by Zapiro - The Times, 01 March 2009
Brilliant isn’t it. Jonathan Shapiro, better known as Zapiro is a true artist and is famous for his incisive critique on politics and religion. The cartoon refers to the advent of television adverts in South Africa for the promotion of political parties campaigning for the upcoming elections. Thankfully, I have been spared this visual assault, because for some reason they aren’t aired on sports and documentary channels which I spend most of my time watching. If they are actually aired on these channels, it seems I’ve been most fortunate in missing them altogether.
However, I cannot escape the auditory assault; every morning on my way to work, there are adverts on the radio, from all of the major political parties being broadcast in between Britney Spears and your favourite hair shampoo. Then there are the unsightly poles of all shapes and sizes lining the streets I drive through, plastered from top to bottom with unsightly election posters of more or less the same size. This I’ve become used to, and can ignore quite easily, but not so the tiresome voices on the radio, promising the earth to the electorate.
The political parties who sponsor these radio adverts make no attempt to sugar coat their blatant lies which masquerade as promises, to fix damn near everything. I can feel the bile rising even now, as I contemplate the utter contempt these lying bastards have for the electorate, by spewing out such empty rhetoric; laced with bragging over expected accomplishments, which they now paint as major achievements. The need to fill a few minutes of air-time to catch your attention, triumphed over the need to make sense, and being at least a little honest at the same time. It truly sickens me, but it is obvious that a large majority of the electorate in South Africa think that these scumbags deserve another five years to fix all the things they have probably screwed up in the first place; otherwise the adverts would have had a completely different approach altogether. And apologising, pleading, begging and groveling comes readily to mind.
Now, there are probably some of you who, will righfully reprimand me for just complaining, and will want to know what alternative I have to offer. Honestly, I don’t have an alternative right now. However, I am proud to be part of an iniative by relatively young South Africans, who recognize that we need to re-introduce true democracy and its associated ideals, to this country. Right now, I’m merely placing all politicians on notice; we are onto you, your time is ending. South Africa deserves a new breed of politician who understands what honesty and accountability really means; what being a servant of the public is all about.
Lenny Says 