Careful What You Wish For

Former newspaper editor Gasant Abarder refl ects on past fantasies about freedom and the imperfections that come with living in a democracy.

- Gasant Abarder

Growing up, I used to fantasise about the order being reversed: a two-day workweek and a five-day weekend. Why not? Why didn’t we have weather days here in South Africa when it snowed so hard that there was no school for the day, and later you could ride a sled down the hill with your friends like in those American television shows?

That fantasy, I must confess, carried on into adulthood. A low-key monsoon that didn’t really cause any damage or flooding but only cut off the routes to work sounded great. Hmmm… Netflix and an endless supply of pizza while locked up at home in your PJs. Surely that represented the ultimate freedom? Free of responsibility and the daily grind.

But, as they always say, be careful what you wish for.