Today is Freedom Day, our national holiday. Eleven years ago today we held our first ever multiracial elections, and became a free country. Give yourself a pat on the back.

This time tomorrow, I expect we’ll already have heard numerous complaints from whiny politicians, about how people didn’t spend the day “patriotically” enough. What a load of nonsense. Freedom is about making your own choices. If that means spending the day at a huge, government-organised rally, go ahead. But if you want to stay at home, or go to the shops, or sit around watching your collection of videotaped Knight Rider episodes, that’s cool too. I’ll probably be spending the day at the Joburg Zoo. Each to his own.