“What other leader would get tributes on such a global scale upon their death, with the Eiffel Tower, Washington Monument and even the Vegas strip paying homage?”
A question posed by actress Joan Collins, writing in a UK magazine, referring to Queen Elizabeth.
Another quote in an opinion piece in a leading journal is noteworthy: “In death, as in life, Elizabeth II has been a unifying force for her country. For all the political rancour of recent years, this week has revealed a country at ease with itself”.
And how about this one: “It has been a reminder of what a force for good a monarch can be when he or she devotes their life to service”.
These utterances have left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, excited at the prospect of having a person of that calibre around in our country burdened with political rancour (a polite word for malevolence) and on the other, depressed, knowing full well that we haven’t managed to spawn such a rescuer.
To exacerbate the despondency and misery experienced by good South Africans for such a long and agonizing time, even in the unlikelihood of annihilating the ruling party at the 2024 election, the nation at large will remain (true) leaderless. We’ll have to put up with the same pathetic, incompetent, selfish and corrupt brigade that we were saddled with during the Zuma/Gupta era. Who knows, it might be far worse, if the likes of Ms Dlamini-Zuma or Zwelini Mkhize get the nod for the presidency.
The same applies when considering the state of the opposition. Nobody stands out and goodness knows, it’ll take a special person to cope with a coalition setup.
There is a long-term solution. Cloning. Scientists have been successful with animals – remember Dolly, the first candidate. Farmers were trying to develop a better method for producing genetically modified livestock. It worked.
Imagine if they’re able to cultivate better brains with high IQs in humans. Queen Elizabeth clearly possessed the intelligence for not only seeing the utter folly of the Irish fighting over religious dogma, but to put this across to the warlords. Now peace reigns in Northern Island.
Oh my, imagine a president with those qualities. She’d make mincemeat of the so-called “honorary members” in our parliament.
Mind you, even Dolly would’ve had one over them.
Photo: BBC.com
