Ah, Africa, known for its gorgeous and raw nature, beautiful sunsets, rich minerals, and of course – corruption.

The term corruption is something that we are all very familiar with. I think by simply just using the word – there are a couple of explicit examples and organizations that immediately jump to mind (wink-wink).

The definition of corruption is briefly explained as a form of dishonesty conducted by a person or organization from a place of authority. The abuse of power for personal gain. Our connection to it also mostly involves money or other monetary benefits. Most of us tend to greatly disassociate ourselves from what we understand to be corruption or people that are corrupted.

My first experience with corruption, was when I was teaching. I was young, knew slightly less than what I know now and didn’t immediately recognise it as corruption. There was a lot going on, but one example was when I was cleaning the classroom of a well established HOD and finding exam papers from 2006 (this was 2011), that was unmarked. He asked me to burn it. I didn’t, I just left it in his office. Unmarked papers seem so silly and insignificant, but the implication is that there were kids that might have studied really hard, and because he didn’t mark the tests – he thumb-sucked an average for them on their reports. I don’t know how often this happened, but to me the idea that a student thought it didn’t matter how hard they worked – they were going to fail anyway – is very heart-breaking. I should have done more.

We lightheartedly had a conversation last week about corruption and how it seems to be in all aspects of our lives. And me, being me, as my mind tend to go into levels of concepts – curiously started exploring the deeper meaning and understanding of corruption. Is it really such a far away concept for anyone of us? Or does it sit a bit closer to our being, than what we would have liked?

Most people will never spend thousands to sway someone to do something corrupt. Most people will not even understand what exactly a billion means. I personally think of it as Monopoly money. However, as we skip, love, fall and live life – we can easily be corrupted by it. It might not be big, it might be negligible – it might even be as simple as turning a blind eye.

I once read a book, where the writer explained that the most violent rebellion does not come from the group of people that has nothing, but the group of people that had a little something – and it was taken away from them. We will fight nail and tooth to hold on to what we have. Our comfort. Whether it’s financial, emotional, security or the level of authority and power to maintain.

I think we all have in different ways turned a blind eye for the sake of not disrupting the waters, not creating a scene, not willing to dive into the rabbit hole of mess or simply because we didn’t have the energy. Staying quiet to keep the peace, because you are genuinely putting someone else’s wellbeing above your own – that is noble. Selfless – something that has never corrupted a heart. The distinction is when the motives are self-seeking and leaves another person to carry the burden.

Happily getting the same salary as your peers, but not putting in the same effort as them. They are doing it to themselves, right? Having expectations of people, that we’ll never expect of ourselves. Everyone has to learn somehow? Rules and regulations set for others, but loosely abiding to it yourself. We know where to draw the line, right? Seeing someone else going through struggles and turmoil, but ignoring it, because addressing the issue will have a negative impact on your status quo. As long as I live in my happy bubble, they’ll be okay?

A friend of mine, when he’s about to say something to me that he thinks I don’t want to hear, mentions the fact that I don’t want to hear it. Almost as a pre-warning. It slightly irks me. Just a tad. It does not, nor should it matter whether I want to hear something or not. What matters, is whether it’s true or not. I don’t want to ever turn a blind eye to the truth. The truth is not there for our convenience. It’s not our play-thing. The unwillingness to face the truth – does not change the truth.

I am curious on the foundations of corruption, but I did not spiral down overthinking my own corruptive capabilities. Nor do I think that every single person is corrupt to the core. Established corruption is very difficult to break, but we can prevent ourselves from being corrupted. Or corrupted no more.

I do think that we sometimes focus on the bad habits and traits of others, while blissfully being unaware of our own. We all have potential for greatness – within our own nests of what we regard as being great. The other side of that spectrum is that we all have the potential to become corrupted. If it can be in the small things – it can easily be in the bigger things. Obviously, you have to find a billion bucks in a magic forest first, before you get to world domination, but you get my drift.

The main drive behind corruption is selfishness and ego; to keep and gain a level of convenience and authority. Two concepts needed to have power. And those concepts are something I most definitely toy at sometimes. Both selfishness and ego are rarely what you think it is. It’s a bit more complicated and camouflaged.

So, what is the distinction between my small little acts of selfishness and pops of ego? Have I turned corrupted, while lying to myself in my comfortable and convenient life? Honestly, no – because life constantly smacks me in the face with a nice and wet humble pie; and well – it’s me.  

But the answer is simple – grace. The grace to know that small things matter. Small decisions matter. And small things can very quickly escalate. Selflessness is not expecting other people to fit into our comfort. Humbleness is not a mask in public.

We all can be corrupted, but now that we know it’s closer than we thought – we can take care against it.

Stay uncorrupted, friends!