Freddie’s ‘Macbethian strategy’

Sep 05, 2009 Letters

Dear Editor,
In his column titled, “Robert Corbin got conned”, Freddy Kissoon attempts to con the Guyanese public of his supposed erudition by referring to the PNC’s strategy – initiated by Hoyte – of attempting to remove the legally elected PPP government by naked force (“slow fyaah; mo fyaah”) as a “Macbethian strategy”.
Kissoon approves the approach and criticises Corbin for not using it: “This Macbethian strategy worked under Hoyte” of bringing the PPP government to its knees forcing it to make concessions like shortening its term in office and agreeing to various changes in the constitution that was created by Burnham.
His interpretation of the regicide tragedy is all wrong. Freddie never quite explained what he meant by the “Macbethian strategy” and it is difficult for any reader to follow his argument.
Freddie does not properly explain how the strategy applies to current Guyana; readers are left to apply it. Freddie has failed to make readers understand what he meant. I explain for him what I think he meant.
In Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”, the protagonist Macbeth pursues a single-minded course of murder and betrayal to remove the legal King of Scotland and become king. If this is what Kissoon meant, he should have so stated and he would have been right up to this descriptive point.
Incredibly, Kissoon claims that “Hoyte’s Macbethian drive was the only option the PNC had to confront a runaway PPP train of bad governance.” It does not cross the self-professed history scholar’s mind that Hoyte always had the option of playing by the political rules that he himself had helped draft for Guyana and agreed to when President Carter visited.
Hoyte signed on to a binding agreement to follow the rules of the games he negotiated with Carter and the American National Democratic Institute. Hoyte had other option but pursues the Macbethian one. Free and fair elections were never removed from the Guyana scene and have always been available as an option for any democrat seeking office.
However, Hoyte wanted power at any cost, recognised he could not get it through the ballot box, and was prepared to bring the country (or PPP) down on its knees to achieve his goal. I presume that is what Freddie means by using Macbethian.
Kissoon asserts that Corbin listened to outsiders to “exile (the) Macbeth witches” that pushed the “slow fyaah; mo fyaah” strategy and attempted to be a statesman.
But he ignores what any schoolchild who studied Macbeth could tell him – it was not the witches that pushed Macbeth to murder and mayhem – all they did was to predict a possible future where Macbeth would be king.
The character Banquo was also given a rosy prediction – his sons would rule Scotland – but he did not try to ensure that future through betrayal and murder most foul.
As Opposition leader, Corbin, the head of the PNC could become President. Freddie, Corbin does not have to kill and murder to ensure that eventuality. He can get elected by pursuing the right strategy in accordance with democratic norms. Freddie ignores the entire point of Shakespeare – the role of free will in the life of men.
It was Macbeth and his wife’s vaunting ambition:-
“I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent but only
Vaulting ambition which overleaps itself
and falls on the other.” — Macbeth. I. vii
This ambition drives Macbeth to his eventual doom – as it always eventually will – all power drunk leaders who will inevitably become victims of the slippery and bloody slope on which they embark. After killing the king, all inhibitions are removed from Macbeth and he plunges into the killing spree that is ended only by his death.
And Kissoon mourns that Corbin got conned for renouncing this path. In this, he becomes like Macbeth’s wife (he claims that Team Alexander also played this wifely role) who insulted Macbeth (not enough of a man) then aided and abetted the latter on his murderous rampage.
In essence, what we learn from Macbeth is when you commit a killing, there will be revengeful killing and the cycle will never stop. It is not relevant for Guyana. It is hogwash.
We sincerely hope that all leaders, including the re-elected Corbin, reject such advice as given by Kissoon’s where, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”. Guyana will surely not survive another onslaught of Kissoon’s Macbethian strategy of 2001-2005.
By the way, in the recent NACTA poll, as published, voters did say that Corbin would be re-elected as leader and the poll did find him to be the most popular among the potential contenders.
Vishnu Bisram

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Freddie’s ‘Macbethian strategy’

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