read, diagnosing much of what ails our nation here in SA (as much as a secular observer can do, without seeing the spiritual roots of human depravity beneath it all, and the gospel hope we have in Christ alone and the culture-shaping power of a biblical worldview). Some key insights:
Zille shows how the ANC have rejected Mandela’s own famous creed: “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for, and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
“Both the ANC and the NP have in common their sense of a historic mission to redeem their people (racially defined) from oppression and subjugation. They are, in truth, two sides of the same historical coin. And both will leave equally dark stains on SA’s history.”
“Wokeness perpetuates and exacerbates poverty.”
“The two biggest deterrents to investment in SA (BBBEE and Eskom) are rooted in the government’s policies of racial engineering.”
“Scapegoating minorities has never empowered a majority…it always ends in disaster.”
“In SA, nascent institutions are crumbling because we have subordinated all else to the imperative of racial transformation, which has become a fig leaf to hide political patronage, looting, and the capture of independent state institutions….”
“Wokeness fails to recognise the importance of a sense of nationhood, as it pushes the country back into racial enclaves. With devastating centrifugal force, it is driving people apart on the basis of their biology and shattering social cohesion in a manner increasingly reminiscent of apartheid.”
“In USA, Wokeness claims to promote the rights of minorities. In South Africa, Wokeness openly targets minorities, especially if they are white. .
“For as long as high-achieving minorities are type-cast as permanent villains on the basis of race, for so long will South Africa’s major export be its capital and skills, which no emerging country can afford to lose.”
The ANC is led by “a voracious political elite who see their chances of self-enrichment slipping away if race is removed as a proxy for disadvantage.”
“South Africa matters. Its success is not only important to its people, but to the African continent. And the world. …Our success matters. It requires facing facts, having the difficult conversations, understanding what freedom means, why it is important, and how to nurture and defend it. …Wokeness is making it increasingly difficult to do these basic, essential things.