The Empire and the Barbarians

Which side are you on?

The Empire is powerful, and the Barbarians pose some threat to the Empire. This is the premise behind JM Coetzee's brilliant book, 'Waiting for the Barbarians'.

Behind the story is an abstract debate, a moral debate really, about the motives of the Empire.
In my view, the Empire of our time is the USA. This all-Powerful entity nevertheless feels threatened and fearful of agents operating far beyond their borders. And here we begin to see the brutality and torture, the surveillance that all Empire's are capable of. Empire represents civilisation, does it not? It's stability, it's culture, it's increasing trends towards urbanity.

The Barbarian hordes are apparently uncivilised and dirty, they lie around (especially when dislocated), they're troubled and seeking escape (back to their own territories). This might be a Barbarian in Guantanomo Bay or once, at Robben Island.

The Empire of our time continues to cite Weapons of Mass Destruction as a motive for protecting themselves. Attack a perceived threat. So far, America has suffered at least one direct hit by a weapon of mass destruction. Her name was Katrina. 2 hurricanes right now are trawling the oceans that straddle America. It's likely that hits 2, 3 ,4 and more will also fall of of the sky, and sweep up the waters against the shallow shores of the Empire.

In South Africa, we have a trinity of crises. We have a crisis of unemployment (40% unemployed, plus 5% discouraged, which is really half the population - a phenomenal figure). We have a crisis of crime and massive prison populations, second in the world olnly to the USA (with a population many times larger than hours.) We also have a crisis of disease, not only AIDS, but mostly AIDS. Each crisis on its own is a terrible, horrific state of affairs. We have three, and those are just the easiest to tick off a shortlist.

So in this country, South Africa, where is the Empire? I think the white man, here, is the new Barbarian. One reporter, writing about his experiences in China and Japan (as a part time citizen) clearly demonstrates how disconnected the white man has become with what should be his own country. Trevor Manuel, whose big hand I have shaken, has also pointed a finger at the white man - no longer belonging in the offices of finance.

I watched Pariliament TV and was shaken by some people shouting their feelings about how necessary it is to change the name of an airport. Shouting, despite the Deputy Madam Speaker appealing for calm, appealing for a civilised way of expressing oneself.
I see the same sense of disrespect in the classroom. It was said, today, in the staffroom where I work that this year's population of learners is the worst ever. And they are practically unteachable - except for a small handful.

The Empire: is it good? We know it is strong, but is it good? We also know that the badness in an Empire causes it to collapse from within. It perceives a threat on the outside, it moves to subjugate, but then its soldiers and corrupters turn on each other in a kind of bloody internecine conflict.

In the end, it seems, the Barbarians triumph over the hypocrisy of Empire. And since the rise and fall of Empires seems hardwired into human civilisation, the question begs itself: how to avoid the catastrophe? How to prevent what Coetzee calls 'the jagged rise and fall' of civilisation.
The answer lies perhaps in making genuine attempts to accept the aliens among us, the misunderstood 'Other'. It is in making genuine attempts to respect those we share our space with. Failure to do so invites paranoid (self) destruction, or simply a collapse, with the meek overrunning what's left, and starting the process all over again.

In our country those genuine attempts would be serious measures to combat unemployment, crime and the scourge of AIDS. I don't see evidence of that happening from the Empire, but I do see some individuals rising, raising their voices and balling their fists under the fierce sun; the sun that shines and rains arrows down on all, even as far as the outskirts of the empire.