Our national dialogue is loud, impassioned, and relentless, on the streets, on the benches, on the TV screens, in the newspapers, on the social networks. We are, to use a phrase coined during the Football World Cup, a Vuvuzela Democracy, and we’re still getting used to the novelty of blowing our own trumpet, 21 years after democracy kicked off.
Everyone knows what the flag looks like by now, and all of us – all right, most of us – can sing the National Anthem without stumbling or mumbling. But how many of us can remember, let alone pronounce, the slogan that defines us on the National Coat of Arms? “ǃke e: ǀxarra ǁke”. Diverse people unite, it means, or unity in diversity.
Our differences, whether of opinion or of origin, are what make us South African, and that’s the polyglot, the potjiekos of identities, cultures, and traditions, that we celebrate and reflect upon this Heritage Month.
In that spirit, we scoured our growing archive of “Ruda Talks Change” interviews with fascinating and influential South Africans, to bring you this short mix of soundbites on what it means to be us. Enjoy, and here’s wishing you a happy Heritage Day, whoever you are.
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