A Historic Day for Democracy


Okay, the facts can now be reviewed. Yes, the nation has its first black chief executive, something some quarters say was long overdue and some are inexplicably deliriously happy about. The country was, and is some places still, carpeted and confettied with pictures of the Great Man, done up with the national colors, stars, eagles, etc. embraced by the masses of acolytes chanting his name. And he is ready. Equipped with a legal degree from one of the world’s most prestigious universities, he has already worked as a teacher. A communicator. A grass-roots organizer for action. Maybe his unique bona fides are best expressed in the honorary award he received from the University of Massachusetts, "Your gentle firmness in the face of anger, and your intellectual approach to matters which inflame the emotions of others, are hallmarks of your quiet integrity." ... "We salute you for your enduring and effective translation of a moral ethic into a strong, popular voice for freedom." Wow. Now that is a tribute. Endorsements like that mean the American academy has taken your measure and found you worthy, and they are no bourgeois judges of character.

All the problems of the nation will now be tackled directly in the name of justice, equality and freedom. The landside was not just for the Leader; the electorate went overwhelmingly for his party colleagues in the legislature as well. All branches of the government—executive, legislative and judicial will be controlled henceforth by a single party, overcoming possible the obstructionism that could block the bold agenda of the new leadership. The media, so critical of the past regime, is wholly on the side of the Change, eagerly aiding it, abandoning its historically claimed policy of neutral observation and information for the higher calling of national healing and the unity of ideals needed for purposeful progress. Antiquated pillars of common law—always alien to this country in any case, really—that have allowed the oppression of the common folk through their obsession with private property, private weapons, and the “right” to anti-social behaviors of many kinds, will be toppled. One-percent of the population-- overwhelmingly white-- controls over two-thirds of the national wealth—that will be fixed by the most ambitious income redistribution plan in the country’s history. Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, the nation is free at last. Except for the God part. This new government will not conflate religion and politics like the right wing bullies on their way out. In fact, the churches that have been critical of the Movement should watch their legal status; those that helped launch it will be clear from such scrutiny. So there we have it. Our review of the national elections in Zimbabwe, 1980.

Jumping forward 28 years, we have the benefit of hindsight re the sweeping and historic victory of Robert Mugabe. We know what happened. Boy do we know. Zimbabweans know even better, but darn it, they still like the guy better than they like George W. Bush, probably. Or would if they got ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and the New York and Los Angeles Times. For the Obamangos, what happened in the formerly prosperous Rhodesia-- now Zimbabwe-- was not particularly good. For all the headlines of the last week it is easy to forget that “historic” is a value neutral adjective. The invasion of Poland in 1939 was historic. The Bubonic Plague was historic. The asteroid that probably killed the definitely dead dinosaurs was prehistorically historic. Robert Mugabe—the Deliverer of the People—managed to completely and totally ruin the country by doing pretty much what he promised to do when elected the first time or subsequently. Robert—who, unlike, say Hillary Clinton-- knew what it was like to grow up as a black man in a country run by rich white people—was steeped in the tea of academic Marxism, and black nationalism. His buddies were Marxist-based terrorists. His hubris was so all consuming that he felt himself ready to lead his nation to greatness, or at least lead it, despite his youth and lack of experience. But it would be unfair to say that he would have considered himself ready to be the President of the United States. We are just talking about Zimbabwe, after all. The eagle is not a bald one, but a bateleur eagle- the Zimbabwe bird—and the star on the flag is one red one, not 57 or so white ones. That would just be crazy. What fools would have voted for him for that office? What kind of self-loathing country would do that to itself? Not mighty Zimbabwe. It might be a living disaster, but the people still have some sense about them.