Of Hindsight, Foresight and Insight... There could be a few thousand Rhodesians, friends of Rhodesia and interested people on this site. Unless I am very much mistaken, most are here for the reasons I am here: To enjoy the images, to read the stories, to cherish our memories, and to keep, renew or make friend- and comradeships. And to flap our gums every now and again and debate Rhodesia and related issues. Nearly forty years after our free and independent (albeit unrecognised) state of Rhodesia was replaced by the state of Zimbabwe, hindsight enables us to look back and see clearer and with better understanding, - not least because of the info that has become available, as well as the posts and interaction on a site like this. The hindsight of today which we are often tempted to equate to the foresight of then, forty years ago. But its easy to judge now, with the hindsight behind us, - to have had the corresponding foresight during Rhodesian times was far, far more difficult. Some say impossible. To judge Rhodesia and our leaders and ourselves fairly and properly, one needs, methinks, something else: Insight. Insight into who we were, and what we were able to do at that time. We being all those of us who were there at that time. Plus insight into what the country was then, and what it was capable of. And insight into our circumstances, and what was possible under these. And, last but not least, insight into what were the alternatives. The sum-total of these insights would give us a far more accurate and true history of Rhodesia than anything weve seen so far. I think we can all agree to that. And to the merits of working on it and taking part in the discussions, even if we disagree from time to time. The last insight, ie the insight into the alternatives, is the only one thats made so much easier by hindsight. At least the one which became reality. We and the whole world now know without the shadow of a doubt what Mugabe was and is like. After more than thirty years of tyranny and misrule, no one in his right mind would dispute that the alternative of Robert Mugabe was bad news, for white and black, - with the possible exception of his own family, hangers-on and the Wabenzis. He was, and has been confirmed as, a terrorist and a despot, who would, and did, turn the bread-basket into a basket-case. There were other alternatives, however. None of them were given a chance, really, not after Ian Smith was forced to accept majority rule by South Africa. With Muzorewa too weak, the Rhodesian establishment unable to see that a second election would be Mugabes, and the Brits hell-bent on ending the war by giving the country to the terrorists, the table was set for the tragedy we have now watched for over three decades. Which is a pity, because so much work had already gone into the alternative of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, the so-called internal settlement, which had the support of the majority of white and black people behind it, I firmly believe. As evidenced by the election of 1979. Of course nothing will change by what we say on this site. Its all history now, water under the bridge. But what we can do is to try and make sure the full and the true history is recorded, with the realistic and achievable alternatives which were available at that time. And not the sort of selective, politically correct, Rhodesia-bashing and Smith-smearing history those who dumped the country into Mugabes lap would like the world to believe. Much has already been done in this regard, and the worlds perception of Rhodesia in 2014 is already very different to the one in 1980. Amazingly enough, nearly forty years after the fact, more reliable evidence of what was, and what could have been, keeps coming out. Its up to us, the generation with the first-hand knowledge, to take it and run with it. To be able to do that on a site like this, we need as much insight as we can get. Not the kind of PC inputs little white lackeys try and sell as the be-all and end-all to Rhodesian history. But the kind of honest, unbiased, informed insight I have so often seen here. And the ability to listen to each other. Because none of us have the whole picture. I think that by listening and learning from each other we could actually make a difference to the way the world sees Rhodesia and its white and black people. The country we served. The country where so many of you were born and enjoyed a wonderful childhood. And the country all of us loved. - Image from German Taeht.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 07:52:31 +0000