A JOKE AND QUOTE TO BREAK THE SILENCE

Sep 08, 2009 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Earl and his wife Diane went to the state fair every year, and every year Earl would say, “Diane, I’d like to ride in that stunt airplane.” Diane always replied, “I know, Earl, but that airplane ride costs 50 dollars, and 50 dollars is 50 dollars.”
One year Earl and Diane went to the fair and Earl said, “Diane, I’m 75 years old. If I don’t ride in that stunt airplane, I might never get another chance.”
Diane replied, “Earl, that airplane ride costs 50 dollars, and 50 dollars is 50 dollars.”
The pilot overheard them and said, “Folks, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take you both up for a ride. If you can stay quiet for the entire ride and not say one word, I won’t charge you, but if you say one word, it’ll cost you 50 dollars.”
Earl and Diane agreed and up they went.
The pilot did all kinds of twists and turns, rolls and dives, but not a word was heard. He did all his tricks over again, but still not a word. When the plane landed, the pilot turned to Earl and said, “By golly, I did everything I could think of to get you to yell out, but you didn’t.”
Earl replied, “Well, I was gonna say something when Diane fell out, but 50 dollars is 50 dollars.”
When I came across that joke above, I felt myself asking what was it going to take to break the deafening silence in Guyana about all the corruption that is being exposed? What was it going to take?
In the midst of all the revelations by this newspaper about things that are wrong in Guyana, not a peek has been heard from the authorities. From top to bottom, there has been silence.
I do not know if the belief is that somehow this silence will have a sterilizing effect on the corruption and that by simply ignoring the reports in the newspaper that all the wrongs will simply be put right.
It will not. The situation now with corruption has reached a stage where the public is not going to be fooled or impressed by polygraph testing. Polygraph testing is not a satisfactory response to the widespread corruption that is taking place. Neither is the throwing up of smokescreens and diversions.
There are many steps which need to be taken, but the first and most important step has to be the breaking of silence. People need to speak out and the government which has the greatest responsibility to act in the face of all that is revealed needs to also break its silence, because the silence is not going to erase the serious concerns about what is taking place.
Something has to be radically wrong with a society where instead of responding professionally to the many charges that are being made, instead of clearing the air or launching investigations to confirm the truth, what we are having is silence and more silence.
It is quite amazing when you think of it? Is it that people do not care? Is it that some people feel that they can do as they please? Is this what is now passing for governance and oversight.
It is unbelievable that persons who have ambitions to high political office can, in the face of all that has been in the public domain over the past month, still remain silent.
The story above with the man and his wife and the stunt pilot was a way of illustrating that silence is not always golden. And in the midst of awful allegations within our society on a wide range of matters, there is a need for the breaking of this silence, there is a need for persons and organizations to speak out because if continued silence persists there is going to come a time when there is not going to be anyone to speak out.
Voltaire reminds us that we define ourselves when we speak out. He urged “Stand upright, speak thy thoughts, declare the truth thou hast, that all may share; Be bold, proclaim it everywhere: They only live who dare.”

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