One can hardly pick up a newspaper or watch a news bulletin nowadays without reports of some protest action taking place causing disruption that often leads to violence.
Public protest is fair enough in theory – a community that stands together, ultimately wins together.
It is also in line with democratic principles by which the population should have the right to demonstrate their grievances.
But a line must be drawn once such action leads to the disruption of critical services that are essential to the majority of the population who are not affected by the issue at hand.
Bus drivers blocking major highway routes, school pupils burning down school buildings and preventing others from attending classes, and community members blockading roads while throwing stones and damaging vehicles of innocent people, becomes an unacceptable menace to society who merely need to get to work, take a class, or earn a wage.
This country has many bleeding wounds at the moment.
As citizens is it not our duty to protect what is ours?
Should we not be celebrating where we can, and setting good examples for our children?
Why is it the knee-jerk reaction of young school pupils to riot and burn when they could be taking part in civil engagement?
This attitude of entitlement is learned at home.
University students – the next generation of leaders in this country – should be taught that their rioting, rampaging and destruction gains them little sympathy with the rest of the country.
School pupils who think nothing of destroying a classroom because they do not like their principal, should know that they are only cutting off their noses to spite their faces, when the following year they are protesting that they have no classrooms.
This cycle of destruction and entitlement needs to end long before we can live in a country where the voices of the people are taken seriously.
