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We will never rise to greatness unless we can speak a common language
DEAR EDITOR,
No society can function effectively without language. People speak and write everyday with the reasonable expectation that they will be understood. The story of Tower of Babel applies aptly; the Babylonians wanted to make a name for themselves by building a mighty city and a tower “with its top in the heavens.” God disrupted the work by so confusing the language of the workers that they could no longer understand one another. The city was never completed, and the people were dispersed over the face of the earth.
The refusal of President Granger to ascribe ‘clear’ meaning to simple sentences in Articles in our Constitution is a direct attack on the threads that hold the quilt of society together. The move to the courts to ‘interpret’ plain clauses of the Constitution has been an attack on the sensibilities of the Judges of the Caribbean Court of Justice was met with a refusal to engage by issuing coercive orders for what they saw clearly outlined in the articles of our constitution, no gloss was deemed necessary. The legal architecture is still intact; its ability to enforce laws has however been severely undermined. With no defender capable of coercing adherence, our Constitution has suffered emasculation.
We are moving swiftly from the Era of ‘Res ipsa loquitur’ meaning “the thing speaks for itself” to one of ‘Inexplictus’ meaning that which cannot be readily explained. The most infamous incidence of ‘inexplictus’ is American President Bill Clinton whose “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is”.
Join me for a short imaginary journey into Guyana’s future: A man is found guilty of Housebreaking and the Judge sentences him to 5 years in jail, that same night the Judge is awakened by a sound, lo and behold, the convicted man is caught removing the TV from the living room. “Did I not sentence you to five years in jail?” asks the Judge “Indeed sir, but you said I should spend the ‘next’ five years in jail, so I will begin the sentence as soon as ‘these’ five years are finished” . This is where we are headed; when we become a country where things that are ‘clear’ require lengthy, detailed explanations, we will drown in a sea of minutiae.
In his quest to stay in his ‘Tower’ President Granger has condemned us to the fate of the Babylonians; we seem to be speaking different languages and seem destined to never understand each other. Like the Babylonians, we too will never rise to greatness unless we can speak a common language. I would suggest English but that seems to have failed.
Respectfully
Robin Singh
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