This is a guest post from expensivemistakescheapthrills.

After the misery of lurking on that seriously negative site yesterday (Za Sucks – I refuse to link to them any more than I already have) I decided that it’s time for a bit of positivity.

Let’s look at what we have to be grateful for in this country – (I had to limit it to 10 – there are SO many!)

1. South African paralympic team won 24 medals in Beijing. Out of those 27 medals, 17 were gold. Natalie Du Toit won 5 gold medals alone, from the five events she competed in.

2. Our national symbols are cool and they really stand for something -

- national flag: The national flag  was embraced on Freedom Day on the 27 April 1994, and first flown 10 May 1994, the day Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president – the day we celebrate as the Birth of Democracy in our country.

The central design of the flag, beginning at the flag-pole in a V form and flowing into a single horizontal band to the outer edge of the flag, is to be interpreted as the convergence of completely unique and diverse elements within our society, taking the road ahead in unity. From exclusivity, to inclusivity. Beautiful, isn’t it? Much better than this old one, which just screams division and separateness.

- The National Coat of Arms: The focal image is a secretary bird with uplifted wings, a sun rising above it. Below the bird is the protea, an indigenous South African flower, representing the gratifying harmony of all cultures and the country flowering as a nation.

The ears of wheat are symbolise the fertility of the land – the ability to feed a nation, and grow a nation, while the tusks of the African elephant symbolise wisdom, steadfastness and strength.It also symbolises remembrance. While an elephant never forgets, so too must we never forget our past and must carry the memory into the future.

At the centre stands a shield emphasizing the protection of South Africans, above which are a spear and knobkierie. These assert the defence of peace rather than a posture of war.

Within the shield are representations of the Khoisan people, the first inhabitants of the land. The figures are derived from images on the Linton Stone, a world-famous example of South African rock art. The motto of the coat of arms – !ke e:/xarra//ke – is in the Khoisan language of the /Xam people, and means “diverse people unite“, or “people who are different joining together“. (isn’t that just awesome?)

- Our national animal – the Springbok - the country’s national animal  gives its name to the South African rugby team – fondly (and sometimes not so fondly) known as the Boks. The springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) gets its name from its characteristic jumping display – pronk in Afrikaans. The animal stands 75cm high and weigh about 40kg.

-National flower – The giant or king protea (Protea cynaroides) is flourishes in the south-western and southern areas of the Western Cape, from the Cedarberg up to just east of Grahamstown. South Africa’s national flower is the largest of the proteas, which make up an important part of the Cape Floral Region, a major global biodiversity hotspot and a Unesco World Heritage site. The proteas also give their name to South Africa’s national cricket team.

3. South Africa is the cradle of humankind. On this soil is where we first stood on two feet, experimented with the uses of opposable thumbs, first used fire, and developed a primitive language consisting of grunts. How far we have come since then.

Even today, people come from all over the world to visit one of their early ancestors, Mrs Ples.

4. We are the host of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Yes, I believe this event WILL help South Africa shine. Stop with the negativity already, and let us just work on this one. There are some awesome things lined up for 2010, one of the most beautiful is this stadium planned for my home town Durban.

Benefits of hosting the 2010 World Cup?

It has been estimated that this World Cup will create  around 129 000 jobs, add about R21-billion to South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) and generate another R7.2-billion in government taxes, with around 350 000 soccer-mad-visitors expected to spend some R9.8-billion in the country during the tournament. Wow, that’s a big wad of cash, if you ask me.

But most important of all are the indirect spin-offs from improved perceptions abroad which can only have an even greater, longer-lasting impact, not only on South Africa and its development but on the continent as an entirety. A successful World Cup can help change perceptions of Africa, and attract a number of vital foreign investors.

5. Our country is beautiful, and we are so lucky to have it all. We have sandy, sunny beaches. Sub-tropical forests, mountains, deserts and wide rivers, wet lands, highveld, waterfalls, gorgeous wildlife, and wonderful and weird plant life.

6. We have eleven official languages. Count ‘em. That’s a whole lot of communication going on. And I plan for my son to learn as much of it as he can. No other country in the world can boast so many official languages. Isn’t it amazing?

7. We have awesome people proud to be South Africans. Nelson Mandela, and Charlize Theron. We have Tanya van Graan Ryk Neethling and Chris Barnard. We boast the world’s first heart transplant, and we have Miriam Makeba and Olive Schreiner. We have some of the finest. Dont let Jacob Zuma fool you into thinking that all South Africans are the devil incarnate.

8. We have the most progressive Constitution in the world. Nowhere else in the world are socio-economic rights entrenched in a Bill of Rights, which makes them enforceable against government. We have (despite recent controversy) freedom of speech, freedom of the media, and as Carte Blanche always says – ‘we have the right to see it all’. We have equal voting rights – men and women of all colours and creeds. And people died to give us all that opportunity to mark our ‘X’ and raise our voices.

9. We have biltong and boerewors, pap and vleis, curry and rice and samoosas and rotis and chakalaka. Melktert and koeksusters. Our food tastes are diverse, our available options are numerous. And the result is just delicious. And most important of all – we have the almighty braai. We have Black Label (despite the Laugh it Off laugh-riot about that) and Castle and Klippies and Cola. We have Richelieu and Johnny Walker, and we love them all at a braai, watching the rugby.

10. We have the right to complain. Ours is a participatory democracy, where things like petitions and public participation are vital in governmental decision-making. We have the right to demonstrate, march and toyi toyi. Where else in the world is this right protected by the Constitution?

But most important of all is that we are ALL South African. We all live here, love here, work here and die here. Despite the mass exodus, those of us who remain (for the large part) adore our country. We groan through the hard times, we bitch when our national team loses a game, but we pick ourselves up and try again.

That’s what I love about our country, and our people. We have patience, and determination. And one day, one day soon, all our hopes and dreams will be realised.

If we just work together.

Got three minutes to spare? Here’s why South Africa’s going to surprise you!

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Go back and read Chapter 5.

Writing is a passion for me and one that has taken me to heights that I haven’t even begun to consider. I love it. I love it almost as much as I love South Africa. However that love is not always present and accounted for. Yes there are things that I am unhappy with and yes I have considered leaving SA because I can. But I am not leaving because I truly believe that my attempts to better the place that I call my home are making a difference.

South African’s exist, we live, we love, we are passionate and we thrive where others would probably not. But sometimes contributing to this state and nation is a very difficult task. Sometimes enough can be enough, with the traffic, with the crime, with the absolute rubbish that we all have to put up with sometimes (the recent “xenophobic” attacks to name a recent incident).

But sometimes these things are tiny little blessings in disguise. And sometimes simply existing is not enough.

The Individual

Every human being has the desire ingrained within them to do two things:

To Live
To Procreate

Obviously this is very base and simplified. There are, and have been proven to be, other desires but for the purposes of this piece let us speak of two for now.

When I speak of living I do not mean comfortably or successfully. I mean to literally stay alive. Death is of no practical assistance to anyone in anyone’s life.

Procreation is important for obvious reasons that I wont delve in to. But when children are placed in to the equation as a focus then things change and options become more limited. Bear with me. Imagine you cannot afford to fend for you children, to keep them alive – breaking the first basic human instinct – then you begin to fight for your life and the lives of your offspring. This is where I believe that many South Africans are right now. Poverty rates are high in SA, employment is low, and educating the masses is not happening and is thus leaving those with jobs unsatisfied and relatively poor anyways.

The point here is that when your basic human rights are infringed upon the individual can be forced to react in any ways possible. This can be violence, innovation, entrepreneurship, charity or any means that comes to the fore.

It is at this point when individuals begin acting without a community. The human experience exists in different ways for every person in the world. This others people and leaves them feeling alone. When people in a community begin to feel alone, they begin to act alone and act dangerously for themselves and the greater community.

The current state of affairs in South Africa (SA) make the above clear and present. Desperate times call for desperate measures. There is no justification for harming another human being and many criminal acts are just that; criminal acts by people who deserve to be in jail. But one thing leads to another and before you know it you have anarchy.

The recent xenophobic attacks in SA are an example of individuals acting without a community and pulling other marginalised people towards one another. Then you have mobs forming and criminal acts occurring that should not be taking place. My personal opinion regarding the attacks is that the people committing these acts are people who would otherwise probably be committing other criminal acts anyways. It irks me that these crimes are being called xenophobic acts when in fact there are South Africans being affected and the crime is just as bad whether it happens to foreigners or to locals. Crime is crime.

The Community

The greater community is an important faction of any group, organisation, country, family or any gathering and co-existing of people. Individuals make up communities. We all know this and this is not a new discovery that I have just made. But for some reasons communities do not realise their power and strength. This strength comes from the individual within a community acting together and sharing a common ideal. I have chosen the word ideal specifically. I do not want to share a goal with another person. I want to share and ideal, a way of thinking, living, being and existing. Goals are things that people who share an ideal achieve together.

There are many different ideals that exist in SA right now. There are many ideals that exist everywhere in fact. But in many places some ideals are shared by many people in a community and that community can thrive and achieve their common goals.

The xenophobic attacks are proof of this. A small group of people (when you take the entire countries population in to account) banded together and displaced thousands upon thousands of other people. This is the misguided strength and power of a community of people acting with a shared and horrifying ideal. This is mob mentality and unison at its worst. This is not the way that our country should exist. If only the thousands upon thousands of foreigners shared an ideal and acted on it. They would have rightfully defended their basic human rights to live and protect their offspring. But the sad truth about marginalised majority communities is that they never see the power that they hold by the sheer numbers that they have.

Since I started SA Rocks I have been hammering on about a mind shift that I believe is taking place. It is taking place in my opinion. SA Rocks is proof of this. Thousands of people visit and experience this positive blog every month and take in the positivity that my readers and I exude. This is a start.

I am an individual acting within a community and making a difference. The only catch is that it is not quick. Nothing that is ever great, long lasting and memorable is every quick. Change is never quick. Ever. Yet it can be viral. Positivity in SA has gone viral. Individuals who believe in this country have begun to feel confident in this ideal enough to start spreading the word. It takes on catalyst to throw change in to motion. One person to tell ten, ten to tell ten more, those hundred people to tell just one and those hundred people to tell two and so on and so on.

The community thrives off the success of the community and the individuals within the community.

Two things have come out of the xenophobic attacks. Firstly people have realised that life is not all roses for everyone in SA. Secondly people have begun to want to change, help, aid and be charitable. People have woken up. If anything good has come out of these attacks it is a greater sense of community that marginalised people have begun to feel. We have vociferously defied these acts and revolted against them with acts of kindness. The fact that we can stand together whether in thought, action or opinion, against these acts means that there is hope. There is hope if we all believe that right is right and wrong is wrong.

The community is starting to defy these acts of horror, whether 50 people are murdered or on child is harmed the reaction is beginning to become action, positive action.

I am not going to discuss the individuals who leave the community because free will, choice and economic bracket allows these individuals to leave and contribute to other communities. That is there choice and their right and I applaud them for making the hard decision to uproot their lives and move away. It is difficult. But it is not helping our community practically.

It might be helping our community theoretically and mentally. Negativity within a community only breads negativity and negative action. The opposite also applies.

Positivity breads positive action.

The Leader

Thabo Mbeki is the perfect living, walking embodiment of the community electing a leader and a leader acting and marginalising him. Mbeki’s idealisms got in the way. His African Renaissance blurred his vision and in all of that he lost his Africanism and his people. He is now an individual without a community. Mbeki has so distanced himself from his own community that the community began acting beyond the power of his government. He is no longer the leader of his community he is now the figurehead of a government that does not relate to its community and often does not act within the community’s best interest. This invariably leads to the demise of the community and that of the country as a whole. All in all, it’s a bad thing, to put it plainly.

The Action

Action is the key to the resolution of our problems. Not just any action, positive action.

There are many different types of action that form different value points to the community. Negative action has its place. It creates unity and binds people together in their misery, sadness and discontentment. If people are unified in their dissatisfaction they rally to find answers and solutions. Everything takes place can yield positive outcomes. It all depends on the mind set that you have while you are experiencing something and the mindset that you have when you come out of something. Negative or positive.

The Million Man March is a fantastic example of negativity resulting in a community of individuals who share the same ideal, coming together in the hope of change. Change might not be the outcome of the march but hundreds of thousands of people coming together, out of adversity – in this case crime, to stand together and fight for their ideal is magnificent.

Now let us hope that one person changes the attitude of another and this mid shift begins to spread across the nation. Change begins with one person changing his or her own attitude. Positive action stems from this change.

Go forth and read Chapter 5 from Paul Jacobson.

This post is a chapter of the SA Blook: A Piece of Significance, an online book written by a diverse group of writers with strong views of our country and the reality we find ourselves living in. The other chapters in the Blook are here:

Introduction
1. The new South Africa – is it real?
2. Is SA rich or poor?
3. What the world thinks of South Africa and what our global opportunities are
4. The importance of each individual’s contribution collectively
5. SA Inc and the business of doing business in SA
6. The beauty and grandeur that surrounds us
7. The importance of technology in SA’s global emergence
8. Building brand South Africa
9. Making the most of SA’s creative talents and abilities
10. Innovate for a better South Africa
11. The role of the younger generation in SA, and what we need to do to support them
12. Connecting South Africa – Communities that transcend technology
13. We are African – the role of collaboration in South Africa’s growth

Copyright Nic Haralambous 2008. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No-derivatives 2.5 ZA license.

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Ed’s note: this post was contributed by someone who emailed me out of the blue to show support for SA and SA Rocks! Fantastic, things like this make my week, nevermind just my day.

Thanks go out to Zee for her contribution and willingness to have a positive opinion about SA.

There is no doubt that our fourteen year old country has far to go.

But deep within my heart I have no doubt that South Africa will be the centre of all success to come.

To all those who continue to be negative about this beautiful country of ours I have just this to say.

You are not an average South African. Driving your car to work (you have a job, albeit you think you deserve more money for the work you do) after having something to eat (you have food in your cabinets), after having a warm shower ( you have utilities ) in your very own home ( a brick layered foundation that protects you and provides you with solace).

The average South African earns less than R2000 a month, lives in a tin shanty, has three kids to educate, and has to travel in unsafe, unroadworthy taxis. And if lucky had a slice of bread as breakfast this morning. This average South African had a cold bucket bath by candlelight, who probably had to walk to get to a communal water hole, awoke at 4 in the morning, so that they could take 3 taxis; to get work on time by 8.This average South African will get home by 7 tonight, will prepare maize meal and two pieces of meat for supper as this is all they can afford to get them through to their next pay check.

So I am so very sorry, that the pothole in your road that caused your car’s suspension to bend, has not been mended, or you had to go to work after having showered in cold water, because of Eskom’s load shedding issue, and the petrol price has risen due to the US Recession. And you only had 150 hours of electricity this week compared to your usual 168.We are so very sorry that those who can afford to buy things on interest have abused that power because they didn’t know how to budget, hence the rise in interest. We are so very sorry that our Politician’s are human and corruptible; I guess there is no corruption in any other country hey? Look up Enron please, and the government involvement in the biggest financial fraud committed in the world.

Get with the programme people, you live in this country, we all seem to dislike the arrogance of the Americans. But what stands out is their solidarity and pride they have for their country. This country has fed you, educated you and gave you the freedom to be who ever you wanted to be.You have a job, a home, all the basic utilities. The average South African has 1 out of the 3 mentioned.

For those who have left this country, hold all your comments, you no longer have a right to tarnish the reputation of this country. You chose to leave and not make a difference in this country.

Realize that with every 8 tourists that enter SA, one job is created for a South African.

We beat out all first world countries to host the 2010 cup. So by chance that we fail in this quest, you cannot run away from your heritage, you are South African ,the world will laugh at you, yes you, not just the 2010 committee, because you are South African.

Stop complaining do something about it.

So make this country work, be positive, be friendly, let go of your hate and your complaints and be grateful of this country you live in. You’ll be surprised at the doors that open in your favor.

Here are facts I’m guessing you never knew about this country.

WHAT YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT SOUTH AFRICAN HERITAGE!

1. FROM CHINESE TO FRENCH – EVERYONE IN THE WORLD IS SOUTH AFRICAN: All the worlds people are “twice South African” because it was here that mans descendants and modern man both evolved

2. THE FIRST EVIDENCE OF LIFE ON EARTH — YES — FROM SA: In eastern South Africa, scientists have found traces of blue-green algae dating back 3 500 million years. This is some of the earliest evidence of life on Earth.

3. METEORS HIT PRETORIA 220 000 YEARS AGO!: 220 000 years ago a meteorite struck South Africa, forming the Tswaing Crater northwest of Pretoria. This is one of the most accessible and best-preserved meteorite impact craters in the world.

4. IF ALIENS LANDED THEY WOULD BE THE PROPERTY OF THE STATE! According to the National Heritage Resources Act, all meteorites are considered protected property of the nation and there are rules regarding what can be done with them. Interestingly, because a meteorite is defined as “any naturally-occurring object of extraterrestrial origin”, this means that if an alien landed in SA he/she/it would become the property of the State. Should an alien arrive and find that SA did not suit its disposition, it would not need a passport to leave but it would have to acquire an export permit from the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA).

5. SA HAS THE WORLD’S OLDEST REMAINS: The oldest remains of modern humans were found in Klasies River Cave in the Eastern Cape. They are well over 100 000 years old.

6. SOUTH AFRICA HAS OVER 2000 SHIPWRECKS: There are more than 2 000 shipwrecks, dating back at least 500 years, off the SA coast and more than one, including the Waratah, simply vanished without a trace.

7. TRANCE WAS HERE OVER 25 000 YEARS AGO: Trance is nothing new to South Africa. In fact, bushman cave paintings in the Drakensburg are thought to be the work of Shamans operating in a ‘trance’ state. Some of these are up to 25 000 years old.

8. THE SAYING “WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST” COMES FROM SA: The practice of “women and children first” originated off the coast of Hermanus when the British ship, the Birkenhead, sank in 1852. Of the approximately 600 people on board, all 200 women and children survived. Unfortunately, almost 400 men went down with the ship.

9. SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE: Detailed documentation from travelers and researchers in the Cape in the 1600s shows that more than 350 years later the traditional “maatjieshut” residence of Namaqualand is still being built in precisely the same manner and proportions as those of the KhoeKhoe people of the past.

10. SOUTH AFRICA THINKS AHEAD OF THE WORLD: South Africa is one of the first countries in the world to formally protect places associated with “Living Heritage” that is based on stories passed down from generation to generation by for e.g. Grandmothers telling children stories about the places in which they live. One of the first projects in South Africa that looked at how we can protect such sites took place in Dukuza (formerly Stanger) in KwaZulu-Natal. The town was the site of King Shaka’s royal residence and interviews with old people in the community revealed an amazing store of information passed down over nearly 180 years concerning things like from which spring the royal water was drawn, where the King swam, under which trees particular events and councils occurred.

11. THREE MILLION!: South Africa’s history and pre-history goes back more than three million years.

12. KAROO BOASTS THE BEST DINOSAUR FOSSILS: The Karoo region is home to some of the best fossils of early dinosaurs.

Zee Harduth

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Ed’s note: This post is a contribution from a student at UKZN. They have taken on new media platforms and are trying to involve themselves in the sphere of online publishing. I thought I’d help out and have allowed them to send me through contributions. This is the first of hopefully many to come.

I know that I’m one of the many South Africans who finds it a challenge to be positive about my country. I have just disproved to myself that I am an uplifting person, because I have recently discovered how much easier it is for me to see the bad things than the good about South Africa…but that’s not what this site is about. So in changing my attitude I have been thinking of all the things that must be good enough about it to have made me miss home when I was in England for two years. Of course I love the people, and the typically South African foods, but mostly it’s the lifestyle that it just so amazing here. How sad that we only miss things when they are gone.

The first thing I appreciated when I arrived back home is how much space we have – instead of sharing a wall of your squashy semi-detached million pound double storey house with a family of 4, one of which is a screaming baby, we have large enough back yards for a jungle gym and a swimming pool!

Never have I realized how good we have it in terms of service here than when I had to fill up my own petrol tank in England, wash the windows myself, and attempt to locate and add water to the radiator before it overheated!

There is also no one to pack your shopping bags when you visit the supermarket, and everyone always seems to be in such a rush there, that it is rather stressful trying to unpack the groceries onto the conveyor belt, shove them into bags, haul them back into the trolley, and pay – all at the same time!

Only very wealthy people in the UK can afford someone to keep their houses clean and in order, and they have to mow their tiny little strip of grass that they consider a garden, themselves.

Most of all I love not having to wrap up in six layers just to keep myself from freezing! I do not handle the cold well…my mouth goes numb and I can’t talk properly, and my hands become so inept that I cant even sms! Plus, everyone there never stops talking about the weather. Strangers talk to you about how cold or mild or rainy it is – or is going to be, as do your close friends. Its not just small talk there, it’s like the most popular subject! All you need here in Winter is a warm jacket… I came back home after two UK Winters, laden with a beautiful variety of scarves, beanies and gloves…none of which have been used since!

Just last week I was reminded of another thing I love… chocolate marshmallow Easter eggs! It’s the small things you miss – my one expat friend wrote to me about how she missed the Hadedas (madness!) and the bubbly domestic workers shouting to each other from across the street! England may have Easter eggs in every flavour of chocolate bar available, but they don’t have the marshmallow ones like SA does! In fact I keep hearing how good chocolate is for ones health, and how it releases endorphins…maybe a box a day of those will keep me in high spirits when I begin taking a turn towards the negative side again! Instead of getting fat on Starbucks and pub food, I can sit at the pool and catch a tan with a box of melting marshmallow Easter eggs and read the newspaper on a sugar high so I won’t get depressed!

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