"Then time will tell just who fell..."
There's a lone soldier on the cross, smoke pourin' out of a boxcar door, | You didn't know it, you didn't think it could be done, in the final end he won the wars | After losin' every battle.
"We the youth of South Africa, recognising the injustices of our past, honour those who suffered and sacrificed for justice and freedom.
"We will respect and protect the dignity of each person, and stand up for justice.
"We sincerely declare that we shall uphold the rights and values of our Constitution and promise to act in accordance with the duties and responsibilities that flow from these rights."
Proposed pledge for recital in schools
CapeTalk gave a couple of hours to the pledge to be recited by kids at school. It might be amended slightly, but its sentiments are nicely balanced.
Our schools, where corporal punishment is banned, are the most dangerous in the world. At least we can give our kids this, drawn from the Preamble to the Constitution, which details their rights and responsibilities as citizens.
Let them put it to good use. It's better than most of the crap they get shoved down their throats and they're likely to do a far better job with it than we.
"...And who's been left behind."
You hurt the ones that I love best and cover up the truth with lies. | One day you'll be in the ditch, flies buzzin' around your eyes, | Blood on your saddle.
CapeTalk callers were virulently opposed to the pledge. All were adult. Most were white. Six words got to them, i.e. "...recognising the injustices of our past".
• These are the people who, having learned to sing "Die Stem" at school, find it so difficult to "memorise" Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika.
• These are the people who advise youngsters different to them: "What you need is a couple of years in the army, young man."
• These are the people who, in South Africa, will call on you to let go of the past while reminding you that "blacks have no experience of government".
• These are the people who so gleefully adopted, without question — and, it seems, without reading — the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa way back in 1996.
• These are the people who are so into forgetting, I frequently think they have.
I'm all for this pledge. It might prevent our kids becoming the adults we were, are, and will fight to remain.
Bittereinders.
Idiot wind, blowing through the dust upon our shelves, | We're idiots, babe. | It's a wonder we can even feed ourselves.
Bob Dylan | Idiot Wind
