Sad goodbye, goodbyes not farewell: Reflecting on a decade of dialogue and discovery

Goodbyes are always hard.

They are especially hard when the relationship has been lengthy and survived many ups and downs.

After nearly a decade, sadly, but to the delight of some I’m sure, this is my last column for the Daily Voice.

And it is a bittersweet farewell, as this page is a weekly labour-of-love that always tests both my creativity and my critical thinking abilities.

I have written for many publications over the years, but this has been the longest ongoing assignment, and the one that I have enjoyed the most.

That is in no small measure due to the editorial freedom I enjoyed to tackle any subject I felt drawn to from one week to the next.

I have used this freedom in the best way I know how – to be as impartial as I was taught to be as a journalist.

The idea was always to be a catalyst for conversation; to spark debate and at times to play devil’s advocate in the hope of bringing some measure of clarity to the public discourse.

My ulterior motives were to be a mouthpiece for the voiceless, and at times, to entertain with some witty observations.

Over the last nine and half years, I have explored virtually every topic under the sun.

Most of the time this has involved local politics, in my attempts to highlight motives that are often deliberately hidden in the public’s blind-spot.

But politics, like religion, is a divisive topic, which has regularly put me in the crosshairs of many Daily Voice readers.

Some have questioned my right to a particular view, while others have outright villainized me for holding an opinion that they didn’t believe was popular.

But part of the responsibility of writing a social commentary opinion page, is that it should never be a popularity race, so I never factored that in as a requirement.

The other bizarrely less obvious fact is that it is an opinion, so my inference is subjective, no matter how fair I try to be.

And of course my opinion would lead to either support, or alternative opinions that often expanded on my own.

One of my favourite things was to read through comments to craft another column based on what you guys had to say.

These were small pleasures that made this weekly task memorable.

While politics featured often, it wasn’t what this page was about exclusively.

I would regularly celebrate our successes as a nation, as well as the failures of our leadership.

It may have seemed to some that I only ever criticised former President Jacob Zuma, while praising his successor Cyril Ramaphosa, but that is merely circumstantial.

Both men got the commentary that was necessary at the time, and it was their intentions and the consequences of their decisions that I would direct my attention to.

As an ordinary, tax-paying citizen, I tried to be the voice of frustration of my fellow citizens, while also pointing out the times when congratulations and celebrations were in order.

But I will accept the criticism that mine wasn’t always the voice of reason, especially when it comes to the fate of gangsters and other violent criminals, who upset our collective objective and keep us all prisoners in our own homes.

These were often emotional arguments, which are hard to avoid when innocent residents and young children are the victims of their actions.

I regularly took a stab at other social issues, like community conflicts, economics and of course education – a topic that has always been very close to my heart.

I will continue highlighting my view that a free and equal education for all is the foundation around which we must build a future generation with any chance of withstanding the world’s challenges and building SA into a thriving nation.

But as long as we still have recurring stories of teachers impregnating learners, scholars being humiliated for their hairstyles and enduring racist insults, teachers being physically attacked in class and school girls beating each other up, while onlookers cheer, we will remain stuck in social quick-sand.

One thing is for sure, South Africa is a place full of varied stories to tell, deconstruct, analyse and even imagine.

For a creative writer like myself, it is the gift that keeps on giving.

So in short, this page has been my weekly outlet; my journal for the weird and wonderful thoughts that bloom in my head; my catharsis and hopefully your instrument for a better understanding.

I have also learned a lot in the years that I have been penning this page.

The greatest lesson has been one that I have often shared with you in various ways – never assume you are right and the more convinced you are of your opinion, the greater your responsibility to interrogate your convictions.

Open dialogue is the only way in which we are going to overcome our differences and learn to live together in our diversity.

This column was also an unexpected study in tolerance and patience for me.

As I have grown in my understanding of what motivates people, I have had to learn to accept that some people simply cannot be moved, no matter how logical the argument.

I have learned how absolutely and thoroughly engraved belief-systems can be, no matter how destructive they are to the holder and the community.

Within this realisation are both the fear that we are doomed; and the belief that there is still hope, as long as our youth continue to unlearn many of our society’s historical suspicions and entrenched hatred for one another.

There have been hundreds of other topics over the years.

Direct pleas to presidents and gangsters; drawing attention to struggling sports stars; sounding the alarm bells around the impact of social media; sharing my visits abroad with comparative looks at other societies; highlighting emerging new careers and fields of study; smart ways to reduce your debt and increase savings and inviting you to enjoy the other media work I do.

I have also tried to help us all understand international politics a little better, especially when it has the potential to impact us.

So of course Donald Trump featured a lot over the years and again more recently. Heaven help us all, if he wins the American elections in a few weeks’ time.

I have a lot more to say about a myriad of other topics and conversations happening around the world. But those will have to wait for another day and perhaps another platform.

The Independent Group, which owns the Daily Voice, is going in a different direction, with fresh new content.

This column “Bobby On the Beat (BOB),” which has seen many iterations over the past 30 years, is evolving yet again.

This time around it is being transformed into a weekly video podcast that will tackle similar topics. But being video, it will allow me a lot more opportunity to explore issues differently and in more diverse and in-depth manners.

Being a dialogue instead of a monologue with interaction as a by-product, I believe you will be able to enjoy the videos a lot more as it will be more engaging and interactive.

Video also allows for more chances to explore more varied views and fully delve into context, which is everything.

I hope you will join me again for this new chapter and that I will again be able to contribute to the broader understanding of subjects that can often be confusing and people who thrive on that confusion.

Until then, be awesome.

dailyvoice@inl.co.za

Daily Voice