I can vividly remember my first drag of a cigarette. As I huddled behind the bicycle shed with the coolest kids in school, I had a flashback to my parents warning me of the dangers of cigarettes
And in that flashback, both my parents were smoking. Conveniently, I came to the conclusion that smoking couldn't really be that bad after all.
It's a lesson that most parents are aware of: children learn more from example than they do from words. It's perhaps a lesson that government should also consider implementing within its own house.
Take, for instance, the news of outgoing SITA CEO Mavuso Msimang's appointment as director-general of the Department of Home Affairs. Highly regarded by almost all who have worked with and for him, Msimang's appointment has raised eyebrows and grabbed headlines because he is facing allegations of sexual harassment.
The usual rhetoric has been tossed at the issue and, personally, I'm torn. I strongly believe in the assumption of innocence until proof is provided to the contrary. However, I also strongly believe that government - and the people that populate its many offices - should be an example to the community it leads.
Acceptable crime
There's been a parade of government decisions that have left South Africans baffled. Convicted "sex pest ambassador" Norman Mashabane has been appointed to the Limpopo provincial legislature. Members of Parliament pleading guilty to fraud in the Travelgate saga have retained their positions. The list, sadly, goes on.
Can we afford to take a lenient line on those in government? And if we do, what is the heritage we leave to our children?
Kimberley Guest, senior journalist
Excluding a person from opportunities on the basis of allegations, which have been untested by the law, is iniquitous. But to be tolerant of allegations or convictions of criminal activity is to create the perception that such activities are condoned.
Given SA's crime rate, can we afford to take a lenient line on those in government? And if we do, what is the heritage we leave to our children?
For Msimang, the allegations of sexual harassment are unlikely to go away anytime soon. The best that government can do for him is to improve the capacity of the courts so he can have his opportunity to answer the claims.
As for itself and the community it leads, government should remember that, like children, no matter how many times our parents tell us what to do, it is what they do which has the greater and longer lasting impact.
In fact, I wonder if I would still be tied to my nicotine fix today if instead of the normal anti-smoking lecture, I had seen my parents battle to rid themselves of their unhealthy habits?
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