Njongonkulu Ndungane: UBUNTU
When liberation came to South Africa in 1994, people rejoiced that at last there was freedom.
Indeed, in the years just prior to the 1994 elections, we saw a surfeit of freedoms of expression that we had previously only known to exist in democracies like the United States.
Not all these were necessarily healthy. The explosion of pornographic material, for example, is questioned by many.
But at least there was a right to express ourselves in ways hitherto unknown. It was like a breath of fresh air.
This was particularly the case when it came to socio-economic and political issues. New debates arose in society, and continue today, as we grapple with the ever-creative ideas with which humankind is endowed.
Freedom of speech is an essential element in society. Many of the institutions of our society have stood for freedom of expression in our recent history, including the church and the media. Their very nature suggests they will always be on the cutting edge of debate.
The media must speak for itself but, I trust, will continue to be an important watchdog in our new democracy.
As for the church, it has a God-given responsibility to speak with a prophetic voice and to seek justice in all situations in which it ministers.
It has a particular duty to speak for the poor and the marginalised. At all times the church has to put before the eyes of the people the vision of society as ordained by God.
American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us that humanity’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible. But he adds that it is humanity’s inclination to injustice that makes democracy necessary.
It is therefore encouraging that we have built into our society the instruments for a sustainable democracy, such as the Bill of Rights, the human rights commission, gender equality bodies, the Constitutional Court, the public protector and, of course, the Constitution itself. Implicit in this is the protection of the freedom of speech.
These instruments are there to provide protection for us in our weakest moments as a nation. Underlying them is a cardinal acceptance of a simple fact: we all have the freedom to make choices. God has endowed us with free will and he does not expect us to be his marionettes.
The challenge we face in the developing democratic order in South Africa is to build on the instruments of democracy that are now in place, and to strengthen them. This includes those freedoms that are enshrined in the Bill of Rights.
Consistent with the privilege of freedom, however, comes the need to act with responsibility. Such responsibility has been clear in those attempts by government and other institutions to root out corruption and vice.
Our new freedom also finds expression in the opportunity afforded the country’s citizens to participate in the legislative processes by appearing before parliamentary committees, responding to Green and White Papers, and so on.
The accessibility of the government is also an encouragement for people to express themselves openly, and this is an opportunity more people should use.
The church has used these opportunities to be involved, committed as it is to the growth, development and progress of South Africa.
It has done this by applying a policy of critical solidarity, which enables it to express support, but also to maintain an independence and objectivity.
It embraces a desire to act in concert with the government, and to encourage others to do so – such as in the Masakhane campaign – when it deems it right and proper to do so. But critical solidarity also includes criticism.
This involves speaking a prophetic word when we are called by God to do so. It includes reminding all our people of their moral and ethical responsibilities.
This criticism encompasses providing suggestions that will contribute to solving some of the problems we face as a society, as the church has consistently attempted to do in South Africa.
We stand at an important juncture in our development as a nation. Critical solidarity is an important element in the church’s witness to the world. Freedom of expression is an integral part of that policy.