Moving on to higher levels demands that we get out of this rot

Sep 04, 2014 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
People from time immemorial have been doing wrong, it appears to be part of life’s refrain- a relentless occurrence where some just blindly follow in the act, unconsciously going along with the flow, like a tradition; while smarter and more ambition ones have consciously done so because of great expectations/rewards as was promised, thus all morals, decency, principles, reason etc. are jettisoned in the quest to fulfil their ambitious.
Over time, some have come to see the light through various revelations and epiphanies, new experiences, some have had a change of heart, ceased following blindly and instead began examining and analysing things with a more keen and critically eye.
Still other ambitious ones become weary of the scheme of things – the game – whether that ambition/promise was/has been realised or not because of a pricking of conscience that is a kind of torture to the soul, a weight too heavy to bear. Whatever it was that caused the awakening and change in thought is not so much important as the gnawing of the conscience and the urge to atone, for not until they have done so, then and only then can they be at peace with themselves – repentance!
The nonsense continues unabated about the place and we are getting accustomed to it, though irritating, but sadly the most unfortunate thing is that the majority of our young people are following and swallowing with ease, the danger they can’t see, their minds not being so nurtured, and so we are poorer, and so will be our future unless something strange plays out -maybe divine intervention.
The present Rodney Commission of Inquiry will be over and done, it most likely will cause some bruises, but once politicians exhibit political maturity we will get past it and whatever damage is caused, those affected will eventually have to settle down to reshaping, reconstructing, retooling, whatever needs to be done as dictated by past events.
But the real danger in my view depends on how petty and inept we remain or become in failing to rise beyond the “divide and rule”, “don’t split votes”, “rat race election strategy” and such like, which cannot last forever, those things cannot win out over the reality conditions which is generally the main determinant.
Our political landscape for over some 40 years has not been smooth sailing, at times the sea was turbulent, as a people we have suffered, and still bear scars to show even as we try to mend wounds moving on. What was done was done and that no one can change, not even God.
The PNC during their reign practised paramountcy, were in total control of the status quo. The party’s flag flew high side by side our national flag over some public buildings; the party card was trump, it held sway; policemen in uniform sold “New Nation” on duty; those considered enemies of the state were denied jobs; many affiliated to different political parties were harassed and sometimes locked-up for carrying out their party/organisation activities considered inimical to the government; union leaders were intimidated; scabs were introduced; the police force didn’t function impartially/professionally.
There was much uneasiness and fear, the party was in control – “we run things”. Come on! These were not fairy tales or folklore, these were things that happened, what people actually experienced. Are we now saying what was, never was, that it was all an illusion? A figment of our imagination!? Is this the way we expect to bury the past and chart a new course? Just where will this silly, disgusting, unyielding denial take us? Just what do we gain from being steadfast in falsehood? Is this an asset?
I think it rather more decent and wiser to remain silent, allowing them to fade and be forgotten with time rather than putting up a defence, it just doesn’t help. And while I can understand the reason why some faithful don’t want to be reminded, the truth must be faced, uncomfortable and hurting as it may be.
It is one reason why we are having difficulty in resolving the past and putting it to rest. What then are we doing in setting the stage for a precedent which is not healthy for posterity to follow? It is sort of like cheating a good future, and we are doing these things barefaced, without shame. Why? Party consideration? Is the party more important than the nation?
It’s funny how we self-destruct and the saddest part being that it is all coming from elders, leaders, the so-called gentry who are supposed to be our moral compass. Lord have mercy!
Hooked on blind denial of almost everything that was, some are even making cheap, simple statements selling the party short, like one defence lawyer who after hearing the poem “Rock-a¬-bye Rodney now lives in the past/dispatched to his master so quick and so fast….” responded “for me it has to be an author who probably trained in English Literature or arts… to come up with something overnight like that. We will now have to examine the ranks of the PNC to see if they had such great poets”.
What great poets! When will we get real? You know one would have had to be daring and even considered an eye pass to even remotely entertain much less project the thought that among that cluster of legally trained minds within the ranks of the PNC, none possessed the artistic ability to craft that poem/ditty. But that’s a reality of life, to conveniently employ what suits us, matters not how laughable. Moving on to higher levels demands that we get out of this rot, the cycle must be broken.
Frank Fyffe

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