Laughing With You [revised] Poem by Margaret Alice Second

It seems that arrogant ignorance is becoming the
norm in our Government Departments - amusing
as it is hearing of an interpreter’s inexperience &
lack of excellence in a Court trial watched world-
wide - and remembering the interpreter’s gaffe in
sign-language of President’s Obama’s speech;

It’s probably one of the things feared by the sour
architects of apartheid, an Africans’ joie de vivre
makes it impossible for him to substitute pursuit
of excellence for love, friendship and joy - and if
loss of Dignity and Honour in the World’s eye is
the result, then so be it; I’d rather a free African

State battling to master good governance, using
money on the wrong things than an oppressed
Apartheid state’s racial discrimination aimed at
maintaining excellence as a norm with a greater
cost to naïve, untutored African races’ suffering;
nothing justifies racial isolation, if current Rulers

Fail understanding the role of rules & regulations
for good statesmanship, it does not matter, even
if we resemble a banana republic: nobody learns
by being told, we learn by experience, and a new
democracy still has to go far before knowing how
to do it right; just give us time

And laugh if you must - with our joie de vivre -
we’ll be laughing with you!

[ORIGINAL: ]

Hearing of the court interpreter’s lack of experience
and excellence in a world-wide watched trial - also
remembering the sign language interpreter’s super
big fail during the American President’s speech; it
seems that arrogant ignorance’s becoming the norm
in our Government Departments and it’s amusing

This is probably one of the things feared by the sour
architects of apartheid – Africans’ joie de vivre which
makes it impossible for them to fall into the mistake of
substituting excellence for love and friendship and joy –
and if loss of Dignity and Honour in the world’s eyes
is the result, then so be it, I’d much rather a free

African state battling to master good governance,
spending money on all the wrong things – than an
oppressed Apartheid state with racial discrimination
aimed at keeping excellence as norm at the cost of the
naïve and untutored African races’ suffering; nothing
can justify racial segregation - if current rulers fail to

Understand the role of rules and regulations for good
statesmanship, it does not matter, even if we resemble
a banana republic: nobody learns by being told, we all
learn by experience and a new democracy still has far
to go before knowing how to do it right; just give us
time and laugh if you must - with our joie de vivre -

We’ll be laughing with you!

[5 March 2014]