I believe in a thing called Love

This is just my 2 cents worth on the terrible tragedy that occurred in Marikana last week.

Do I have an opinion on whose fault it was? Yes. Do I harbour feelings of anger and disgust? Yes. 

Will it make any difference whatsoever to the lives of those affected by the violence if I started pointing my finger and ranting at those that I think are responsible? I doubt it.

Instead I choose to turn to some simple, but eternal truths, like

"All you need is love." - The Beatles

"Love changes everything." - Andrew Lloyd Webber

And my personal favourite

"Love is a higher law." - U2

So what do love songs have to do with this awful, awful thing that happened last week? 

Well.

If love were involved, Lonmin would pay their employees fair wages. 

If love were involved, the protesters wouldn't have raised weapons against the terrified cops who were sent to keep the peace.

If love were involved, the cops wouldn't have needed to fire a single bullet.

It goes even further. If love were involved, people wouldn't condemn other people to hell for believing differently or for being homosexual. Politicians would actually care about the victims of South Africa's poor education system and stop squandering taxpayers' money on lavish parties and fancy cars. Men AND women would stop treating women as second class citizens. People would drive more responsibly, out of appreciation for the lives of others. Beggars wouldn't go hungry because the hundreds of people who pass by them every day would reach out to them. Despite being non-profit, charities would be coining it due to a never-ending stream of donations. Even the scathing remarks in online comment sections might stop. 

If we had more love, we would listen to each other more and there would be less ignorance, more understanding and more tolerance of the things we might not agree with.

If we had more love, we would stop squabbling about creation vs evolution, whether it's a sin to use contraception, and paintings of heads of state with their genitalia exposed. Instead, we would throw our weight behind the (peaceful) fight for justice and righteousness for ALL. Love would compel us to speak out against injustice - not to call people names or throw insults around, but to take a compassionate stand for the rights and dignity of all humankind.


As for love for our broken country, someone much wiser than me once said that true love endures all things.

I believe in love. I believe that it is the only thing that can truly change the world for the better. It might take decades, even centuries, but just like other activists believe against all odds that they can convert people to their cause, we must never stop trying to win people over for love.

If any good can come out of the Lonmin tragedy, let it be this: my (and maybe even your?) crusade for more love in our country starts today.

May the men who lost their lives in Marikana rest in peace. May their loved ones be comforted.