This topic can be approached from many perspectives, and I will give you a personal account.

I travel in South Africa quite a bit and in my travels I make it a point to informally interview all races and socio-economic levels.

My findings are as follows:

The aspirations of all South Africans are the same, upward economic mobility, education, job security, safety, and meaning to life. I have met just wonderful people who have a great sense of humor, an ability to connect in a meaningful way with people of all races and who enjoy the richness of the diversity we have in South Africa.

South Africa is known for exceptional hospitality and I have experienced it first hand all over.

So what is the problem? Is there a problem?

Yes, there is a issue of trust. There is still a lack of trust across the racial lines. When Eugene Terre'Blanche was alive, his rhetoric was proof to the Black population that there is a big problem in the White community. Inside the White community, Eugene was seen as a noisy fellow with a handful of supporters and not representative of a critical mass. Today the reverse is true. Julius Malema is very vocal on behalf of Black interests, and he loudly and clearly targets his sentiments to a black-only audience. He has very vocal supporters, yet many in the Black community see him as a crazy opportunistic clown, and wish he would fade from the political scene. Like Eugene, Julius is seen as as a polarizing factor and he intends to raise the heat for his own aggrandizement and gain.

He, and others like Jimmy Manyi are fueling African Nationalism (See JIMMY and JULIUS) to get a sense of their rhetoric. This is in stark contrast with the Rainbow Nation, propagated under Nelson Mandela.

It seems like the fight for the heart and soul of South Africa will be drawn along these lines. Will the Nationalism or Rainbowism win? Here is a mixed bag comment by Jacob Zuma on this matter.

The other issue of concern is the increasing number of illegal immigrants from elsewhere in Africa and them competing for scare jobs. Here is a movie about this situation.