“We live in fear of each other, of crime, of assault and all kinds of violence.”
This was part of a post by the Nelson Mandela Foundation on X last week; on 5 December, which marked a decade since Mandela’s passing.
The post stated that “Madiba’s vision was for a democratic and free South Africa where all live harmoniously and enjoy equal opportunities. Yet, over a third of our people are unemployed, we endure a debilitating energy crisis, a leadership crisis, and extreme poverty and inequality are rife.”
Nearly 30 years after the first democratic elections in South Africa, when Mandela became president, one does not need superhero powers to know that his vision is either going under in sewage, drying out due to a lack of water supply, or killed by the crime and unemployment rate.
These days, too many leaders and those in control – on many levels; from municipalities, departments, provinces, to those on national level and in political parties – are in the news for the wrong reasons.
People need heroes; they always have. They need rescuing from dire straits.
“Heroes help us survive and help us thrive. They help us through our worst times, and prepare us for our best times,” is stated on psychologytoday.com.
A hero is courageous, selfless, persistent and determined to create change for the better.
Unless a drastic change of ethos takes place in leadership, with much less engagement with self-enriching (in the monetary sense) and self-importance, chances are current leaders will be remembered for the wrong reasons. They will never leave a legacy or be fondly remembered like Mandela.
Unless proven wrong, chances are good that current leaders will not become heroes. The solution might be the old truth: Be your own hero; make a positive impact in your world.
As the foundation also stated, “May we all remember that the legacy lives through us.”
