Pretoria

This will be a pretty short post because traveling to Pretoria as a tiny bit like hanging out in the very Deep South, seeing monuments built to confederate soldiers who died defending slavery and bigotry. I don't mean to be harsh about their loss, but the reality is in the end, when you stand for something that isn't right, don't you think it is a little silly to show off about it?

Pretoria is the capitol city of South Africa. The president's office and living quaters are here, and there are various monuments and sites dedicated to those who made this part of the world a living, working country. Unfortunately, many of those men believed that separating blacks from whites and giving whites great advantage over blacks was not only acceptable, but even God-ordained.

Our first stop was the VarTrekker monument. A huge neo-classical monument built in recognition of the dutch/boer pioneers who left Cape Town to settle inward, and in their pioneer journey had to overcome many obstacles; most of them Zulu. After suffering many defeats against these african warriors-and losing wives and children-these boer pioneers asked God to protect and to save them and let them be victorious in their efforts over the Zulu. They circled their wagons and in the end they defeated the Zulu army. Many many years later, the whites who felt they should continue in their victory over the zulu and every other black culture in South Africa built this monument, to remind the whites that God had protected them against the blacks, that God had given them victory, and that God had given them this country.

Now, I absolutely know that I as an American do NOT have an untainted past to present to the world concerning segregation, the defeat of indigenous people for the benefit of the white man or any of that. But, if I were to present to the world a monument I would probably not chose to present one that glorifies these low grade ideals. So, it is kind of sad that this is the big monument that tourists visit when they come to this nation's capitol. Aside from the beautiful view atop the tower, I was not highly impressed. Only sad at the narrowness of our minds at times to believe some are greater than others and that black is lesser than white. A good lesson for me to remember, not to monumentalize the times in my own life when my advantage over another has brought me prosperity, whether personally or as a member of my own nation and culture.