The Rhetoric of Sir Garfield Todd: Christian Imagination and the Dream of an African Democracy (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Rhetoric of Sir Garfield Todd: Christian Imagination and the Dream of an African Democracy Jairos Kangira The Rhetoric of Sir Garfield Todd: Christian Imagination and the Dream of an African Democracy. By Michael W. Casey. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2007; pp xii + 389. $49.95 cloth. Michael Casey's latest book, The Rhetoric of Sir Garfield Todd: Christian Imagination and the Dream of an African Democracy, is a timely publication. It has come out at a time when Zimbabwe, called Southern Rhodesia or simply Rhodesia before the attainment of independence in 1980, is reeling in a political and economic crisis mainly due to the undemocratic principles of the ruling regime. Thus the current situation is more or less the same as the one Sir Garfield Todd's prophetic rhetoric so fiercely attacked when he became a radical advocate of African democracy. Juxtaposing Todd's heroic fight for African rights through his rhetoric and actions with the current situation in Zimbabwe, one can come to the conclusion that surely history repeats itself, with the main difference between the two epochs being the dramatis personae in the violation of human rights. One also gets the feeling that had whites swallowed their pride and given majority rule to Africans at an earlier stage as Todd advocated, the civil war that claimed thousands of lives in Rhodesia could have been avoided. In this book, Casey explores the legacy of Alexander Campbell's teachings to Todd's oratory. The Campbellian tradition was grounded upon beliefs that included "the priesthood of all believers, the right of an individual to think for oneself, the importance of education and reason, and the impulse to reform society or the spreading of liberty and liberation across all society" (16). We see Todd's ethos as growing out of the democratic rhetorical tradition of the Disciples of Christ, thus as providing an example of "how religion can serve as a basis for political rhetoric" (121). Casey also corrects the view that Todd's democratic ethos was grounded in the British liberal political tradition. The author provides undisputed evidence that plainly shows that Todd's democratic ethos emanated from his religious heritage within the Churches of Christ. The author also illustrates how early training in public speaking established the foundation of Todd's future oratorical success as both preacher and politician. Casey does not shower Todd with praises for being the champion of the African cause throughout the book. The writer identifies Todd as a limited democrat who "did not want universal franchise in the 1940s and 1950s, believing that it would lead to universal chaos" (49). But the reader's disillusionment at this realization changes as Casey traces Todd's gradual transformation into a radical fighter for democracy, leading to the chagrin of the white Rhodesians who felt betrayed by Todd's actions and his rhetoric. We see a Todd whose "rhetorical trajectory . . . naturally led him away from paternalism as Africans saw him as a Moses and a Savior who was crucified by whites on a cross of racism" (40). Sowing the seeds of [End Page 350] African nationalism was unacceptable to the whites who believed in segregationist policies, denying the Africans basic rights in their native land. This led to the whites' ouster of Todd as prime minister, making him a sacrificial lamb in their quest to perpetuate white supremacy in Southern Rhodesia. Casey expertly documents Todd's spellbinding oratory. As a preacher of democratic values, Todd condemned the discriminatory laws of the white government by attacking them as anachronistic. We are shown Todd's radical democratic ethos through his sermon texts, political speeches, and prophetic speeches. For instance, after becoming the first missionary prime minister, Todd "cultivated a rhetorical premiership paralleling the American rhetorical presidency and an eloquence paralleling American presidential rhetoric" (118). As a preacher, former MP, and prime minister, Todd's prophetic rhetoric about the situation in Rhodesia was so compelling that, in 1962 and 1964, the UN Committee on Colonialism supported Todd's proposal "to give majority rule to Southern Rhodesian Africans and to restrain the white extremists" (82). Such addresses in local and international venues attracted the wrath of Ian Smith...