Making a difference - 26 May 2008

Greetings to all on this trepid Monday morning as I take the reins of responsibility for the www.bizcommunity.com portal. I'd just like to thank Rod Baker for all the encouragement, support and advice he's given me during our time together - it's been an absolute pleasure - and to everyone else at Biz for their faith and trust over the years; may I be able to successfully fill the large leather chair that Rod has left for me (although I may need to attend a few more foodie expos before I'm able to do that). While on the topic of responsibility, I noticed a fresh covering over the newspaper pole ads, when driving through a local Cape Town suburb this morning, where someone had pasted peace signs and other messages denoting happiness over some of the more disturbing headlines of the day. Now the controversial headlines of some of the daily papers have long since been a topic of heated debate, not only on our forums, but in community papers as well. However, these new messages appear to have been placed over the headlines regarding the latest xenophobic attacks that have had the country in its grip for the last couple of weeks. Although I can commend the poster-paster for doing their little bit to brighten the news of the day, its going to take more than one person armed with homemade peace signs and a gluestick to really change those headlines - or the prejudices that spawned them. For a real difference, we're going to need everyone to sit up, take a long hard look in the mirror and take responsibility for their actions and for the part they play in this country's growth and/or decline; and in turn, their global impact. Because we have bigger problems ahead of us in the long run; and if we could stop turning on each other while trying to lay claim to what we think is 'ours', and rather take cognisance of the full damage of our actions, together we may just be able to rescue ourselves from Mother Earth's pending attempts at evicting us all together. But more on that another time. In the meanwhile, to those who have been making a difference in South Africa during this unrestful time, with their donations, giving and willing, no matter how big or small, thank you. Thank you.