THE MORAL CRISIS FACING GUYANA

Mar 06, 2020 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

The political predicament which has now emerged following yesterday’s developments has its roots in a moral dilemma which has historically faced the nation. The shameless and barefaced actions which took place yesterday are symptomatic of this moral crisis facing the nation.
Guyana now faces its worst political crisis. Unless the actions of yesterday are overturned or reviewed, we will end up with an illegitimate government. The country is likely to be expelled as a member of the Commonwealth and the Organization of American States.
What Burnham got away with in 1968, 1973 and 1980 is not going to repeat itself in the post-Cold War era. Governments have to emerge from a legitimate process. What took place yesterday was far from legitimate.
But the reason why, historically, governments and GECOM have gotten away with electoral malpractices, is because of the entrenched moral crisis in the country. When it comes to cricket and other sports, there is always unanimous support for ensuring that persons and teams play by rules. But when it comes to politics, fair play and honesty are thrown out of the window. What matters is winning at all costs.
The supporters of both political camps want to win and they condone wrongdoing just so as their camp wins. So it matters not whether there are rules which require verification, so long as the result is in favour of one or the other side, there is going to be support from the supporters of the winning side.
In the present instance, one side has produced statements of poll to validate its numbers in Region Four. It has made this known to the public. The other side has not produced anything to show that what it was awarded was valid. It does not have to, of course, but the wider issue is that what matters for its supporters is winning and not how you win.
Winning at all costs is what matters when it comes to politics. Yet in sport, it is expected that people should play by the rules.
Political parties, especially, have had great difficulty in accepting their defeats in elections. Yet when a sporting team loses we expect them to accept their loss.
This is the example which is being witnessed by our children. They are witnessing political dishonesty being treated as acceptable. It is acceptable to cheat to win an election, but it is unacceptable to cheat in the home or in school.
When it comes to elections, one has to ask where is the honesty and integrity which is to be expected. Where is the example which would disabuse our children of the notion that politics make us all hypocrites?

We profess one set of values to our children. We try to urge them to be honest, but yet, when the party which we support is losing, we are prepared to condone dishonest actions so that they can win?
These are the confusing signals which are being sent to our children. They want to see honesty as a principle not a convenience.
How can it be wrong to cheat another man of what he owns, but right to cheat another party of its votes? How can it be a sin to steal from another person, but not be a sin to steal an election?
When I was growing up my parents taught me that right is right and wrong is wrong. They taught me that I should be honest in all my dealings, even at the price of me having to lose. I am sure many parents today still teach their children these values. But how many of them live by that example?
Until we fix this moral crisis which faces our nation, we will continue to move backwards. No amount of oil will be able to help develop a nation which is knee-deep in the marshes of dishonesty and unprincipled behaviour.
Guyana will once again become a pariah state in this region. For many years Guyanese have had to bear the stain and shame associated with the rigging of elections. After 28 years of democratic elections, Guyana has returned to its sordid past of a country which elects its government through fraudulent means. And still we expect our children to walk the straight and narrow path?

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)