President Zuma uses Dearjon idea in State of the Nation address

Dear President Zuma,

          You are a lot more perceptive than I gave you credit for. What’s more you are extremely well read and you are always open to other people’s excellent ideas.

       I was flattered of course, but the only thing that rather peeved me was that having taken one off my blog the least you could do was to give me the credit for having thought of it first. That’s the decent thing to do.

          So when the subject comes up again perhaps you can make amends by telling the country that all the credit must go to the Dearjon Letter.

          What I’m referring to is the following extract from my letter to you headed Where’s our Patriotism which I published on 13 January, just the other day as it were.

          It went like this: How about this for an idea? Can’t you convince your comrades to try aiming for 100 years of patriotism?

       Why not start by hoisting the South African flag on every Government building and at every school. I don’t mean for a couple of weeks until they get nicked. I mean as a permanent reminder of what patriotism is all about.

          Then almost a month later on 10 February I was listening to your fascinating State of the Nation address at the opening of Parliament in Cape Town and what did I hear?

          It was like an echo of what I had suggested to you in my first letter.

          As you know you told that impressive gathering that the experience of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup taught us the need to appreciate all that is good about our country.

          The South African flag became the most important item for every household. Government will build on this by ensuring the placing of flags in schools and public institutions to promote our national symbols and identity.

          One of your advisers might try and persuade you to pretend that this was your idea. But if you go along with that nobody will believe you. They will reason that if you had thought of it you would have mentioned it last year already because the World Cup took place in South Africa nearly a year ago.

          And it’s too much of a coincident that you should include this concept in your first major speech after receiving my Dearjon letter of last month.

          Anyway Mr President I’m glad to be of service and to be able to contribute to nation building.

          Just keep reading the Dearjon letter because it’s always jam packed with good ideas for Presidents.

          Your learned adviser,

          Jon