All in the Numbers. David Lipschitz Letter to the Cape Times published Fri 29 Jul 2016

THERE are three political parties: party A, party B and party C.

There are 10 voters. Three people vote for party A, two people vote for party B, one person votes for party C.

Party A wins the vote with 50 percent of the vote, even though only 60 percent of the voters voted. And party C maybe doesn't get enough votes to even get a seat in Parliament.

If the four people who didn't vote, voted for party C, then party C would have got five votes and would have won the elections with 50 percent of the overall vote.

This means that a small party that gets people who are dissatisfied with South Africa's five main parties to vote for it can win the elections.

If you don't vote, you vote for the winner, and you have nothing to complain about.

Note that I won't be voting because I have deregistered as a voter, and I will be representing myself in Parliament, according to the provisions of the Preamble of the South African constitution.

Only by being unified in diversity can we truly be free. Article about BREXIT by David Lipschitz in Cape Times on Friday 1st July 2016

AS USUAL, the naysayers are out in force, telling the world's people that the world is about to disintegrate and we should all start praying and packing up our businesses and lives, heading for the hills.

Brexit, Britain exiting the EU, might not be as bad as some would believe.

We live in an over-centralised world where the people at the centre channel all the energy and funds via themselves, raking off commissions and other monies for themselves. Corruption is rife. Palms are greased. And the money laundering is incredible.

Imagine a world where Britain separates from the EU. And then, imagine that Britain itself "disintegrates" like Czechoslovakia, which become the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Imagine that Britain becomes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland - four separate countries.

And then, imagine that these countries disintegrate further and England's counties become countries called Leicestershire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, etc.

Imagine that these "new" "city states" want to work with each other to better each other for the betterment of mankind, not for warlike reasons.

Each "shire" has unique capabilities. Each "shire" has unique inspiration and motivation. Each "shire" can "muster" its people in a unique way to be "better" - "shire" people. More fulfilled. More energetic. More resourceful. More at peace with each other in their own "local communities", connected by the "internet-super-highway" (Jeremy Rifkin).

At the moment, all these "separate" people are lumped together in a community called the EU where everyone is meant to be the same. But difference should be celebrated, not inhibited.

When one looks at nature, one sees millions of colours, millions of smells, millions of shapes. Almost nothing is the same as the next thing. And yet, we humans are all trying to be alike instead of celebrating our humanity by being who we truly are.

Men and women are really different. Blacks and whites have different value to offer society, knowledgeable about different parts of an increasingly complex and diverse world.

Different religions can and should work together for the betterment of all. Different countries and societies have different human capital, different systems that should all contribute to a new "whole." And even West and East have different ways of viewing science, with the West preferring a "proof" approach, and the East preferring an "observation" approach.

We live in a "connected" world where anyone anywhere can "be their own boss", accessing the internet and trading with anyone anywhere on the planet. This "flat" (read Thomas Friedman's book Hot, Flat and Crowded) world makes everyone "appear" to be the same. It appears that we all have the same opportunities. It appears that we all have the same markets. It appears that we all have the same resources.

Yes re opportunities. Yes re markets. No re resources. Small communities of resourceful communities have changed the world, and this is what we need today.

In fact Margaret Mead said "never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

Nelson Mandela, the Madiba (father) of our modern South Africa, celebrated difference. He intuitively knew that by celebrating the uniqueness that the 11 different "tribes" of South Africa has, and by keeping our languages and cultures separate, that we would "thrive" in this diverse world. Only by being unified in diversity can we truly be free. Many people said that we should have one South Africa with one language. They are wrong!

Single monoculture crops are failures waiting to happen. Whilst planting a single crop might mean a huge profit in the event of everything going well, a "bad" year could spell disaster.

How much better to sow a field with multiple varieties of corn and multiple other crops that co-exist with corn. Any single point of failure is covered by the diversity planted on the field.

Brexit allows us to celebrate difference, whilst being part of a diverse, integrated-whole. We should applaud the people who have taken this painful decision and support the processes that will come out of it.