In an online comment on a letter to this newspaper (‘Lost opportunities at the flag-raising ceremony’, May 28, 2016), which related some of the security shortcomings of the event and the boorish, violent behaviour of one section of the crowd towards a group of young Americans, Dave Martins notes, “We have become cantankerous and hostile, and both visitors and residents encounter those attitudes… Those behaviours are now ingrained, and even accepted as the norm.”
Mr Martins has been, for several decades now, an astute observer of the Caribbean condition and of Guyanese life in particular. But this pithy remark lacks the trademark wit of his calypsos and the gentle humour of his Sunday columns. It is, sadly, a despairing commentary on what we have become as a people. We would all do well to ponder it carefully.
There have been several letters in different newspapers and an outpouring of criticism on social media highlighting the organisational, protocol and conceptual snafus afflicting the Jubilee celebrations. We have dedicated two editorials to the embarrassing lack of managerial competence involved and one to the wider issue of the quality of the APNU+AFC’s governance. We do not intend to rehash those arguments, even as we hope that the President and his cabinet are taking note. Rather we will try to drill down, in an effort to understand why we have become so “cantankerous and hostile” in our attitudes.
There have also been several letters reflecting on where we have reached as a nation, after 50 years of Independence, assessing the quality of our education, health care and security, the quality of our democracy and, indeed, the quality of our very life. The litany of woes is lengthy and does not bear enumerating. Suffice it to say, however, that in the battle between civilisation and barbarism, which is at the core of the evolutionary process of all nation states, barbarism seems to be enjoying the upper hand in Guyana.
Almost every sphere of activity is marked by a lack of standards bordering on brutishness. Violence is pervasive in our society, with unacceptably high levels of domestic abuse (of children and women) and murderous crime. Our everyday language has become coarse, our body language can be menacing, our driving is ridiculously aggressive and life-threatening, and our general behaviour towards our fellow citizens can be inconsiderate in the extreme.
There has been a breakdown in discipline at nearly every level of society and in the propagation of old-fashioned manners, respect for each other as fellow citizens and basic morality. Corruption is practically endemic and we may be close to being declared morally bankrupt. Too many families are dysfunctional and too many systems broken.
There is an old joke that both Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham wanted in their respective ways to create a classless state ‒ and that both were successful in creating a country without class. Some may consider this a sick, hurtful joke, disrespectful to thousands of decent, hardworking, well-meaning and morally upright Guyanese. But we should consider the social disintegration of the past 50 years, wrought by ethnic division, political polarisation, economic decline and mass migration; we are very close to being a dysfunctional state.
We have to find a way to reset the bar; we have to re-establish standards and values; and we have to recalibrate our moral compass.
We have to fix our educational system to give our young people boundaries, discipline, a moral framework and, perhaps most of all, opportunities. We have to help families by putting in place support systems to ensure decent work, dignity and self-respect, so that they might, in turn, inculcate in their young ones the ability to tell right from wrong, a sense of belonging, hope, ambition even. We need to re-instil in our society respect for rules and the rule of law. But the system has to be seen as enabling, empowering and equitable, one that can give our youths and all our people a sense of purpose and belief in a brighter future.
President David Granger is a historian, we are often reminded. He is therefore well aware of the tension between the forces of civilisation and barbarism. He is also, we believe, a man of discipline and integrity, forged by his faith, his family values and his years of service. As he looks ahead to the legacy he will bequeath to Guyana for the next 50 years and more, he must consider whether this is a tipping point for our country or whether he can seize the moment and, by example, lead us in reviving our pride, restoring our standards and values, and recovering our sense of destiny as a united, agreeable, peace-loving people, committed to building a better country for our children and our children’s children.
