So the meme, inspired by EXMI, is mostly dead and gone already. I’ve had some time to think about it, and I’m finally ready to deliver my opinion on the question - “Why do you love South Africa?”.

The trouble here is that I’m not so sure I even love it at all.

If you knew my childhood (not a sob story, I swear), you might know why. I’ve moved around a lot, and I’ve seen a lot of sub-Saharan Africa. Eventually you sort of lose your sense of “patriotism” - I mean, when you’re constantly being uprooted, why form roots at all?

But apart from that, I firmly believe that countries are meant to serve people - not the other way around. I don’t really get the whole “Live and die for freedom part in South Africa our land” thing - seems a bit of a waste, to me.

There are a few things in life that I do love, and one of the characteristics of something you love is that you fight for it. Tirelessly. Often, at great cost to yourself.

This is something I’m just not seeing here in SA - or at least, not in any great number. For instance, look at all the emigrants. They decided they didn’t want to fight, and instead ran away, but I’ve seen so many of them still claiming to “love South Africa”.

Then you have the denialists. The “there are no problems” people. I think it’s slightly lopsided to selectively blind yourself to the realities of any given situation. These people also “love South Africa”, but do nothing to try to solve the numerous problems we face.

Then you have the hardliners, who’d fight if you looked at them funny. Militant groups like that do us no good either - solutions are never found by one side completely dominating the arena. We all have to share this planet, and we’ll never have it all our way.

Then you have the people that just don’t care. The survivalists. They’ll go with the wind as it shifts, do what has to be done, focused purely on survival. You can put them in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Reykjavik, and they’ll just settle down and make the best of it. I’m one of those people.

Finally, you have those who truly and absolutely love this country. They are the ones who stay, face the giants, engage in endless battle with near-invincible opponents in seemingly-impossible circumstances, and are very open to the realities on both sides of the fence.

The latter is a fairly small number - had it been substantially larger (and with more backbone), we wouldn’t be in nearly half as much trouble as we are now.

So I wonder - how many of us actually love this country? Personally, I don’t think I do. South Africa is a nation like any other - unique in several aspects, dangerous in others.

And for those of us that “love” this country, what are you actively doing about it? Facebook humanism doesn’t count (it never did). Check the number of possible voters vs registered voters vs actual voters. If everyone who didn’t vote because they thought it “wouldn’t make a difference” decided to vote, I’m sure the scales would tip dramatically. All it takes is 1 million individuals who each believe their own voices aren’t heard, to speak in unison.

That’s something else I’ve come to realise - many of us are blinded to an obvious truth. All we hear about, day in and day out, are the ANC and their antics, and the crime, and the corruption. But you, as a person, most likely just wants to live in this country - with no fears about healthcare or public security or economic failure.

I’m damn sure you’re not alone - in fact, I’m willing to bet that 49.5 million of the estimated 50 million residents in SA feel that way. Exactly the same way you do - sick and tired of being sick and tired.

And it’s a wonder we’re not getting anywhere.