A better tomorrow

Surrounded on all sides by uncertainty as new strains of a novel virus wreaks havoc across the world, there needs to be voices that spread a message to the contrary; a message that spreads not fear but hope, a message that teaches of a better tomorrow after these bleak times and a note that reminds humanity that we have crossed a river like this river before, and therefore, we shall cross this one safely to the other side where happiness resides. It is up to the poets of the moment to remind the people that the pain we see shall come to pass. As poets over the years have done, that is, assuage the anguish of the pain and the suffering of the majority when the days are dark, there is need at this point in time to come with a message that runs parallel to the increasing levels of fear spread by the emerging realities of the pandemic. As Søren Kierkegaard states: “A poet is an unhappy being whose heart it torn by secret sufferings, but whose lips are so strangely formed that when the sighs and the cries escape them, they sound like beautiful music… and then people crowd about the poet and say to him: “Sing for us soon again;” that is as much as to say. “May new sufferings torment your soul.” The reality is that reality affects us all, and if it at the beginning seems to affect only one sector of society more than the other, the fact of the matter is that all will suffer under the weight of an emerging reality as soon as it has reached maturity. Like death, suffering comes to at the end of the day affect us all in a levelling stroke. A funeral oration (Epitaphios) by the politician and army general Pericles in 401 BC from Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War meant to honour those who had died in the first battles of the war sounds relevant at a time like this one. The first victims of the pandemic now number more than a million, but the war against the pandemic is still going on. Most of those who have spoken here before me have commended the lawgiver who added this oration to our other funeral customs. It seemed to them a worthy thing that such an honor should be given at their burial to the dead who have fallen on the field of battle. But I should have preferred that, when men’s deeds have been brave, they should be honored in deed only, and with such an honor as this public funeral, which you are now witnessing. Then the reputation of many would not have been imperiled on the eloquence or want of eloquence of one, and their virtues believed or not as he spoke well or ill. For it is difficult to say neither too little nor too much; and even moderation is apt not to give the impression of truthfulness. The friend of the dead who knows the facts is likely to think that the words of the speaker fall short of his knowledge and of his wishes; another who is not so well informed, when he hears of anything which surpasses his own powers, will be envious and will suspect exaggeration. It is said that Pericles’ manner of thought and rhetorical charisma may have possibly been in part products of his tutor Anaxagoras’ emphasis on emotional calm in the face of trouble, and scepticism about divine phenomena. His proverbial calmness and self-control are also often regarded as products of Anaxagoras’ influence, leading him to be the quintessential leader of his time (as the era came to be known as the Golden Age of Pericles). We need this type of poet leader in these times when mankind faces a foe of great danger. We need the type of leader whose magnanimity overrides the now usual tendency of political leadership to speak in superlatives, tending more towards exaggeration than the telling of fact. He or she that does not agree must just look across the border where political games are still going on as if the virus whose danger is preached about is not there. The campaigning in the name of giving out charity has become commonplace, the racism or class segregation when it comes to the dispensation of the vaccine has become so visible that the head of the WHO speaks of it as a ‘moral catastrophic failure’. The reality is that the virus is here, and there is need to treat it on an equal basis, not a status quo basis as seems to be the new habit where the poor are marginalised on the basis of their income. Pericles speaks of mankind as being individuals that are tolerant of the praises of others “so long as each hearer thinks that he can do as well or nearly as well himself, but, when the speaker rises above him, jealousy is aroused and he begins to be incredulous.” This is the reality that was not there in the time of our ancestors when every man was honoured no matter whether their success had the potential to surpass that of the next man. It is the rule the leadership of the world should have set upon the practice of governance, that is, they should be individuals that always strive to try to obey and to serve to the utmost of their power who endeavour to satisfy the wishes and beliefs of all those that they lead. The condescension with which the people (the majority) are told of ‘decisions’ by the leadership minority should be a practice that should be done away with because it engenders a spirit of rebellion instead of cooperation.   Those who are dead have become our ancestors, and it is right and seemly that now, when we are lamenting their deaths, a tribute should be paid to their memory. There was a time when they inhabited this land, and by their valorous deeds have handed it down from generation to generation, and we have received from them the reality we can use to save the state. They are worthy of praise, and after the struggle with the pandemic transmitted a message of its reality to us their sons, daughters, and kin. We stand assembled each day, arguing the veracity of the reality of the pandemic because we still have the vigour of life. There is however the need to carry the work of improvement further, so that we gain peace though we are still in the middle of a war with a pandemic. Pericles speaks of the need for a stable government, and though in a manner that is not exactly allusive to the failures of modern governments when it comes to dealing with pandemics, he however gives clear hints on what can be done to achieve success: Our form of government does not enter into rivalry with the institutions of others. Our government does not copy our neighbors’, but is an example to them. It is true that we are called a democracy, for the administration is in the hands of the many and not of the few. There was no sense of exclusiveness in our public life before the pandemic, and in our private business we were not suspicious of one another. One would not be angry with their neighbour if he or she did what they liked; there were no sour looks or the need to be unpleasant. Whiling away time making some kind of profit from our toil because we were unconstrained in our private business, there was a spirit of reverence that pervaded our acts in public. The sense of freedom prevented us from doing wrong in terms of the respect we had for the authorities and for the laws. Come the Covid-19, the particular regard to those that are ordained for the protection of the interests of public got injured as we lost the plot in the face of the poverty the lockdowns brought with them. Our deeds seemed guided by those unwritten laws which labelled the authorities that were meant to protect as the transgressors: it became the general sentiment that the police were merely there to mete punishment on whoever was against the hastily made lockdown laws. In the haste to counter the effects of the pandemic, it seems that governments have forgotten to provide room for the citizens’ spirits to get the relaxation needed after days of toil. The regular games and sacrifices that were common throughout the year disappeared as safety protocols were adhered to, and the elegant homes lost their beauty as they became prisons and places of exile. The delight which we used to feel daily was banished to a corner in the house of sorrow. The military training that we have in many respects seen as superior to that of our adversaries was put in question as batons and boots rained upon the ordinary citizens. Our cities, once open to the world had to expel all that was foreign to prevent the virus touching anything, the spread of the virus was an open secret: one had to shut out the neighbour if they were to survive the pandemic. We previously did not rely upon management to get the fruits of happiness but upon our own hearts and hands, now we have come to a point where food parcels are an urgent need. And in the matter of education the youth are facing perilous prospects as the realities of the lockdowns unfold. Such is the reality the living have to experience on a daily basis and the need or desire to have a more heroic spirit fades away because bravery in the face of a pandemic is a fatal issue. The value of engendering a spirit of conformity for the sake of the individual and public safety is not to be expressed in words but in adherence to the set rules. Anyone can give long discourse about the advantages of being brave in the face of a pandemic, but many know the reality already: death statistics are rising on a daily basis. Instead of listening to talks about conspiracies it would be wise for one to fix their eyes upon the day after the pandemic is gone. It is wise to reflect on the unfolding realities and to conform to avoid being one of the dead. Many of the dead were men and women who knew their duty and had the courage to perform their tasks regardless of the danger. These are individuals who did not flinch in the face of the pandemic, and though they had the natural fear always present they feared failure more and ended up dead trying to save others from the pandemic. These valiant souls would not allow their virtues to be lost to their country, but freely gave their lives as an offering which they could present as a gift to patriotism. The sacrifices which we have made collectively as a race cannot be repaid individually for they are a gift yet to be received by future generations of the human race. We should speak not of the fact that they are dead and gone, but we should speak of the glory they bask because they ensured that the human race survives. The name of a here is proclaimed always and on every fitting occasion both in word and deed, being more cautious in our daily lives to prevent the spread would be a fitting tribute to them. The reality is that whole earth shall become the tomb of the human race if we do not heed the words of the authorities tasked with preventing the spread of the virus. Being fascinated by one’s wisdom at a time like this is a dangerous route to take, because the reality is that one can only be commemorated by columns and inscriptions in their own country if their choices were right. The fact of the matter is that there is an unwritten memorial for all human beings that come to pass through this earth, and it is graven not on stone but in the hearts of men and women they came to know in the days of their stay on earth. Pericles makes this statement in his address: Make them your examples, and, esteeming courage to be freedom and freedom to be happiness, do not weigh too nicely the perils of war. The unfortunate who has no hope of a change for the better has less reason to throw away his life than the prosperous who, if he survives, is always liable to a change for the worse, and to whom any accidental fall makes the most serious difference. To a man of spirit, cowardice and disaster coming together are far more bitter than death striking him unperceived at a time when he is full of courage and animated by the general hope. Stay careful, be diligent in your watch, and wait for a better tomorrow after the pestilence is gone. Keep on hoping for a better tomorrow. Tšepiso S. Mothibi