A bed of hidden agendas

Sep 14, 2021 Letters

Dear Editor,

I stop by more frequently at the SN and KN letter columns. I chew mouthfuls, absorb earfuls, and get a stomach full of acid. There is both good and negative, with the latter dominant.
On the positive side, there are those heartbreaking stories of loss of faith, wanting betterment, anguish at environment. Then, there are letters of despair: what of our beloved Guyana? How can the great majority be content with the crippled way we exist? These equal what I set out to do: make a public service contribution, enlighten, appeal, even educate. There was a time when I was trying to push Guyanese from writings for them to learn one new word, at least, a day. That is now abandoned, because the ignorant like being that way. But as I continue with calls and efforts for healing and reconciliation and inclusive governance (and no citizen left crying), I applaud those, who are made of the same fine silk, and are assertive in saying so publicly. Whether our fellows are shamed or enraged or helped by the continual doing of such, it will be. I plan to be so without pause. There is commendation of those concerned with the environment, oil management, clean governance, principled leadership, vaccines, and so forth. Let the calls cascade, clot into a mass. I identify.
On the other hand, there is what subtracts from the opinion columns. Too much partisanship and bias, and thinly veiled prejudices; even when it doesn’t appear to be so at first glance. I note that former high-ranking political officeholders, still very politically active, and among today’s writers slickly use name to commandeer space to present what are the party’s views at the core. Moreover, these are not men noted for fluency or great literateness, which makes me suspect helpful party mill or stable of ghost writers. If they were the ones doing the raw propagandising, it would be understood. But the daily culprits are those who outdo themselves to regurgitate unblushingly without letup what are either the government (mainly) or opposition (less frequently) lines. Men and women make a production about being independent and neutral, but their political and racial biases are so blatant, as to be beyond discussion.
They take wholesale what political leaders put out, especially government’s, and parrot without question or criticism, when such is due. Worse still, they roll up their sleeves to defend flagrant falsehoods (transparency), look the other way at wrongdoing (EPA), and condone corruption (alternative narratives), among other glaring instances of craven partisanship. They talk of audits, knowing that uncompromised auditors have been run off, while friendly ones in state and friendly private practice ones to look around, instead of into and deeply. They attack in the name of cult leadership, those who speak out against leadership oil malpractices, lack of leadership ethics. They employ tricks like changing the subject, ambushes, and deceptions.
I detect political campaigning, job applications, sales pitches, history lessons, racial prejudices, dishonour. They know who they are.

Sincerely,
GHK Lall

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