The hard truth about our divided nation

2026-03-05 - 06:13

South Africans must confront an uncomfortable truth: we remain a deeply polarised society, shaped by divergent world views that stem from history, identity, and political socialisation. Apartheid’s institutionalised separation, deliberately excluding the black majority from political power and economic control and while black South Africans secured political power, they remain largely excluded from the economic levers, even today. Its legacy continues to inform how different communities interpret present realities. For victims of apartheid, forgetting the pain of dispossession and exclusion is neither simple nor fair. Many still attribute their lack of progress to structural inequalities rooted in that system. By contrast, younger generations – and some older individuals who choose denial – may reject or downplay apartheid’s existence. ALSO READ: Would South Africa really be safe if World War 3 broke out? This generational defiance often manifests in children resisting parental attempts to transmit outdated political socialisation, a phenomenon evident across racial divides. While such rejection signals change, it also underscores how abnormal our social fabric remains. Parents on both sides are wrong to transmit divisive attitudes to their children, instead of allowing them to build an integrated future on their own terms. It’s too late for us, as parents, to change, but we mustn’t spoil their future with our past baggage. Forgiveness may be possible, but forgetting is not. As the Soul Brothers once sang, Umenziwa akakhohlwa kodwa umenzi uyakhohlwa (the victim never forgets, while the perpetrator does). ALSO READ: WATCH: Business leaders rally behind Ronald McDonald House Charities at CEO sleep-in This truth applies universally, reminding us why debates about apartheid’s effect will always produce divergent perspectives. The example of Nelson Mandela illustrates how world views shift over time. Once vilified as a terrorist by the apartheid regime, he later emerged as a reconciler and statesman- and those who once vilified him now lead in claiming him as their own. His transformation in public perception highlights how political grooming and lived experience shape interpretation. Global debates reveal similar polarisation. The West was swift to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, mobilising sanctions and international legal action accompanied by quick action from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to charge its leader with war crimes. Russia removed children from the war zone. And there was a UN resolution demanding their return, with South Africa as the only Brics members to vote in favour. ALSO READ: More than half of South Africans experience water outages The children remain alive and were saved from imminent death, and indications suggest they may eventually return home after the war. To the contrary, when Israeli and US forces killed more than 160 children in Iran this week, international institutions remained largely silent; no call for an emergency UN sitting to pass a resolution on the deaths, nor any ICC action against Donald Trump or Benjamin Netanyahu. Those school kids won’t be coming back to life after the Iran war is over. Such selective outrage reflects entrenched geopolitical biases and becomes a challenge to embedded journalism. Independent perspectives on China, Russia, or Iran are often dismissed as sympathies for “rogue states”, illustrating how dominant world views suppress dissenting voices. Ultimately, political socialisation, apartheid’s legacy and the human impulse to tell uncomfortable truths all shape how individuals interpret both domestic and international events – whether in the media or by political discourse. NOW READ: 11 South Africans recruited to fight for Russia head home