/ 6 August 1999

The subtle art of nation-building

Loose cannon Robert Kirby

The purpose of this column is to set in perspective certain outrageous libels about this newspaper; in particular the one which asserts the Mail & Guardian has failed and continues to fail miserably in its duties when it comes to something called nation- building.

Not that anyone quite knows what nation- building is. There are no formal rules, no guidelines or even hints to brief journalists how to assume this exhilarating patriotic burden. Rather it seems that nation-building is something which subsists, so far, only in the abstract. In this respect it’s a bit like the African renaissance. Everybody knows it’s out there somewhere, but nobody can find the map.

Let alone the instruction book. As is so often the case when they are trying to add substance to someone else’s dream-state, journalists are left with nothing to rely on but their instincts and a lot of guesswork. You must all try harder to nation-build, cry the politicians. But that’s as far as they will explain.

Going only by its name, nation- building (in the journalistic sense) would seem to be the gathering and publication of news which makes everyone feel better about themselves and, more importantly, about their fellows. This is also known, rather cynically, as “sunshine journalism”, and it’s not nearly as stupid as it looks.

Take rape for example. Some might argue that it is both positive and nation- building to publish figures stating that since Shades Tshwete took over the crime portfolio, rape in South Africa has decreased markedly. Three months ago a woman was being raped every 26 seconds, nowadays it’s down to 32 seconds.

>From which blinding ray of sunshine other journalists would be inspired to extrapolate. They might announce ebulliently that while less females are being raped, more males are. The rape-rate of males has, over a similar period, soared from 1 every 17 hours 20 minutes to a shocking 1 every 14 hours and fifty minutes.

The trouble is that in retailing such statistics, a newspaper runs the risk of being accused of nation-destroying. The statistics set the balance straight, put things in perspective and should therefore not be published at any cost. There’s a secondary risk in that the very moment such statistics are printed, the newspaper and its reporter will be accused of reverse sexism. In contemporary democratic societies men are not allowed to suffer more than women. Not until they’ve caught up.

Thereby the pitiless quandary is revealed and which daily confronts every intrepid editor. Should the newspaper tell the whole truth or just that part of the whole truth which will make the newspaper’s readers feel happier?

There is peril in both decisions because exactly the same assessments have to be made when it comes to, say, the nation- destroying exposure of government corruption. Here the challenge, while as apparently straightforward, again betrays other forces at play. If a newspaper exposes yet another titanic embezzlement in Mpumalanga, that newspaper simultaneously exposes itself to what has become the last resort of any cornered premier: molten allegations of racism. As any cornered premier will tell you, racism is akin to an unwillingness to nation-build.

So the circle closes, a loop-paradox is established which would have satisfied the Cretans. The following statement is true. The previous statement is false. Or, I am a self-fascinated swindling politician. You are not a leftover apartheid racist only if you don’t say so.

Some proponents of nation-building argue that it is better to ignore totally the blatant looting of millions of the public’s rands, in the sanguine belief that by not humiliating guilty bureaucrats, they are given space to come to their moral senses all on their own (as Allan Boesak would doubtless have done if the newspapers had only given him a minute or two). They say how much more upbeat it would be if the thieves weren’t persistently nailed to the city walls for all to see and chasten.

Perhaps we should all seek solace and spiritual escort from the words of President Thabo Mbeki, from his provocative Speech of Revelations – Chapter 2, Verse VII: “Verily I say unto you, neither can peace attend our souls as long as corruption continues to rob the poor of what is theirs and to corrode the value system which sets human beings apart from the rest of the animal world.” (Pause for Boeings to pass over.)

Although Mr Mbeki seems to be doing most of his nation-building in the Congo these days, his words tend to remain indelibly written into our memories.