The liver at the heart of the nation!

Barolong Seboni | Friday January 31, 2014 16:45

hicken has just finished making his ominous and gloomy prediction about how the FMD-diseased cattle which were slaughtered over the years will live with the nation forever.He was reminded by an article that he read in one of the local papers about how cattle farmers in the north-western region are still suffering.

In fact his point is that the spirits of these cattle will follow us to the grave as a nation. 'They will die with us,' he says, sounding unusually profound. 'Or we have died with them.'

'No, no, what you mean to say is that a part of us has died with them,' adds Nikita, seizing the moment to display his own profundity.

'Now which part of us would that be?' asks Ausi Maggie sarcastically, and then it's open season with the fellows as each one says, 'The lungs of course!'

'With the slaughter of the cattle, our collective lungs have collapsed.'

'Nope, methinks it is the liver. The liver of the nation has turned lilac, that's why we are afraid to do things. We are inactive and inert.'

'But surely that's not because of the cattle. It's the booze, it has to be the booze that has destroyed the liver of the nation. Remember what I said last time, that we are a hard-drinking, beer-worshipping Christian nation despite all the efforts by the fundamentalist tactics of the powers that be!'

'Gentlemen of the oblong table, I beg to differ with you on this one. It is the heart that has gone. The nation has lost heart. Case in point: the general apathy that hangs over the whole generality of the population.'

'Is waar! No one wants to do anything anymore. We have given the vote to the youth and they don't want it, or at least they are not prepared to use it in the next election next year.'

'Well, I don't blame them myself because the general attitude from the adults is one of lethargy- its like tsayang vote ke yeo, rona re lapile! The senior citizens on the other hand will only vote for the grand ole party of 1965 and the P200 hand-shake!'

'Ok, I agree with the heart theory only partly. Nna tota ka re the heart is not lost- it is broken, or should i say the promises at the heart of the nation have been broken.

How long have we been hearing all sorts of schemes on poverty alleviation and eradication? People get per diems and allowances and plane tickets (business class of course) to talk about poverty in the air conditioned rooms.

They talk about poverty studies there. The concept of poverty is so removed, so alien that they have to study it. I should be a guest speaker on poverty, man.

I'm a resource person on poverty because poverty is in me and I'm in poverty.

'I breathe it through the pores of my lice-infested skin. I breed poverty in the rat-hole of my abode. When someone says 'poverty o raya mmago,' they are praising me. Poverty is my mother.'

'But Botswana is really suffering from a lack of heart. There! You have just proved my point because you are saying that there's great insensitivity that pervades the nation.'

'Nobody cares about nobody. Botho is dead and gone.

It was buried in a mass grave along with those carcasses of cattle.'

'I agree that it is the heart that is dead and gone. The divorce rate is up, wife battering is rampant, and promiscuity is rife because everyone is looking for the heart. Give us the heart, even if its broken!'

'Prostitution is on the up and up because the women think they can sell, and the men think they can buy it. We are all running around looking for the heart!'

'Of course the irony of all that is that you don't have to look beyond yourself to find a heart. The heart is right inside you, inside all of us.'

'The trick is to discover it within yourself, to stop and listen to it and keep pace with your pulse. Otherwise at the rate things are going this nation is heading for one massive heart-attack!'

Then Ausi Maggie just has to have the last word; 'Come on fellows, I don't have the stomach for all this... have a heart!'

He was reminded by an article that he read in one of the local papers about how cattle farmers in the north-western region are still suffering.In fact his point is that the spirits of these cattle will follow us to the grave as a nation. 'They will die with us,' he says, sounding unusually profound. 'Or we have died with them.''No, no, what you mean to say is that a part of us has died with them,' adds Nikita, seizing the moment to display his own profundity.'Now which part of us would that be?'

asks Ausi Maggie sarcastically, and then it's open season with the fellows as each one says, 'The lungs of course!' 'With the slaughter of the cattle, our collective lungs have collapsed.''Nope, methinks it is the liver. The liver of the nation has turned lilac, that's why we are afraid to do things. We are inactive and inert.''But surely that's not because of the cattle. It's the booze, it has to be the booze that has destroyed the liver of the nation. Remember what I said last time, that we are a hard-drinking, beer-worshipping Christian nation despite all the efforts by the fundamentalist tactics of the powers that be!''Gentlemen of the oblong table, I beg to differ with you on this one. It is the heart that has gone.

The nation has lost heart. Case in point: the general apathy that hangs over the whole generality of the population.' 'Is waar!No one wants to do anything anymore. We have given the vote to the youth and they don't want it, or at least they are not prepared to use it in the next election next year.''Well, I don't blame them myself because the general attitude from the adults is one of lethargy- its like tsayang vote ke yeo, rona re lapile! The senior citizens on the other hand will only vote for the grand ole party of 1965 and the P200 hand-shake!''Ok, I agree with the heart theory only partly. Nna tota ka re the heart is not lost- it is broken, or should i say the promises at the heart of the nation have been broken.How long have we been hearing all sorts of schemes on poverty alleviation and eradication? People get per diems and allowances and plane tickets (business class of course) to talk about poverty in the air conditioned rooms.They talk about poverty studies there. The concept of poverty is so removed, so alien that they have to study it. I should be a guest speaker on poverty, man. I'm a resource person on poverty because poverty is in me and I'm in poverty.'I breathe it through the pores of my lice-infested skin. I breed poverty in the rat-hole of my abode. When someone says 'poverty o raya mmago,' they are praising me. Poverty is my mother.''But Botswana is really suffering from a lack of heart. There! You have just proved my point because you are saying that there's great insensitivity that pervades the nation.''Nobody cares about nobody. Botho is dead and gone. It was buried in a mass grave along with those carcasses of cattle.' 'I agree that it is the heart that is dead and gone.

The divorce rate is up, wife battering is rampant, and promiscuity is rife because everyone is looking for the heart. Give us the heart, even if its broken!''Prostitution is on the up and up because the women think they can sell, and the men think they can buy it. We are all running around looking for the heart!''Of course the irony of all that is that you don't have to look beyond yourself to find a heart. The heart is right inside you, inside all of us.''The trick is to discover it within yourself, to stop and listen to it and keep pace with your pulse. Otherwise at the rate things are going this nation is heading for one massive heart-attack!'Then Ausi Maggie just has to have the last word; 'Come on fellows, I don't have the stomach for all this... have a heart!'