Three Key Themes Revisited

Earlier this year, C4L launched three blogsites, on three themes that seemed distinct, important, and recurrent in our bulletins and prayer letters over 7 years.  The trilogy includes:

1. Altruism, philanthropy and missions
2. Leadership (which frequently raises related questions around non-racialism)
3. Youth

Well, today’s Sunday Independent just made it too easy for me!  I simply cannot resist sharing with you some tasty and nourishing morsels from it…

On Altrusim                                                                           www.trilogy-altruism.blogspot.com

First there is an article on Albie Sachs winning a Tang prize, Asia’s version of the Nobels - for his contributions to human rights and justice.  Here is a white veteran of the struggle, who really took it on the chin – time and again - for his dissenting views under apartheid.  But he returned from exile under Nelson Mandela and was appointed to the Constitutional Court.  What a guy!  And good for Asia for its Tang Prize Foundation, and for esteeming such role models whose values are exemplary.

Then there is an article saying that the number of millionaires world-wide grew by nearly two million last year, and that group grew nearly 14% richer.

The USA has 4 million millionaires; Japan has 2.3 million; Germany has 1.1 million; and China now has 758 000. 

The gap between rich and poor is widening, not just in South Africa but world-wide.

My view is that BOTH rich and poor are caught in a system that is not working.  It is not the rich who are the problem, it is that system.  I believe that we all need to work on changing it into a more just and equitable system of re-distribution.  Intentionally.  And not just some of us – all of us.

Malema and the Economic Freedom Fighters are making noises about this – “acting locally”.  But I am “thinking globally”.  I tell people that the only leader I know who is more radical than Julius Malema is Pope Francis I !  It sort of gets them thinking…

An EFF leader sent me a text message today saying that he and some Fighters sat together last night and watched my MOUSELAND 2014 video repeatedly on YouTube.  He said that they were convinced that I must have worked with Malema on that video!   (They have never heard of Tommy Douglas or the CFF!  It’s déjà vu all over again.)