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Let us all be patriotic folk

In response to the "Loyalty Pledge" for the country's schools unveiled by Education Minister Naledi Pandor on Tuesday, I would like to share with you and other South Africans the SA Patriot Initiative's effort in this respect.

In response to the "Loyalty Pledge" for the country's schools unveiled by Education Minister Naledi Pandor on Tuesday, I would like to share with you and other South Africans the SA Patriot Initiative's effort in this respect.

We composed (when launching SA Patriot over a year ago) an SA Patriot Commitment Statement that focuses on responsible citizenship and patriotism.

It is a voluntary commitment that we believe speaks well to the integral vision we as citizens espouse for our country.

It happens that we made a submission to the Presidency almost eight months ago to lobby them for support of this initiative to build responsible citizenship.

We see now, from this announcement, that the government recognises the value of our initiative, but for some reason didn't feel motivated to support a civil society movement in this regard.

We believe South Africa could benefit from a broader citizen's commitment, not confined to our schools, that builds a new patriotic tradition underpinned by the sentiment expressed in Mark Twain's quote: "Loyalty to the country always, loyalty to the government when it deserves it."

Charity Postmanco-founder, The SA Patriot Initiative, Johannesburg

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