Dear Editor,
Are Guyanese happy? Do we expect to be happy? You might think that politics allows such questions to intrude into its deliberations; after all the pursuit of happiness is central to our well-being. But our politicians do not worry about what makes us happy, they focus instead on what makes us comfortable.
Needs can be basic or they can be psychological. People become comfortable when their basic needs are met. They become happy only when all their needs are met. Basic needs for food, shelter, medicines, etc, require money while psychological needs require an enabling environment which only governments can provide.
These latter needs like self-esteem, respect, self-advancement, safety, education and recognition cannot simply be bought. They come out of the economic and social condition and are just as important as the basic needs.
It is a government’s actions and energy that will create the environment for these psychological needs to be met. We need them all to be met and for this reason we must be careful when we vote at elections. There is absolutely no point in voting for a party which will provide some of your basic needs but none or precious few of the psychological ones. In other words there is no point being able to afford 3 square meals daily for you and your family and at night being too scared to sleep because of another power outage or intruders in the dark.
Politicians often speak about the electorate voting for the party that will put food on the table. However, it goes far beyond this. After our stomachs are full and we have clothes on our backs and shelter from the rain the psychological needs kick in and these are often more difficult to satisfy by our own initiatives.
Business people crave a level playing field; young children crave a playing field and our youths crave jobs and justice. Yet without these psychological benefits we will not be happy.
It follows that when we exercise our choice of a political party to run the government we should think not only about food, drink, shelter and clothes, but more about the happiness that money simply can’t buy.
Yours faithfully
F. Hamley Case
I beg to differ. Money does buy happiness.
A recent survey showed that people who have money are 95% happier than their impoverished counterparts.
It’s good to see F. Hamley Case has been reading up on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. But Case is wrong to blame the government for not satisfying “psychological” needs above and beyond basic needs. Firstly, Guyana does not have a socialist state. Secondly, in a free enterprise system the individual owes himself the responsibility for setting and reaching goals that would meet his “psychological” needs. In God’s country, the USA, people don’t look to the government to meet “needs like self-esteem, respect, self-advancement, safety, education and recognition.” They simply demand more of themselves. Talk to Oprah! But I guess F. Hamley Case has embarked on an early elections campaign and that’s alright. He has that freedom in a vibrant democratic Guyana.
Really Yasuman ?! Peep this — USA, USA, USA ….. The best military fighting force in the world — Tora Bora Boom ! You are American, you are the best. Let’s go to the World Series. Ha ! Who do you think sets the tone, Yasuman ?
Also Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a flaud theory.
Mr. case you are addressing needs that only a relationship with Jesus Christ can guarantee. I do agree that governments need to consider the “other” needs of the population but relying on them to do this will perhaps bring us joy and happiness sometimes but only a relationship with Jesus will give us joy and peace forever.
Now that’s some badly needed good news!
Well if people are to think beyond their basic need of food, water, shelter and clothes, then they have to turn inward to find the other that money cannot buy. Happiness is a state of mind that we each have to want for ourselves – you have to choose to be happy. Once people have the basic, the onus is now on them to seek fulfillment and happiness for themselves. Happiness is a CHOICE!!!!!!
Happiness is also relative.
Happiness is also a condition of choice.
I am disappointed in you – one of Guyana’s respected African Elites.
You sound like a defeatist.
Previous letters were filled of Pomposity and arrogance.
It is contrary to democratic norms for any one party to go unchecked for more than 17 years; but it is also democratic principle that government be removed by political tactic for the ballot;
Hoyte unleashed a campaign to beat Indo-Guyanese to vote for him.
Now you want them to vote PNC for esoteric happiness.
Burnham bankrupted Guyana politically; but you guys still think him a great visionary.
The fight for a third term for Jagdeo shows degenerate politics; but it shows that the PPP now have the power over the armed forces that Burnham had in the height of his power. They are over-confident.
I’ll give you a hint:
The time has come for visionary politics; you should be calling for the disbanding of the PNC; go to Berbice and Essequibo and tell the electorate you want the disbanding of the PNC; and show them some concrete evidence; It is the disbanding of the PNC which will begin a new political dawn in Guyana. As long as the PNC exists, Guyana is doomed.
The fight for leadership of the PNC shows laziness.
You are a big businessman (real businessman); how come you are not willing to make a sacrifice such as the one made by businessmen in the 1980’s;
I am disappointed in you man, after all the machines that rusted at “goodness knows where”.
What makes you think that the Indian masses are happy! (YOU DIDN’T SAY THIS) There are numerous Indians sleeping on the pavements in Georgetown and New Amsterdam; and a great number of them are flying to Canada and America after voting for PPP; whenever I meet a Guyanese here, I would discreetly ask them when they came to Canada.
Don’t get too carried away by that tidbit of information; Africans are masters of Apan Jaat; they do not vote for anything other than their own; this is well documented. But they are quick to blog here about Indians voting for PPP.
I’ll tell you this much; the “Power Guyanese” in America and Canada, who persuaded Political operatives such as Carter and Peterson to bring change to Guyana in 1992 will not do that again. When PPP falls from power, that will be the end of the PPP, just like the PNC has come to an end.
Time for something new; get with it. Don’t expect the Guyanese over here to be of much help – they’re too tired. They had enough. Besides you people, PNC and PPP, united and sidelined them all; A returning Guyanese have to live in Guyana 7 years before running for president!
What’s that! if the Europeans had done that, there would be no EU as we know it today.
The exclusion of Guyanese abroad was for the nincompoops back home to run things without competition; so the bloggers here are just left with blogging to feel happy and fulfilled.
Like I said man, Get with it!!! The People had enough.
Just count on their barrels!!!!
If I were to write here what they say about “Guyanese Abroad” at OP, and Free-dumb House, they (Canadian and American) would all stop writing blogs here again.
Couldn’t have said it better: political considerations are not the sufficient condition of happiness but created the environment which together with social determinants like having money, a good education , health, social decorum, etc, create the sufficient condition of happiness of a people.
Intellectual pursuit my friend Yasuman71. One needs not apply whole sale theories of, for example, Maslow. You can apply then to explain present conditions, get behind the assumptions which places the theory in a particular environment in a particular point in time….apply it to present and examine which are the assumptions which do not apply and how can we change the environment to make the theory hold if we consider it scientific, meaning that it applies in all situations providing the conditions are the same. In social science we talk about the ‘goodness of fit’…the best being at the 99% but often at the 96%. In natural science 2 hydrogen and 1 oxygen will give you water in a controlled environment 100% of the times….not so in the social science…so we depend on the logic of secientfic methods of investigation.
One last bit, if Case talks to Oprah as you suggest Yasuman, she would tell you that she never suffered from discriminatory and racist policies by the US government similar to what so many black guyanese have faced under the current PPP. Yes yesuman, talking to Oprah will indeed reveal how the current PPP government have spent its time destroying that ‘psysological’ stability of the black society in Guyana. Think my friend before putting ‘pen to paper’….you are capable.
An addition: while blacks in the US were oppressed and discriminated in the past and continues to be so, the environment has been progressively changing since the days of the Mongomery marches and Rosa Parks. Not so in Guyana. We see a consistent and determined effort at destroying that ‘psychological’ stability which political misrepresentation continues to propagandise.
Y some of us r trying to divide the house….” a house divided amoug it self will not stand.” Lets deal with the issues one by one. Come next election, we will decide who will govern the country.The PPP/C has the mandate sa of now.