Opinion is growing in the South African public that the Congress of the People (COPE) is turning up to be nothing more than taxonomical adjustment of the ANC with same old prescriptions and cadences. Indeed COPE has been taking in a lot of detritus dumped overboard by other political parties, giving them fresh opportunities to reboot. It is therefore understandable when people question its bona fides, after all one of COPE’s rallying points is ethical behaviour. Why, for instance, must it welcome as a heroes convicts like Allan Boesak?
Granted, Boesak was given a presidential pardon that eradicated his criminal record, but COPE sells itself as the guardian of moral principles among other things, and rallies on politics that are built on solid principles. Because of this, more than other political party, COPE is judged harshly when it shows holes on its moral fabric. On the other hand most people tend to forget that COPE also promotes the combination of reforming spirit with its ideals of constitutionalism, defence of democracy and so forth. COPE is about new beginnings, trying to realise the full potential of the country, etc.
It is correct that repentant ex-offenders should not feel left out, but be re-integrated into society and accorded all their rights as enshrined in the Constitution. There’s a danger, seen long ago by Aristotle, of vices sometimes being virtues carried to excess; the error of puritanical organisations. By accepting Boesak COPE, on top of being practical, avoids excessive virtuousness, and the superficial culture of appropriating blame as the sign of virtue. I’m sure COPE is not a post-Freudian political organisation that relaxes moral views, pardoning all on pretence of understanding all. Rather by adopting the more strenuous position that regards real virtue as a thing that require more discriminating, even less immediately gratifying populist stance, COPE put itself in a stronger position, above the slack disposition of self-righteousness by readily apportioning blame to others, and dishing double jeopardy to those who’ve paid their debt to society.
Political parties must find value on people for what they stand for now, how they, heron, conduct themselves. Otherwise they’d have to refuse admission to many people, especially politicians who almost always have shoddy pasts, one way or the other. Once you start preventing people from becoming members of your party simply because of what they did in their previous political parties, positions of employment, family matters, churches, schools, rugby clubs, soccer clubs, etc., where do you end? I’m sure COPE wants membership of great stature and credible leadership with integrity, who respects the rule of law, and will uphold the Constitution, etc. But it does not have to be finicky about these issues. It is hypocritical bêtise, and suspension of reality, to say in politics there are no second chances, as if politics were not part of life. We all believe that everyone deserves a second chance in life. As much as we want to put our country back to sound ethical and moral principles we must avoid the high frisson of reification, treating people as disposable things and demonising them because of their past.
COPE has so far been making right noises towards progressive, pluralistic, consultative, participatory, ethical democracy. It has captured the imagination of South Africans who want to move away from exhortatory passé politics of nostalgia and perpetual myth making. True, if it wants to gain the confidence of the majority of South Africans it must find ways of reducing the disabling gaps between political rhetoric and practise to eliminate performative contradictions. The real test is on whether COPE is able to avoid the cloying carnivalesque delirium of the Tripartite Alliance (TA) they so eloquently criticise. The TA has fallen victim to its own myths making by placing too much credence on its rhetorical slogans, and by conducting itself as a self-appointed messianic custodians of our freedom. Most South Africans seek a fresh break from all the stale about the so called national revolutionary politics that glorifies barren ideologies and superficial radical appeal. COPE’s success will be determined by how much it makes itself platform of expression for the spirit of our times.
COPE has chosen what is termed progressive politics where political leaders acquaint themselves with sentiments and derivations of the masses, and the narrative order of the day. Progressive politics sublimate social tensions by adopting development social spirit for common good. If COPE promotes and practice that with structural integrity of democracy and justice, break the power of stultifying illusions that has been created by the TA, people are in intelligent enough to realise where their best future rest. Sometimes when an idea arrives at an opportune time, and finds right leadership of progressive spirit, it acquires a force of inevitability.
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