Waiting on the world to change, by Edyth Parker

 

"Me and all my friends,

we're all misunderstood.

They say we stand for nothing,

and there's no way we ever could.

Now we see everything that's going wrong

With the world and those who lead it

We just feel like we don't have the means

To rise above and beat it

So we keep waiting

Waiting on the world to change

We keep on waiting

Waiting on the world to change.

It's hard to beat the system

When we're standing at a distance

So we keep waiting

Waiting on the world to change"

(abbreviated)

 

These simple truths are extracts from the John Mayer song aptly titled "Waiting on the world to change"; a song that has been bouncing of the walls of my head for the past two weeks, to my chronic annoyance, ever since I attended the SAWIP dialogue session on active citizenship. Mr. Mayer, not usually known for his political vision, has captured the voices (or lack thereof) of our generation perfectly. The song speaks of the despondency of the voiceless youth in the face of powerful opposition, be it government or something more abstract. It speaks of how impotence has bred passivity and passivity has progressed to apathy. And how the older generations now only see an indifferent generation who sit and wait on the world to change.

 

I realise it's not the jazzy-blues undertone that made this song my own personal theme music these two weeks. It was the raw truth that nagged at the back of my mind: our nation's youth was sitting around (listening to Mr. Mayer's other less visionary songs about illegal substances, perhaps) and waiting passively for the world to change.

 

During our dialogue session Mr. Vincent Williams revealed he recently spoke to a younger family member about youth involvement in civil society. The family member replied that the older generation had something to fight against; they fought for the liberation of South Africa from the Apartheid regime. The family member continued, questioning what the youth of today had to oppose. In his rationale, our generation was passive because we had no enemy to fight. And the older generation of struggle fighters consider us ineffective and purposeless.

 

I was shocked. How could an enlightened South African conclude there were no more battles left to fight? What of poverty? What of disunity? What of racism, sexism, classism and every other ism ism ism (as a British comedian once said)?

 

This statement sparked an interesting debate, about what drives a citizen to become active. A very wise member of the SAWIP 2012 team asked if a watershed moment was necessary. Did your life have to be directly affected for you to rise up and claim responsibility for your society's fate? Was a massacre needed to incite action, or could gradual awareness or an inherent sense of humanity dictate a person to take action? Does our generation need a tangible enemy to fight, as the older generations had in Apartheid? And if we do, how could we frame the face of the enemy to mobilise young people? How do you get a generation to fight an abstract enemy? Don't misunderstand me: there is nothing abstract about poverty or inequality. But there are no passes to burn.

 

I never had a personal watershed moment in my citizenship. I have not been greatly affected by crime, poverty, racism, sexism or classism. I have, however, become progressively aware of South Africa's modern "enemies" as I have grown older and attended University. A SAWIP team member shared that he had been raised as an active citizen in his culture, because to him active citizenship was merely a natural sense of caring for one's community. It was small acts like providing food to your lacking neighbours or tutoring a peer. It was Ubuntu.

 

This challenged a lot of views on active citizenship. I concurred: being an active citizen does not necessarily imply toi-toing infront of Parliament. It can merely be someone who creates opportunities to address the needs of her/his community, without depending on the state.

 

There is also a very negative side to active citizenship: the side that voices frustration by anarchy and destruction. By burning down schools and playing vigilante. The voice that has been sounding quite loudly in its discord of late, as our youth becomes all the more frustrated. John Mayer cannot tell me the youth of the Arab Spring was waiting on the world to change. They sought change, and fought. With youth unemployment at staggering heights, inflation on the rise and questionable service delivery by some branches of government, our youth is starting to become restless as well.

 

Will the South African youth wait for our watershed moment before we become active? Will this watershed moment come from economic frustration? Or disillusionment with the current government? Will it be as destructive as the previous generation's had to be to force action?

 

I hope not. South African youth, whether privileged or not, need to be made aware of the need in their community. If we are all raised as active citizens, with inherent selflessness, then we will never need to reach flashpoint to act. But that is in an ideal world. Till then, we can care for our communities. We can use innovation and personal agency to create programs that empower people to better themselves. We can volunteer at soup kitchens. We can start soup kitchens. If you have a skill set, engage in skills transfer and teach some one to metaphorically fish. Build a library for a town centre. Organise a community health class. Engage in dialogue. Be inquisitive to overcome ignorance. Integrate and orientate yourself in a South African reality.

 

All I know is (in the words of Mr. Mayer): "It's hard to beat the system, when we're standing at a distance" Let's minimise that distance. Holding our government accountable for our rights and their promises is one of the core principles of active citizenship.

 

I will end this brief encounter with an alternative ending to Mayer's song. He writes that "One day our generation is going to rule the population." I would like to add: "So no more waiting, we will make the world change".