The Basketball Analogy

Due to the Historical, structural and political similarities between the United States of America and South Africa, an anology can be derived if you make a general observation on the two nations' development through recent history.

More clearly, this observation can be done illustrate the position of the two nations in comparison to eachother. I call this analogical observation, the Basketball Analogy, which is very interesting, and serves a very important purpose in itself, because it projects how far both countries have gone, their current status, and how far they still have to propagate.

This analogy was my brainchild, born in the home of Ms Renee Micalizzi (Host parent whilst in Binghamton city, USA), it came by while struggling to put into words the immense similarities the two nations have, but suddenly, basketball came to mind!

I was analysing how both the USA and SA went through a period of racism after slavery, I noted how both had a saviour in the form of ploitical hero (Martin Luther King Jnr and Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela), the abolishement of the oppression, establishement of bill of rights and civil rights acts, the peaceful, yet unpeaceful transtion into the new USA and the new SA, intergration in scociety (businesses, schools, transport, churches, etc), the ongoing political warfare. The above show the general similarities USA and SA have.

Now, to understand this phenominon better, take the above,and apply it to a basketball match-up. The USA and SA are the same team due to their similarities, but to the advanced progress that the USA has already made ahead of SA in many aspects including the above, mentioned, they can be considered to be in the 2nd quarter of the game For instances, they recieved their liberation and democracies centuries ago, they have already undergone the bitter conflicts of institutionalized (enforced) racial integration, and have partially succeeded, they are seeing the fruits of their hard work, they are winning the game, they are a half-away from victory, however, contreversially, they are experiencing a "time-out" due to some social barracades (this is a discussion for another day). We on the otherhand, are in the 1st quarter of the game, we have just achieved our democracy just over one and a half centuries ago, we are a teenage society, we have just started with the rough and bitter, inevitable process of institutionalized racial integration, like the USA, we have to pass this point to reach the 2nd quarter, to be able to look back and see the fruits of the heart-ache we have experienced in the past.

Being in the 1st and 2nd quarters, actually shows that we have not reached our destination yet, we have still got a long way to fo, through the 3rd, and 4th quarters, even through extra-time maybe, but the piont is home, that we take examples from each other, because we are leading the world into a peacefull, cosmopolitan society, that seeks justice, peace and equality for all that live in it!