Voltage is an informal term for electric potential difference and is also called electric tension. Voltage is defined so that negatively-charged objects are pulled towards higher voltages, while positively-charged objects are pulled towards lower voltages. Therefore, the conventional current in a wire or resistor always flows from higher voltage to lower voltage. (Wikipedia)
When a person should touch a high tension wire while he is grounded the potential difference (electrical tension) between the person and the wire is large, large enough to seriously injure or kill. How then do you ask, do the electrical workers manage to work on the high wires without being injured? The same way a bird sitting on a high tension line escapes injury. They are not connected to a lower voltage point at the same time. The secret lies thus in that they manage their connection to the electrical wire in such a way that the electrical tension between them is zero. The point is thus that it is not the 11 000 Volts that is dangerous in absolute terms, the danger lies in the electrical tension between the points.
Before electricity was stumbled upon by Newton and his friends, tensions existed in societies due to potential differences. The Jews left Egypt, tired of slavery. The French revolution did not start because King Louis and Mary Antoinette had money. The revolution started because Mary ate cake and the peasants ate dirt. The tensions in this society due to inequality became too much to bear. Comparing this situation back to electricity we know that an arc of electricity will spontaneously jump between two points if the tension is large enough.
We saw this happen in the societies of Tunisia and Egypt. For the casual observer this revolt happened spontaneously seemingly out of nowhere. The inequality and unfairness that has been building up for decades reached a bridging point and the arc flared spontaneously.
In a very equal society like Sweden where everybody has money and virtually nobody has nothing, the potential difference (tension) between groups of people are low. During the depression of the 30’s everybody worldwide was extremely poor. Our grandparents who lived during this period, worked very hard and in terrible circumstances.
In South Africa, crime however was not rampant as it is today. Yes, they were upstanding citizens and in my case my grandparents were on the right side of the political divide. I do know and realise the chances of me being able to write this article on this laptop would have been close to zero, if I was brought up in a candle-lit shack next to a shebeen in Khayelitsha. I probably would be pushing a wheel-barrow somewhere and taking my time doing it.
BEE, empowerment strategies and affirmative action are mechanisms designed to alleviate the tensions caused by historical injustices in South Africa. The implementation of the mechanisms desperately need attention, but the intended thinking around the policies are sound. The entitlement of individuals (gravy train) and crime driven by the imbalance of societies within our country causes a great amount of grief and sadness across all communities in South Africa. Admittedly the “entitled” individuals taking advantage of the times desperately need the Care and Growth story, but that is a different story for another time. It is also their story and journey, not ours.
Giving and caring unconditionally on a personal level is a long journey and not easy. To change yourself you have to confront the very essence of your worldviews, thoughts and feelings. At a societal level it is an even more difficult, but the change still has to start within individuals.
A better understanding of societies and our history goes a long way to increase our empathy for those who do not have. I am not better than them; I have to be grateful for what I have. I need to be a part of healing our land. Not because I have to, or that I am afraid, I should want to, because it is the right thing to do. We cannot wait for others to change. We have no control of the other. My unconditional contribution to this great and wonderful world that includes my country, South Africa is all I have to bring me happiness.