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The politics of nothing

Sep 23, 2011 Letters

 

Dear Editor,
In a seminal 1960s song, Bob Dylan sang prophetically that, “When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose….”
Recently we saw these poignant lyrics being played out in the streets of Great Britain where anarchy almost took hold. Though there were some haves involved, analysts believe the have nots were in the majority.
Dylan was writing and singing in the 1960s and probably had in mind a lack of material wealth when he referred to “nothing”. However, in the present century, the meaning of the word has been stretched by circumstance to include, not just the absence of material wealth, but also the absence of meaningful work; the absence of a caring government or the perception thereof; the absence of loving parental supervision and guidance and the absence of caring communities as an anchor for sustenance, comfort and protection when the wolf is at the door.
People all over the world will tolerate the politics of nothing for a while then sooner or later they will start asking why are they being singled out for being without, when just about everyone else appears to have more than enough.
Government spin doctors, apologists and ciphers earn their living telling the havenots that they do have     roads, bridges, water, electricity, even laptop computers and endless entertainment. But this still amounts to nothing when there is no food on the table, no job to go to, no roof over one’s head and no flicker of light in the tunnel of hope.
People in Guyana are beginning to see through the politics of nothing.
Hamley Case

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