A Third Party or a Fifth Column?

May 22, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

The word making the rounds and gaining some attention is that there is a need for a Third party. I agree. Yet all the pluses touted from the presence of such a group, or cluster of groups, have been realised with only negatives, through more of the same that has been the norm of our unchanging politics.
I have shared before that a third presence, in all of its various splinters, could be the game changer lacked, could be the icebreaker needed, and could be the difference-maker so much sought after totally unsuccessfully. It should be noticed that I used and reused the word ‘could’ three times; it was to emphasise that it is what we would like to be, what should be, but what never is. Not even to some degree, because what we have experienced can best be described in any of several ways, all accurate, perhaps even more emphatic when fused into a whole. When the idea, a good one, starts out about a third grouping, I start out with Fifth Column because of the traitorous, self-serving nature of such past presences. They sold out to the bigwigs, set themselves up for personal recognition, and proved traitorous with the trusts vested in them. In my book, betraying to Venezuela may (may) amount to a lesser evil.
A second derogatory label that suits the citizens who come forward and compile into what were supposed to be viable third presences would be Trojan Horse. They come out of nowhere shining lustrously to entice and lead to lowering of guard (trust again), and when they have wormed themselves into the interior of Guyanese political (and racial) battlefields, then the game is up, and they take care of business. Their interests, their selfish ambitions; in a word themselves. Down goes Guyana. Down goes Guyana has been the result, and those who hoped in them. My last name for these third parties should be a tad eye-opening, but I think it fits. I see them as a political ‘phantom squad.’ They represent something, have the potential (another dirty local word) for some upside, but fall by the wayside, in who they seek to please, whose interests they serve, and how they end doing good for themselves, by doing a whole lot of harm to vulnerable Guyanese.
To switch gears, I look at this from the perspective of the hopeful. There are some Guyanese, not many, who seek a change to the monstrous political status quo. There are more who may start out wishing for the same, but any, ah, adjustment to the status quo translates to a distancing from and trampling on the racial status quo. From that they shrink, of that, they will have no truck, not tamper with meaningfully, which can only be via revolutionary or radically alien terms. There we will not go, and of more I will not say, for that is loaded enough. To some degree profound too, for this converts most Guyanese to what they will strenuously object to, meaning, racists, bigots, fundamentalists, and/or fanatics. I think it fits, after all our talking and sparring and feeling around for the right public phrases. It is this same essential hypocrisy that perpetuates the political behemoths we live with (and love), and occasionally perpetuates the passing thrill of a John Wayne like third calvary coming from somewhere over the horizon to the rescue of helpless and besieged Guyanese.
Editor, who is kidding whom? Who is the monkey and who is the jackass to echo, The Tradewinds? We have to be honest with ourselves, get real: either we want to be rid of these people who torture us and dash dreams decade after decade; or we learn to live with them in some manner, hopefully self-sufficiently. There is no science to this; just plain damn commonsense. If anyone needs any evidence or proofs of any of this, I point to the Fifth Columnists, Trojan Horses, and political phantoms squad(s) that graced Guyana in the last elections season. It is who took care of themselves, and who made sure to take care of them for their treacheries. Thus, as I hear or read or observe old, new, or emerging third groupings, I dismiss them out of hand from now. Because if them, don’t get to where they want, they will still end up getting some of what they wish for, inclusive of recognition, being called inside the tent of success, and living contentedly after. I will leave my peers to decide on which fits best: opportunists or self-enrichers or visionary strategists and tacticians. Yet another season of barterers, users, and schemers.

Sincerely,
GHK Lall

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