First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper.

On 10 December 2020 the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa will turn 24 years old.

I not only consider 10 December the anniversary of the Constitution but also the day on which South Africa was reconstituted. What South Africa was before that date was a country constituted illegally. Now we are a country that has the legal basis to exist.

I am currently reading Transcendence by the former president of India, APJ Abdul Kalam, which recounts his spiritual experiences with Pramukh Swamiji, who is considered one of the most inspiring spiritual leaders of modern times. Kalam recalls a moment in 2001 when he presented an idea for a Vision 2020 for India to Swamiji. He recounts that “India has had two great visions in modern times. There was a vision for independence in 1857. It took 90 years to get freedom. Then in 1950, a republic was envisioned for India to evolve as a nation.”

Kalam asked Swamiji questions that plague every developing nation: “What should be the next vision for India? How do we transform a developing country into a developed country within the next 30 years?” His most pressing question was how can India create people with values to realise their ambitious vision. Kalam understood that what India needs is a cadre of value-based citizens.

South Africa had its own vision of freedom since before its illegal founding in 1910. Then came our second ambitious vision, articulated in the Preamble to the Constitution of 1996, which binds us to

• Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights;
• Lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law;
• Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and
• Build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.

The Preamble itself recognises that it is “We, the People” who made the improbable vision of a free South Africa a reality. It is this Preamble too that charges us, “We, the People”, to make its grand promise a reality.

Do we have a cadre of value-based citizens who will move this country closer to its constitutional promise?

In India’s case, Swamiji’s response was that the people who would realise India’s big vision are those developed through spirituality; those who believe in something bigger than themselves.

I believe that one of the ways to get to the kind of spirituality Swamiji speaks of is through teaching the story of the making of our Constitution. This is a foundational story of how the values of love, compassion and courage can change the world. We have seen so many instances in our history when the people chose love over fear. When we chose the Constitution over war we made a declaration of love.

Because we do not know the love we come from, we see ourselves as separate from this love and separate from one another. Far too many of us are unaware of the astoundingly noble values that underlie the founding of South Africa.

If we taught this history more widely I firmly believe we would once again achieve the improbable. With inspiration from our history we can transform South Africa from a developing state to a developed state in our lifetime.

Happy 24th birthday to our Constitution. May we learn from our history and be the cadre of citizens that will realise our country’s second grand vision.

To learn more about the South African Constitution visit www.ourconstitution.constitutionhill.org.za. DM168

This is an opinion by Lwando Xaso who is an attorney and a writer.

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