Dear Editor,
Why must this country endure these recurring nightmares such as political charlatans like Hamilton Green taking high pedestals and telling people to speak up fearlessly (‘People should speak up fearlessly,’ SN, February 12), when Hamilton Green’s PNC played an integral role in creating this crushing psyche of fear and numbing silence during the heyday of the PNC? I know it is all about the message and not the messenger, but the messenger played a lead role in this mess. Both the PNC and PPP have politically profited from it. It is one of the dominant reasons why the Guyanese people have lost their voice. Race is another primary reason. People will stay silent because of race even if it is wrong on any objective measure. We lack maturity as a nation. Widespread ignorance, lack of education and miseducation contribute to this miasma.
How would a majority of this nation who see it as transient ground until their tickets to fly north arrive ever see the need to speak up fearlessly. Many do not envision a future in Guyana. Those who try to craft a future realize it is fleeting and easily shifted by the vagaries of corrupt politicians and mercenaries. So, the future stays very aligned to the present. The other issue with speaking out is that when the best, brightest and those most capable of speaking fearlessly leave the nation, the powerless and voiceless dominate the remaining landscape. Few lone voices remain to cry out in the wilderness.
Fear lurks in the minds of Guyanese people on every front. Fear of crime and politically inspired ethnic fear leads to muteness. Speaking out requires an alignment of ideals that are missing in Guyana, which is why the Guyanese people continue to be clutching empty promises. The past speaks too loudly to the people of Guyana. Too many are so trapped in the struggle to put a slice of bread on the table that they don’t even know where their voices lie. The breakdown of law and order in this nation contributes to this punishing fear. People are afraid of telling someone the God’s honest truth that they are wrong because they
are afraid of the consequences for saying it. Finally, the Guyanese people are easily distracted. The latest second-rate musical act arriving in Guyana draws more buzz than a public rally against assaults on democracy.
Apart from complaining bitterly in private, the people of this nation can only speak up with their votes. It is the only voice and the ultimate payback that they possess. They can grin and bear in silence but they can send a powerful message with their ballots. The beauty of the ballot box is you can tell a lie about who you voted for but that X you mark is the truth and nothing but the truth. That is the only way Guyanese can currently speak out and 2011 is a prime opportunity. I hope many find their voices because after 2011 too many tongues will be lost forever.
Yours faithfully,
M Maxwell
