by Sarah-Leah Pimentel
V-I-C, V-I-C, V-I-C-T-O-R-Y! Victory, Victory is our cry! V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!
You may remember this “war cry” from school-run sporting events. Members of one group or house would scream this to support their team members and intimidate the opposition. Team songs like these foster a sense of belonging to a group and team cooperation to achieve a common goal.
But I’ve come to wonder whether this paradigm of victory at all costs is at the root of everything that is wrong with the world. You see, when you scream for your side’s victory, you desire the downfall of the other side. If your team performs well, its members feel superior to the opposition. It is very easy to gloat over our success and deride the losing side.
It is also the prism through which political leaders puff up their sense of worth and disparage their opponents. With less than seven weeks to South Africa’s seventh general election, electoral candidates accuse their opponents of corruption, even though they, too, are embroiled in scandal. They accuse each other of racism and tribalism, but very few parties can genuinely claim to represent all South Africans.
They do not seek to unite us around the common goal that most South Africans desire: an end to crime, running water in our taps, electricity to power our homes and grow the economy, education for our children, and meaningful employment for nearly half of the working-age population who cannot find work.
If we look beyond South Africa, the need for victory by a group that perceives itself to dominate another group is at the heart of conflict. In Gaza, the Zionist Israeli State sees the Palestinian territories as its rightful territory, which it must claim back in its entirety at any cost. From this perspective, there is no willingness to recognise that the Palestinians have also resided in this land for centuries and have equal claim to it.
Similarly, Russia has adopted a dubious retelling of history to justify its efforts to annex Ukrainian territories by force. In Haiti, an all-powerful former police chief turned mob boss has pitted rival gangs against each other. This cold-hearted notion of victory is what drives the bloody race for resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan and the insatiable desire for authority by Ethiopia’s discredited Nobel Peace Prize winner.
What do all these conflicts have in common? Victory is always temporary. The brittle peace soon cracks and the warring factions again take up arms. Meanwhile, the ordinary people caught up in these conflicts lose their lives, their homes, and their livelihoods. The victors are a miniscule elite. Everybody else loses.
What is the solution? It is the Easter message, one that is most unattractive to gun-toting, power-hungry authoritarians: Mercy.
Christ died for all humanity. He did not die only for the righteous, his tribe, his race, or his language. The Bible tells us that he died for us, even though we were sinners. Through his Resurrection, all humanity is redeemed. Jesus asks nothing of us other than to discard our former paradigms and embrace the mercy of his love.
If we accept this divine mercy, we recognise in humility that we are not judged according to our qualities. In turn, we extend that mercy to others. There is no place for winners and losers in a world of mercy. In the language of mercy, we are all in it together and are all called to build a new world where everyone can live with dignity.
M-E-R-C-Y. M-E-R-C-Y. Mercy is our song. M-E-R-C-Y.
