Apartheid – Alive and Well in Us

Apartheid is an Afrikaner word, pronounced "apart hate" – which seems appropriate. It was a slogan in the 1948 election in South Africa that institutionalized racial segregation for the next 40+ years.  Three years after The Election (when Nelson Mandela became President), I was leading a More To Life Weekend in Johannesburg, and one young man had the microphone and started a couple of statements with, "Now that apartheid is over …" 

Everything in me wanted to agree with him. And everything in me knew he was living an illusion. Very quietly, I said, "Apartheid is not over – it is alive and well in our hearts and minds. It may be over on paper, but not in Reality. It thrives in every country, in companies, in relationships – between blacks and whites, men and women, the 'haves' and the 'have nots', labor and management, smokers and non-smokers – the list is endless."  Virtually any behavior that separates me from anyone is my personal addition to the energy of apartheid. My self-righteousness about the infamy of apartheid IS apartheid in action.

One of the most important tenets of the More To Life Weekend is the acknowledgment of that light 
(literally and figuratively) within each of us … that light that is worthy of honor, love and respect … regardless of what we have done or not done, regardless of what has been done to us or not done to us. When that light within is acknowledged, it is much more compelling to behave accordingly. It frees me to honor my boundaries, while honoring yours. And I don't have to get mad to do that.

Apartheid can only happen when we forget who we are and forget who 'they' are.