Mediocrity is the difference between civilized nationalists and backward leaders

Oct 11, 2013 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

I once wrote in my column that the then student leader of UG, Jason Benjamin, after returning from a visit to UWI in Jamaica, said to me, “Freddie, boy if you see the student lounge at UWI. Man it is beyond anything anywhere at UG.” Jason was just ecstatic about the modern thing his eyes gazed upon.
Last Saturday night, when AFC executive member, Michael Carrington, saw the Chinese ferry docked at Parika, he turned to me and said, “Freddie, boy, you got to see what the Trinidadians have that goes to Togabo. This thing is state-of-the-art, Freddie, ah telling yuh.”
Both Benjamin and Carrington knew that what they saw made their country look primitive in their eyes. Friends of mine go to Suriname all the time and they would say to me, “Freddie yuh gat to see dem people bridge.” These friends knew in their heart that three years ago we built a stupid-looking, ugly bridge.
There are fools that would say, “Freddie, it makes life easier for Berbicians; we hated the slowness and hassle of the old ferries, we are grateful for the bridge.” Point taken. But my point is that why, if we are going to build a bridge over a river ten years into the 21st century, should we not give the Guyanese people a piece of modern construction that other countries have, including our small Third World neighbour, Suriname.
When that bridge was declared open, my column pointed readers to the Second World War where military bridges were built that were identical to what is on the Berbice River. In the 21st century we constructed a bridge that is horribly bare without even a walkway or a lane for cycles. I sat next to Gordon Moseley when the Theatre Guild was finally refurbished and I told Moseley that there are countless high schools in Canada where I was educated, where the drama houses are a million times more modern than a country’s only theatre.
There is the concept of modern life. Modern life does not need endless skyscrapers like those in Manhattan, which Hong Kong and China have surpassed. Europe does not have a version of the Manhattan skyline, but most humans who see Europe would admit that though its cities do not have the high-rises like Manhattan and China, they are the some of the most beautifully modern cities in the world.
Modern life is not about physical reach only. It is about looks and comfort. You can build a small house and its design can be stupendous. People living in the 21st century want to see looks, images, comfort and designs that are modern. In London last week, the British Jewish community opened the first Jewish centre in the UK. Pick up a copy of the latest Economist magazine and see how ultra-modern that building is.
Why are we so mediocre in Guyana? Because our leaders do not have comparative standards from which to judge Guyana. It is outside the scope of this column to discuss what values are and how values are transmitted. Simply put, if all that you know in life is a particular value which is a negative one, then it is that negative value you will use to judge life.
I found from experience that gypsy women accept that the man is superior to women and they accept that as a value. Gypsy women then judge relationships by that value which they have learned their entire life.
I saw for twenty-six years how mediocrity destroyed and ruined my alma mater and workplace, the University of Guyana. When you told the politically-directed Council and their lackeys how poor and unmodern were UG’s infrastructure and its outdated facilities, the response you got was that UG stands tall among the best in the world.
What happened then is that as the years wore on, the government and its lackeys at UG judged the institution using the only value to which they were exposed – mediocrity.
This is the problem Guyana has under the PPP. And I say in all honesty, I believe the PNC leaders rose above mediocrity. We don’t see this creative talent in the PPP leaders. A third rate school they praise as great. A silly, bare bridge is hailed as comparable with others in the world. A dying university is rated as one of the best in the Caribbean. And the story goes on. This is what mediocrity does to a country when the leaders have no modern standards by which they can judge the world.

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