It’s odd how we look at the problems of the world and just continue to live our daily lives. Like driving past a car crash and thanking God it wasn’t us.
Zimbabwe is a car crash of we witness in our world. And we all slow down to stare, shake our heads and say, “Oh shame, I wonder what happened”. But no one stops to help. At most we will phone 911-AU or 1-800-UN and hope they will sort it out. But we drive on. Not stopping to help. Because we don’t want to “get involved” or get our hands dirty. And, in any case, we have an important meeting to go to and just didn’t do that bloody first aid course. We drive on because we have good reasons. Sorry, excuses.
But there are different types of car crashes in this world. We never stop to look at the reason. We assume we know. And behind every assumption is an idiot waiting to crash.
There is the drunk idiot driver that thinks he can just do whatever the hell he wants. Mugabe for example… They drive the way they want and crash where they want because alcohol makes you feel invincible. Just like power politics. Nothing can touch you. And you go ahead and do stupid things and drive as if you own the road, but we know you are going to crash. And take a few people out with you. Innocent bystanders and passengers. But like real people we watch you get drunk and never actually ask you to leave the keys and take a cab. No, we are to scared you might be offended…
But you are an idiot. An idiot for getting drunk on the power the steering wheel of life gives you. And an idiot for the false sense of safety the cacoon car gives you. I would stop and applaud your crash if it wasn’t for the innocent passengers and bystanders.
And then there are those who crash and they had nothing to do with it. A tyre blew and the car is hanging on a cliff – ready to crash down and take everyone on board with them. These drivers drive old cars with worn tyres and clunky bodies. It’s not that they want to have a crap car but they can’t afford a new one. And they have to take the commute of life to stay alive. They drive their crappy cars to work each day hoping that they will make it there and back safely. They don’t want to but they can’t help it. It’s life. And they are at the bottom of the piles of bodies. The janitors of life. Zambia…
My beautiful Zambia. The most amazing people in the world. Never been in a war. More Swiss than the Swiss. But they have a land-locked country with little to sell to the world. But they survive most of the time. And the crash we see is in slow motion. Like a bad dream. We can see it happening and we can rush out to help but like in those dreams… we are always just a little bit too late. It’s the hand they got dealt living on the wrong side of the track. But they continue to move along and try and make it to work for another day. Maybe that crash won’t come today. Maybe not tomorrow or even next week. But we know those tyres can’t last forever…
And sometimes everyone crashes while we drive by in our luxury vehicle of money and ownership. The roads are wet or full of sleet. People go off the road and crash into each other left, right and centre. But we are comfy in our luxury vehicle. We slow down a bit to stop us from sliding off the road and swerve to miss the others crashing around us. We just slow down enough not to get involved or harmed. The slippery dreadful roads are the economy. Making it dangerous for everyone. But those with money will slow down a bit. But they will survive while the others crash without reason. Those others didn’t speed or blow a tyre. It was just that there were no warning signs when they came around that economic bend. It’s a dead-end road. It’s their end of the road.
And even if the luxury vehicle slips and slides off the road they know they will be fine. Their cars have automatic recovery and crash warning systems, the latest safety devices to cushion the blow – and insurance to cover their costs if anything unforeseen happens. It’s life. It’s a hiccup for them. Lose a car or a million but they know they will be okay. Except if they got insured by Madoff & Co. Then daddy will have to bail them out. He always does. For them.
Of course it all is very different when someone crashes through our front door or wall. Then we get all worked up and want to beat the bloody guy up and want the police and insurance to deal with it right now! Because then it happened to us.
It happened to us…
Those people crashing everywhere around us? They are not us. It only happens to other people. Not to us. It’s never us.
Car crashes… That’s life in our little world. One car crash after the other. Thank god we have a few people who stop and help. And a handful of firemen and paramedics. Not enough to save the world. But enough to save a few while we drive past and shake our heads…
Maybe we all just suffer from road rage.
You know what? I don’t have a licence…
June 30, 2009 at 11:05 pm
What is the solution?
July 1, 2009 at 8:35 am
@cooper – First, stop and help but make sure you deal with their injuries and not what you think they need. Too often we give aid and help based on what we think is good instead of what is needed. Secondly, change the rules of the road to make sure everyone is insured and enough warning signal to help those with crappy cars. Trade rules and national trade policies of US and Europe stinks and will not allow these countries to develop properly. Thirdly, and more contentious… Take away the keys of those who shouldn’t be on the road. I’m not talking about people being elected into positions we don’t like, but I mean those who have power through power – Mugabe etc. Don’t allow them to travel anywhere, support overtly any legitimate movement who supports democracy, target their money and anyone supporting them (arms etc), destablilize them as much as possible with minimum danger of the “passengers”. This last one is damn difficult as it is generally driven by global and national politics but I do think there is a difference between the Bush approach and the Clinton approach. Or any US President versus Bush really. It’s like dealing with any emergency – first you get them out of danger (aid), then you make sure they don’t die (aid and trade), then you help them develop (trade).
July 1, 2009 at 9:42 am
I agree with the contrast between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Thanks for the kind words about Zambia, feels good to see them (so I had to come out of lurk mode and comment).
July 1, 2009 at 10:17 am
@ mosilager – I don’t know what it is about Zambia, but I love it. The people have always been great fun and I didn’t stay at the fancy places! (Although I ate and drank at the Pamodzi a few times when going fancy)Any place that can make a beer like Mosi can’t be bad… And I won’t even mention the Green Frog… I can’t remember the name of the place where I always stayed. I think it was owned by an old Minister of Finance or his wife, a good walk to the shopping centre and had an excellent bar by the pool. And a restaurant that served excellent steaks. Did I mention the bar at the pool?
July 6, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Hi AA,
Interesting read. I like it when I am challenged to think. I also like it when I learn something new.
I would be the person who stopped to help. Even though I knew it would cause me to get dirty. I just could not drive by. Knowing this about myself provides little comfort. There are times when I want to keep right on moving. I would like to know what it feels to be the person in the luxury car with the phone calling 911. But that would go against all of the teachings that I have acted upon during my lifetime.
I would get out and try to be of assistance.
I’m sure that somewhere deep down on the inside that act would reassure me that I was still a caring individual.
I have been that individual in the clunker-just trying to survive on the concrete streets of my hometown. My sense of myself wouldn’t allow me to ignore that reality.
What I am not sure of-is how the vicitim of the crash would feel. Would they appreciate my effort? Or would they end up wishing that I had just continued to roll by? Or would I end up feeling that I could of or should of done more?
July 8, 2009 at 11:38 am
Well AA,
You succeed once again in changing my thought pattern for the day from my little desk here at Health Promotion, to the world at large.
I too, would be a stopper. This is a very strong statement to say but the only guarantee of future behaviour is past behaviour, and I have tried to aid many people and causes – on the run – as I come across. Of course my husband is a bit different sometimes (oh no we can’t pick up a hitchhiker!). But you know what’s scary? I have noticed that I am the only one who does ‘stop’. Many a time I have stood up for people and ideals that everyone else turns a blind eye too, and then looks to me to take the fall, make the effort and get the result they really want. That’s weak I say. I think our Society is getting weaker all the time (I am from NS Canada). Africa, on the other hand, seems only to get stronger over time. The people there have integrity; and that’s alot more than I can say for North Americans. Sad but true.
How I would love love love to travel to Zambia. My husband and I trekked across SA last year and I have been missing it ever since. I was told by many SA’s to try Namibia or Malawi next but now Zambia is on my mind. If I hadn’t my family; I would be all over Africa volunteering (I am a nurse). It’s my dream.
July 15, 2009 at 5:47 am
In a place like Zimbabwe, how do you make sure the aid gets to where it’s going?
Here there is an old second amendment argument “If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.” How do you impose any kind of sanctions and hurt someone that has run up a 250M% inflation rate and had his government issue a 100T dollar note?
People like that laugh at sanctions. Look at Castro, World opinion? Look at Ahmadinejad.
And: What’s wrong with being a janitor?
July 21, 2009 at 9:47 am
I don’t think a car crash is a very good simile for Zimbabwe. It is more like the driver of a bus attacking both the bus and the passengers with a hammer. With a car crash you can pick up the pieces and repair the damage, but in Zimbabwe no sooner do you repair one thing than Mugabe breaks something else.
July 31, 2009 at 10:35 am
Great post AA.
September 4, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I have been following your blog (got to it through Shilpa’s)… This is an awesome post. Absolutely loved the way you described the problems as car crashes…. Made me a little more aware about what different African countries are going through…
I hope this source of info and description keeps coming.
Great post