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28 February 1 995
As I see it, to have a sound Constitution:
The state must do on a
greater scale what we as individuals must do on a lesser scale. If your
domestic management is handled incorrectly
-dishonestly, for instance, things
will go wrong for you. We are too much inclined to want to fly too high,
instead of abiding by
our income. The most important is -however- still that
one's words must concur with one’s actions. The higher your standard
of
living, the harder you must work. If you are going to rely on others, you will
become worse off economically. To be obedient
and disciplined taxes one's
strength. This is at any rate my modest opinion of a good
citizen.
It does not help to merely say things which you are in any
case not going to accomplish. This is very typical of politics. A
characteristic
example of this is to say I that I am a Christian, but, I don't
live according to all of the ten Commandments, so then I am not a
Christian -and
I am a liar. So, if you tell even one lie, you are not honest, and all the
words you utter will be open to doubt.
"Once a liar, always a
liar!"
If you want to own land you must also have a sense of
conservation. It's easy to say I can produce, but the reality is: to plan
properly,
to be able to persevere and to work hard. To conserve is more
difficult than to destroy. Our country is dry, there is a shortage
of water,
and this must be clearly understood and taken care of. Try to get more water in
the ground through terraces, contours,
etc. Where rain does fall, as much of it
as possible should be retained and not allowed to wash away. Footpaths in the
veld are
a major problem, especially against steep slopes. Camps for cattle,
etc. are very important, or you'll run your farm at a loss.
Plant trees; don't
remove them. Counter wind erosion by planting trees. In this way, the
government can create a lot of employment.
1) The citizens of this
country must be protected against the inpour of foreigners who come here to
steal, etc. We don't have work
for our own people, let alone for others that
seep in. If knowledgeable people come in and work hard enough to get out
economy going,
I have nothing against them.
2) Every inhabitant of this
country must: possess an ID document and take good care of it; have a fixed
address and should he move
elsewhere (in this country), he must inform the
police of his current address. The sooner we start with this, the sooner
criminals
can be caught.
3) To be able to have a safe environment.
The death penalty is and remains an important deterrent. If someone commits
murder, especially
if he wants to steal, he is a danger to society, and we don't
have room for someone like that in our community.
4) If someone
starts a business or something similar under false pretences, and falsely asks
the public for money, and eventually
declares himself bankrupt, neither he nor
his family must be allowed to start a business again until all his creditors
have been
reimbursed.
We must learn to value things, especially if
something doesn't belong to us -such as school equipment, buildings, etc. We
must build
up, but as things are now, we are retrogressing. Economically we
cannot afford it. It is also not one's democratic right, and must
be punished
severely in the case of polluting, throwing things around, etc., which is a very
bad characteristic in a person who should
be principled. Such a person does not
love our country anyhow. To string up one's miserable will with that of others
by forcing
things on them, by toyi-toying, etc., is a very poor characteristic
for a citizen to have -such a person does not belong in the company
of
responsible people. Everyone ought to know for themselves what is right and
what is wrong; everyone ought to be thoroughly thrifty
in order to try and build
something up -not just to demand, hide away and think up glib
talk.
Under these principles the Constitution, one that will be
valid for all skin colours, and which will not take away from people that
which
they have built up in the past, must be written. Years ago the population died
out because no provision was made for water.
One learns from history that one
should not throw things away. Let us build further, like the white people who
have been and are
a good example, and let us not destroy more.
Thank
you
M. Weide
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