Nelson Mandela is not an ideal or hero of mine. In general, I don’t like the idea of having “heroes”. What does that mean, the concept of a “hero”; that I surrender my being to the admiration I feel for another person? I don’t have heroes. There are selective personality traits, accomplishments, or behaviour in specific contexts I appreciate from certain people. For instance, I appreciate Genghis Khan’s brilliance as a military leader, and Gandi’s ability to preach non-violen

Ouma het deur haar besluite en optrede in reaksie op die haat wat uit die Boereoorlog gespruit het, die toekoms van haar nasate (en die van haar geliefde Afrikanervolk) in haar geliefde Suid-Afrika beduiwel. ​Maar nou-ja, die werklikheid is wat dit is, en ek is steeds lief vir Ouma (of dan, in elk geval, vir haar nagedagtenis).

It is naïve to think that the entrenched cultural identity that has developed over thousands and millions of years could be wished away with the blink of an eye. The transition between cultural dominance always implies a shift of paradigmatic plates. For one thing: There is simple too much history built into the conflicting fault-lines of civilisations.

The world is on the precipice of a transition in dominance over global power from the Western civilisation to the Eastern one.