February 6th, 2010
I am not sure how this happened, but I had never read the preamble to South Africa’s Constitution. Until my friend Annie posted it on her blog earlier this week. I felt even more ashamed after reading it there because she is not even South African – she is an American who emigrated to South Africa! So, yeah, she wins.
But I finally read it, and it gave me goosebumps. So for anyone out there who have also not read it, here it is…
We, the people of South Africa,
Recognise the injustices of our past;
Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land;
Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and
Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.
We therefore, through our freely elected representatives, adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic so as to:
- Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights;
- Lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law;
- Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and
- Build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.
May God protect our people.
Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika. Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso.
God seën Suid-Afrika. God bless South Africa.
Mudzimu fhatutshedza Afurika. Hosi katekisa Afrika.
I’m proud to be from a country where we can openly and honestly acknowledge the mistakes of our past, so that we don’t repeat them in the future.
Posted in South Africa | Posted by Rian
February 3rd, 2010
I just read a blog post about South Africa that I don’t think had quite the effect on me that the author intended. It’s a post written by a South African who returned home after 9 years in the UK, had a horrible experience, lost all hope, and 9 months later decided to go back to the UK and never return.
Since our family is moving back to Cape Town in March after 6 years in America, I read the article with great interest. And as far as rants go, this is a pretty good one. This guy isn’t holding anything back. You can read the post here if you’re so inclined.
Now, towards the end of the post, he wrote this piece of advice to people like us who are planning to come back:
If you are overseas, and Africa is in your bones, and you’re feeling duped by SA’s advertising that it’s all getting better (yes, Homecoming Revolution, I am talking about YOU) then don’t believe the hype. If you are white, you are unemployable, no matter how many skills or how much experience you have. Unless you are coming to participate in greed culture, and are willing to risk everything you have saved overseas (yes, overseas we have disposable income – we CAN save), then don’t be tempted by summers and blue skies. Get a UV light to combat the winter depression, but think very carefully before putting South Africa back on your radar.
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Posted in South Africa | Posted by Rian
January 22nd, 2010
The 9th season of American Idol just started. Before each season I vow to boycott it, and I go on a snobbish tirade about how I don’t understand why people watch that show. And then the first episode rolls around, and I know why people watch that show. This week, after an episode that may or may not, but definitely did have me in tears, I started thinking about this. And sitting on the floor, listening to Coldplay and thinking about the world and everyone in it, I started to develop a theory.
I think we love American Idol because it is such a complete window into the full spectrum of human nature. In the confines of an hour on TV we see an exaggerated version of every type of person we might ever encounter in our daily lives. We see the ones we hate, the ones we love, the ones we feel sorry for, and the ones we want to be. In essence, we see people in various combinations of different levels of ability and arrogance. And that’s why I think there are four types of people in this world.
Let me first say that I am just as appalled as you are that I fell for the old “there are X types of people…” trick. I’m reminded of the old joke: There are two types of people in this world – those who believe there are two types of people in this world, and those who don’t. I’m squarely in the don’t column on that one. But hang with me for a bit please – I’m reasonably certain that this will make sense to you in the end.
So here we go. 4 types of people, based on their ability level (low or high) and their level of arrogance about their abilities (low or high):
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Posted in Anything goes, Featured | Posted by Rian
January 14th, 2010
I don’t need to write anything about the nature of the devastation and loss of human life in Haiti after the earthquake. We’ve all seen the images. There are so many ways to help there right now, you just need to pick one that works for you and do something.
Here are a few options to help with the Haiti relief efforts:
- If you’re in the US, one of the easiest ways to donate is through text messaging. Just text “HAITI” to “90999″ to donate $10 to the Red Cross. The amount will be added to your cell phone bill, and it goes straight to the Red Cross — your cell phone company doesn’t get any of that. You can also donate on their website.
- Donate to Doctors Without Borders to provide much needed medical supplies and relief.
- Donate to Partners in Health – another option to provide medical supplies and relief.
- Another good option is Global Giving – they have tons of ways to donate on their Haiti Relief page.
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Posted in Social Justice | Posted by Rian
January 8th, 2010
Earlier this week I started the bed-time routine of reading to our 3-month old daughter. It is an important occasion for a father, so I wanted to select a book that reflected that gravitas of the moment. After proper research, I decided to go with a book hailed as “one of the best children’s books ever written.” And having sold 30 million copies worldwide since its release in 1969, I figured that The Very Hungry Caterpillar was a worthy place to start my daughter’s reading journey.
Now, I had never read this book, so I was as enthralled as she was right from the start. I mean, this is solid story-telling. Clocking in at only 225 words, the book manages to introduce its main character, help you identify with him, take him through an enormous crisis, and resolve it beautifully into a happy ending. I don’t want to spoil the ending, but let’s just say our hero has quite the journey in the space of one week.
I think my daughter liked the pictures and forget about it as soon as we were done, but the story stuck with me for a long time. As I was lying awake thinking about it, several questions started to materialize in my mind, and I might go crazy unless I get them out. So here goes — Part 1 of what will hopefully be an ongoing series about children’s books. First, let’s look at the storyline.
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Posted in Family | Posted by Rian
December 31st, 2009
This is the time of year when the Internet goes crazy with “Best of 2009″ lists. And I have to admit, I love it. From the most-watched YouTube videos of 2009, to Mashable’s insightful “What Twitter and Facebook’s 2009 Trends Tell Us About Ourselves,” to the Wall Street Journal’s best photos of 2009, we just love reflection and fresh starts at the end of each year. Today is also the day when, every year, I find it completely impossible to get the Counting Crows song A Long December out of my head:
It’s been a long December / And there’s reason to believe / That maybe this year will be better than the last
What is it about the turn of the year that fills us with so much hope, and drives us to make all sorts of resolutions about how much better we’ll be in the coming year? The history of New Year’s Resolutions is quite interesting and goes all the way back to 153 B.C. when Janus, a mythical roman god, was placed at the head of the calendar:
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Posted in Anything goes | Posted by Rian
December 26th, 2009
Of all the moments that make up the journey of parenthood, watching our 3-month old daughter become a person is by far the most fascinating. It often looks like it is an exciting but traumatic experience for her, and watching it unfold has begun what I am sure will be a life-long struggle to find that elusive parenting balance between trying to make life easier for her vs. allowing her to experience and learn things for herself.
I remember the first time I left South Africa. I was in my early twenties, and I got on a plane to Australia to study there for two years. I had no idea what I was doing or how it would feel to be in another country. I also had no idea what jet lag was all about. The first night I went to bed at 4pm. Big mistake. I woke up at 2am, wide awake and hungrier than I’ve ever been in my entire life. I got up to go hunting for food, and the KFC burger I found most likely saved my life that night.
I think of that experience often when I see Aralyn experiencing new things, because the look in her eyes reminds me of how I felt that night. The realization that the world is so much bigger than you ever imagined can be as frightening as it is exhilarating. And for Aralyn, every day is like a flight to a new country. From the smallest discovery that she is able to move her toes, to the overwhelming experience of being in an airport with all its noises and people, “overstimulation” in babies is no made-up thing you say when the crying doesn’t stop. It is very, very real.
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Posted in Family, Featured | Posted by Rian
December 22nd, 2009
When I was growing up, I was in the South African version of the Boy Scouts, called the Voortrekkers. A loose translation of that particular Afrikaans word is “Forward-pullers,” or “Those who pull things forward.” Yes, it’s a silly name. I also got out of it as soon as I was old enough to think for myself, but that’s a story for a different blog post.
I loved Voortrekkers, because it was all about being in the outdoors, learning how to tie knots, how to build a fire and pitch tents, survival skills, that kind of stuff. Also, there were girls. But there was one thing that made Voortrekkers very difficult. Our weekly group meeting was on Fridays from 5:30-7pm. And 7pm was MacGyver time.
Let met step back a second and tell you about TV in South Africa in the 1980s. We didn’t get a lot of quality shows from America, or from anywhere for that matter, so we made do with reruns of The Jerry Springer Show, and old seasons of Perfect Strangers and Full House. But Friday nights at 7pm was something completely different. Friday night was TV gold in South Africa. The night where the best action shows out of America were on: Airwolf, The A-Team, Riptide and yes, MacGyver. MacGyver was a family institution at our house. So every Friday evening at 7pm I would jump on my bike and ride the 6 and a half minutes home as fast as I possibly could so that I wouldn’t miss too much of an episode.
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Posted in Family | Posted by Rian
December 16th, 2009
There’s a famous quote by Guy Almes that I’m reminded of almost daily, because it describes me way too perfectly:
There are three kinds of death in this world. There’s heart death, there’s brain death, and there’s being off the network.
I read two articles yesterday that really brought the perils of this kind of information and network addiction home for me. The first is an article entitled iPhone users are delusional, consultants say. I didn’t even need to read the article to know that this describes me, but I went for it anyway. Here are some excerpts:
Many people I know are frightfully attached to their iPhones. They treat them as if they were a peculiar and exotic lover, one they can hardly believe they have managed to seduce. Apple has mugged millions of people with its beauty, dragged them off to a very dark cellar in some barren land, turned them into slightly bonkers Barbarellas, and then recruited them as soldiers for the cause. In reality, the iPhone is surrounded by a multitude of people, media, and companies that are happy to bend the truth to defend the product they have purchased from Apple.
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Posted in Social Media | Posted by Rian
November 28th, 2009
Becoming a parent is, in many ways, similar to the character Neo’s experience when he stepped out of The Matrix. You become aware of topics and arguments that have been going on for generations, but you just never noticed it before. Epidural or not? C-section, natural birth, or water birth? Cry it out, or console? And the list goes on and on. Our latest fork in the road was the all-important do we get our daughter vaccinated, or not?
The first book we read on the topic was Vaccine Safety Manual for Concerned Families and Health Practitioners: Guide to Immunization Risks and Protection. A better title might have been “Vaccinate your kids and they will die a horrible death, immediately.” It really is a frightening read in every sense of the word. We started reading the book a day before our daughter was scheduled for her first vaccination appointment, and it freaked us out so much that we immediately pushed out the appointment by 2 weeks, and wondered how we would ever be able to sleep without nightmares.
The next morning we took a deep breath, and started reading the other side of the story. We went through a bunch of sources, but the most balanced book we found on the topic, and the one we ended up using in our decision, is Dr. Sears’ The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child. The book provides a balanced view of the pros and cons of each vaccination, and instead of prescribing what to do, it gives reasons for why you might want to give, or not give, each vaccination.
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Posted in Family | Posted by Rian
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