Unique national truths – elections ones

Jun 25, 2020 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

The more I learn about this society during its elections’ travails, the less regard I have for what so many of my fellow citizens represent. It is what is so much an inseparable part of Guyana’s elections underbelly, its way of life.
Many citizens, not just the loud visible ones pontificating back and forth, put their lives on hold, and breathe one and one thing only -elections. It’s as if all that is sacred depend on the outcome of this national contest for power, what rises today to the level of mortal combat. Many moons ago, a political street player (I later was made to understand, he was a guerilla presence) proudly shared with me that ‘during elections times, mother and family do not exist’. Nothing does for too many here. Long before the world was introduced to such labels as fundamentalists and the like, we had them here. Something is wrong with this picture…
Here elections outcomes are so much a matter of life and death that some distraught supporters are driven to the point of bitter tears when the prospects of loss become more obvious. Tears? Over elections? This should convey how much I am acculturated to matters related to Guyanese elections brawls. I would venture that the tears of earlier give way to the gloom of clinical depression. This is bad, when this Guyana of ours is in such a tragic state, when its sons and daughters could be so lost, when the bottom drops out of calculations, and electoral triumph look bleak. And here I was thinking that it was only the nine-digit (hundreds of millions) cash contributors, who had gone overboard and advanced what was not fully theirs. My reaction is, surely no one can be this bad, this limited, this far gone… That is, until I remember how party leaders make mincemeat of them first, and utter fools of them again and again. Some country this is! What kind of people are these?
With these ruminations in mind, I can only surmise that many men and women in his country look for their daily bread-present and future, as counted by them-and existence itself to the results of national elections. This much can be gleaned from the mindless passions exhibited, the energies wasted and, last, the dirges of the many spirits crushed. Now that I am taking these into account, there is no longer astonishment at the hatreds and divisions that flash so fluently, and that are buried so deeply. These are the elements that last all the way into the next political cycle and contest when they are fully recharged to the point of overflow.
Before it slips me, I now introduce something else. According to a development made public, one busy political character beating the rhythmic drums of triumph made clear his personal priority in no uncertain terms. It was for one of the plum jobs in this town. It was reported that when he was shown the error of his ambitions, exposure of rigging was threatened. Therein lies the fevered clash between personal paramountcy (what is in it for me) and that of ‘honour, duty, country’; the former always wins; the latter does not stand a chance. This is what passes for patriotic ideals in this country and the sacrifices associated with genuinely humble servant-hood. If this is from the ranks of the newer faces in established party ranks, then not much must be expected from the newer younger wave. On people like these, Guyana must build a viable foundation. May divine providence help us!
I read when we spout off about freedom and democracy, and the relevance of both here. But, at the core, we live in a state of bondage. It is bondage to the most bitter partisan politics, of the ugliest racial hates, of intellect subverted, of character drowned, the emotional excesses, and the low (or high) personal ambitions, to which the wreckages of this society testify. Issues? There is the stockpile of suspect local political content I present for inspection. It is the equivalent of go for broke. Give it all to get all that can be grabbed. It has already started. We need so much help; we are so deficient in what it takes, that the world recoils. I do, too. These are but a snapshot of unique national truths, elections ones.

Sincerely,
GHK Lall

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