Peripheral routes of persuasion

I’m not much of a public activist. I’m too poetic.

One of the only times I’ve ever ventured into voicing something of a semi-contentious subversive personal opinion in the ocean of people-with-opinions, was years ago, when I penned a sincere open letter to a young Mr Malema, as he started making political media waves. I basically asked if we could be friends, and if our hypothetical children would have a shared future in this nation. The open letter was published in Cape Times and Rapport.

Very few things irritate me as much as irrational online-comment-section-one-liner-accusations-and-arguments, void of nuance and insight. I basically got shot down by people from opposing sides of various polarized fences, who used the same ammunition: You are naive.

I concurred. Only, I know I am, and I strategically deploy it as a superpower.

So, I backed down from publicly pursuing a friendship with Mr. Malema.

And that was my only overt venture into adding, in my personal capacity, to the cacophony of public narrative about the one thing that I have remained passionate about my whole life: This generation’s shared responsibility for the future of South Africa.

There are many things to be overwhelmed by at this time. I don’t have degrees in politics, public policy or economics. I don’t have handles on the socioeconomic and currently, health, crises we are facing as a nation, and as global citizens.

What I have, is intuition, and exposure to multiple facets of what makes up the economy. From the perspective of someone whose work is to get a grip on how things (sectors, industries, wine, nation building, leadership values, business models, value chains, company culture, the REIPPP …) work, or could work, in order to reflect back essence in the form of communication strategies and creative content. The Window and Mirror function. Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management, 1992, Grunig et al.

I know how we are technically positioned as a nation brand.

And from that viewpoint, we are, to say the least, looking a bit wobbly. We’ve probably breached a few more tipping points. Trip-switches in the warning system.

I also know that there are hundreds of thousands of people working tirelessly to plug holes in what feels like the hull of a besieged ship, with a lovely sail still set to the course of national resilience. Endlessly resourceful. Just really battered, from all sides.

Currently, I don’t do “she writes in her personal capacity”. Except for the writing I do in my personal capacity. But that has a niche readership of people who relate to vulnerability and authenticity on topics that matter to soul and spirit. Transparency is the main value guiding what’s on Tapestry of Thought. It’s basically pasteurized journal entries. The goal is to reflect on internal wrestles, and hopefully get to a sharable conclusion that encourages personal perseverance. Perhaps I’ll stick to that. But not today.

The advocacy stuff that goes on in my mind, I’ve pretty much kept for my own internal dialogue. I have knee-jerk reactions, kept in check, until I find ways to do, rather than speak. Give. Be present. Love with acts. Watch. Listen. Find some form of wisdom to pragmatically slip-stream.

But, I have a restlessness in me that artists would understand. I think I might be getting ready to find ways to add my own, personal, eccentric, small voice to the tangible and intangible causes I care about, that stretch beyond what I have been willing to venture out and say, to date.

I guess that’s what happens when you shift into “next-year-is-40-if-we-survive-this” mode.

So, yes. In no particular order, an actual opinion.

I think a blue plastic milk bottle to “stand out on the shelf” is immature and irresponsible of a strong brand. It’s tone-deaf, from whichever angle you look at it. I hope they go back to the drawing board.

I think the South African entertainment and tourism industries need to keep fighting (and be pragmatic) to safely open, because communities, and our national (arts and natural) heritage, are at stake.

It’s not just the direct jobs and the communities impacted by subsequent income loss. Towns that have economies that are primarily driven by international tourism (from the safari industry in Hoedspruit to the hospitality industry in Franchhoek), have value-chain eco-systems of restaurants, schools, art galleries, street vendors, NPOs etc. that will simply crumble should income streams not be restored soon. I’m sure there have been plans tabled. No easy answers.

What’s my personal views on promoting a green economy for South Africa?

Well, my father was a national energy security lobbyist. In the 80’s and early 90’s.

Let’s just say I’m all for generational restitution.

Here’s to adding your unique voice.

Albeit peripheral. And a bit dramatic.

*The central route to persuasion occurs when a person is persuaded by the content of the message. The peripheral route to persuasion occurs when a person is persuaded by something other than the message’s content.