Defending My Spiritual Convictions

Those who have discussed religion with me, often disagreeing with with me, when asked about my religious views opine that I am a contrarian. It's probably a nice way of saying that I do not confirm to what they consider to be the conventional in terms of religious expression. I do not belong to or favor any particular organized Christian denominational group. As a matter of fact, I am turned off by the ever increasing expansivness and materiality that today seem fashionable as expressions of Christian fidelity. I am merely one who finds comfort in the essential message of Christianity, the one that emphasizes humility, charity, peacemaking, love, forgiveness and all of those unpopular values delivered by the first and only true Christian to the multitudes at the foot of a mountain. So maybe I am a contrarian, maybe I am unconventional. Still, I suffer no pangs of regret from being dislocated from a pattern of expression in which beating on the chest and praying loudly is popular. I find great solace in my little dark cupboard each day where my communication with my spiritual advisor and mentor is private and exclusive.

The Guyana Gazette

The contributors to this blog along with a few other individuals have launched The Guyana Gazette - an Online Guyanese Newspapers.

Turning The Curve

Within a matter of hours after the official launching of Guyana‘s newest political party, I was able to log into my favorite cyber space room, the GTF Forum, and connect pictorially with those happenings. Yep, our own Bryanmaxx, ever conscious and thoughtful of the diasporian interest in important happenings in our beautiful country, used the agency of technology to bring the mountain to Mahomet so to speak. Isn’t the internet just wonderful? The following day on accessing the various newspapers sites I was pleased to see that the two independent dailys appropriately made that launching the feature presentation on their front page. However, surprise, surprise, I accessed the one paper that is ex officio the property of all the people of Guyana and found that for them it was a matter of politics as usual. The headlines for that day read, MISTERY BOAT FIND IN BUXTON. I will leave the grammatical sorting of that headline to the experts and maybe knit pickers among us, but just for the hell of it would like to throw out this question to the nation at large. Don’t you-all think that when a State run nationally owned newspaper pre-empts the launching of a new political party on a turbulent political scene such as ours, with news about the discovery of an inflatable rubber dinghy, you-all should seriously consider adding your voices to the call for immediate removal of this nationally owned asset from the hands of its public caretakers? Just asking a question.

With the official launching of two new political entities, namely, The Guyana Third Force (GTF) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) now completed, I am driven to ponder another question. And that revolves around whether these recent developments in our political culture are indicators that we are finally turning the curve, and moving away from a baseline of race inflected notions and perceptions seemingly indigenous to our pattern of selecting national leadership. Because despite the fact that we have a history of coalitions, and mergers, and coming together of various political organizations and players, this time there is an aura of expectancy and hopefulness at a level we have never experienced before.

Recent polls and census results have triggered a slew of brass faced and facetious pronunciations from some politicians, to wit, that this whole idea that we are a nation that hibernate into ethnic enclaves during elections is a myth, or conjured up explanation to deny the in-roads they are making into non-traditional constituencies. Well, if you live in Guyana, or have ever done so for a considerable period over the past fifty years or thereabouts, and you still believe that kind of crap, then I have a nice piece of land sandwiched between Brick-dam, Water, Hadfield and High Streets I would like to sell to you. And the price is set at rock bottom on the real estate market. Look, we face a dilemma of which race is the most prominent feature, as is often commented on by the leader of ROAR. Burying our heads in the ground like an ostrich and ignoring it is not an adult manner of dealing with this aversive situation. That would be appropriate if we all were infants and had not yet figured out that things do exist even when we cover eyes to hide from them.

As I contemplate the emergence of two new options for the Guyanese electorate, the questions in the forefront of my mind are, what will it take to make that decisive turn at this crucial juncture of our political history? And what strategy can these two new political organizations adopt that will facility a 360 degree revolution in our political behavior? It is not too difficult to come up with answers for the first question. We have to be moved away from the practice of voting for a party because primarily it is associated with our particular racial grouping. We have to be motivated to begin thinking about the kind of Government we desire in terms of its ideological leanings, and economical outlook. We have to be encouraged to seriously accept our obligation to prepare a better and more people friendly social environment for our kids and their kids. In other words, we have to be influenced into superimposing issues like crime, jobs, healthcare, education et al, above the operand of race as the main determinant of how and why we will vote. The strategy for getting us there is what will be difficult.

In the letter column of an independent daily of Thursday November 3rd, 2005, a contributor, very frustrated with the way things are going, claimed that he voted for change in 1992 and it got him nothing. In fact he was worse off than he was before he voted, and he was mourning the death of a parent whose passing was incidental to the economic travails they had experienced. He said he would not “vote for change” again, but would base his choice on a number of things he illustrated. This, to me, is a microcosm of the kind of mindsets the two new political entities will have to tackle. They somehow have to make people, driven to frustration and skepticism about promises made by politicians pre 1992, understand the difference between a change of garment and driver, to a change of direction and a new car. Obviously, the GTF and AFC will secure the services of better minds than ours, we pontificators in the letter columns of newspapers and in forums on the internet. And they will face the unenviable task of developing a strategic message that connects with the rank and file of our people, in order to lure them away from this current pattern of selecting Governmental Leadership.

Keith R Williams
Atlanta, Georgia.

Journalists Under Attack

A surefire symptom that democracy in a nation is under threat is when attempts are made to silence the press from exposing malfeasance in public institutions, and other politically sensitive situations. Governments of this modern era react frantically to scandals or perceived scandals involving their administrations, and journalists who take seriously their equivalent of the medical Hippocratic oath, often find themselves in the sights of zealous governmental and political operatives out to silence their voices, or the messages they are in the course of delivering.

In the US, an investigation is being conducted over the leaking of an intelligence operative’s name to the media. Her husband disagreed with certain claims leading up to the Iraq war, and wrote an OP ED piece in the New York Times in that regard. Apparently in retaliation, as the story goes, she was outed to Administration friendly journalists, and one proceeded to publish her identity in his weekly column. Fortunately in the US, no one, not even a President is immune from the law, as Nixon’s political demise because of his conduct in the Watergate Burglary evidences.

Literally hundreds of journalists have been assassinated this year, either by government agencies or by insurgency forces. Although the killing of prominent ones like Paul Klebnikov, who was an American and associated with Forbes Magazine among other publications, receive world wide coverage, the passing of the vast majority fall by the wayside, except for mention in the obituaries in the annals of NGOs like “Reporters Without Borders”. Like Arnulfo Villanueve, a columnist for a community newspaper in the Philippines who was apparently gunned down in February for criticizing local officials for their involvement in illegal gambling. Or Relangi Selvarajah, a popular Tamil broadcaster who, along with her activist husband, was gunned down in Colombo Sri Lanka in August. Incidentally Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was assassinated on the same day, and the Government is pointing fingers at the Tamil Elam organization for all three killings. But be that as it may, the fact is that journalists committed to bringing the truth to public view too often find themselves in cross hairs of forces averse to having their dirty laundry exposed.

I am writing this because of a disturbing report I read in a Guyanese Independent Daily recently. And it is indicative of a belief, not overtly widespread at the moment but perceptually growing, that the State is uncomfortable with scrutiny of its performance. In this report action that is internationally acceptable in the course of a journalistic investigation was being categorized by Officialdom as a crime. And what cements the notion that these kinds of reactions are panicky and frantic is the fact that the “man in the street” already knew what was going on. I will not castigate the individual official who lost sight of discretion in response to a scandalous situation. I kind of liked his confrontational approach to the villains who issued threats to him because of his investigations. But what I would like to say to him and others carrying the chalice of power is that; "you set the tone for peoples’ reaction to journalist involved in a justifiable expression of their trade". "Threats of prosecution being leveled against them in such pursuits, are no different than threats issued against you yourselves when you are in lawful execution of your official functions". "THINK".

A human society, in a broad sense, consist of three elementary groups of people. (1) Officialdom, represented by institutions of Government and Politics. (2) The Press, all aspects of media dedicated to information gathering and proliferation, and (3) The Public, comprising every soul detached from the previous two. Although in a democracy it is routinely claimed that power reside in the hands of the last group, in reality, particularly in developing nations, that power can generally be exercised sans restraint by the first group. The limiting agency, or restraint on the first group is the second group, the press, comprising journalists and reporters who are the gatherers and disseminators of information to the public. They are the un-official private detectives who keep tabs on the doings of Officialdom and report what is appropriate and important to the public. They are the referees who keep a keen eye on the interaction between Officialdom and the Public in order to ensure that there is no hitting below the belt or gouging so to speak. They are the eyes and ears, and when necessary voice of a Public, who, too often, are blind and deaf to the machinations of those they placed into power and pay from their taxes, and absent the means of vocalizing their complaints and concerns. A free and independent press, through the agency of courageous, fair and objective journalism fills this vacuum in the power equation between the group inaugurated into office to govern, and the masses in the category by whose leave they do govern

Keith R Williams
Atlanta, Georgia

Third Force Politics is Revolutionay and Practical

Now why do I make a bold statement like that, and what do I base it on? Well, I make it because I happen to believe that it is true, and I base it on the fact that what is being pursued by this new movement appear to be too ambitious an undertaking for the two political dinosaurs locked in perpetual struggle for the right to determine and govern the affairs of our State. Politics in Guyana, except for the brief interlude when Walter Rodney appeared on the scene, is always a contest between the two largest racial groups to determine who will come out “on tap”. The social storm that follows is reminiscent of the after shocks associated with the proverbial struggle between the devil and his wife for the hambone. However, the people associated with Third Force Politics, although seemingly at variance on some issues, appear to be in unison on one front. And that is the need for a fundamental change in this standard of behavior applied by the Guyanese electorate in selecting their Government. It is revolutionary because it will really challenge the modus operandi of political campaigning and all that goes into winning an election. And it is practical because politics based on racial numbers will forever leave somebody out in the cold after every election cycle is over.

The term “Third Force Politics” suggest that there are two other rails of politics in Guyana before this one, and that’s a fact, at least by my thinking. There is the first rail where every party knowingly and consciously panders to its racial or ethnic base, using language that specifically address their concerns, or facilitate an understanding that their concerns are the ones being addressed. The PPP significantly vociferous when there are Indian crime victims, or the PNC modifying condemnation of violence with complains of marginalization are examples of these.

Then there is the second rail where, in an effort to placate and reduce the ammunition of external critics, the two parties indulge in what I call “’feeder sound-bites”. Empty phrases denoting empathy or common cause with the base of their opponents, and which both that base and the politicians themselves recognize as crap. Examples of these are endless, and range from Jagdeo’s comments in Britain that he considered himself President of all the people in Guyana to Corbin’s’ claims that the PNC can win a plurality at the polls. Maybe I am being too harsh on them and they both believe what they are saying, but the voting patterns at elections and tension afterwards suggest that the particular audience they seek to impress have an askance view.

And then we come to the third rail, or what I referred to as “Third Force Politics”. Yes, I know, there have been coalitions before. Yes, I know, there have been attempts by one or more political entities to join together to take down one of the big boys. Listen, this is different. I am not simply talking about the physical coming together of Trotman, and Ramjattan, and Ramsaroop, and Holder etc, etc, etc. I am talking about a political conversation taking place across Guyana and in the Diaspora by others besides the politicians in the forefront. I am talking about a conversation with TK, emotional about the excesses during the years of the PNC, but refusing to allow that to blind or in anyway impede his grasp of what continuance of the status quo implies. I am talking about conversations with and between Roy and Bryan, and Annan, and WoodBoss, and Paul and Peter, the young and maybe the not so very young now, eagerly offering up positive commentary and suggestions that supersede the restrictions of race, and religion and class. Yes, I am talking about Third Force Politics during which conversation moves beyond the boundaries of who did what and when, and engages in how do we deal with this, and then what do we do after.

The revolutionary aspect of Third Force Politics is not only its commitment to take the exercise of selecting a Government beyond a choice based on Race. It is its willingness to condition its success to such a transformation in the electorate. Because that is the only way they can win. They have to change and influence the mindset of the electorate to disengage themselves from a tradition practiced by their parents and grandparents, and this will be no easy task. They have to walk that line their opponents were either reluctant or afraid to trod, and they are willing to do so because it is right, and just, and enabling to our future. And Politics that take Guyana in a direction that is intrinsically right and just and nationally enabling, is indeed revolutionary politics.

Third Force Politics is Practical because it seeks to deal with a situation long on the back burner of press coverage, and not too popular with analysts resident in the two main structures of Guyana’s Politics. But it happens to be the situation around which everything that divides us, that alienates us, and affects our concern for security and quality of life revolves. Some describe it as the Ethnic Dilemma, others choose the way of circumlocution to hint at this basement underbelly of our political reality. But it comes down to one question, and the answer to that question is what makes Third Force Politics a practical alternative for Guyana.

Take a poll, do a survey, but ask this question of the people in the two largest groups in the country and bare the answer for all to see. Will either of the two major Political organizations ever be able to convince the majority of their opponents base that they are capable of acting in their best interests? Go on ask them. Will they ever trust these parties to do what is right, and just, and enabling for communities traditionally loyal and supportive of their opponents, nay their very enemy? We might as well get down to the grimy truth while we are at it. If the answer to that question is affirmative, then Third Force Politics will have a very hard road to travel. But if it is negative, as everyone in Guyana who has not had a lobotomy believe it will be, then Third Force Politics is the only viable situation available to our Nation.

The Third Force, as an organization, will face the same degree of wrath from their opponents for bringing a sense of practical consciousness to the Guyana electorate, as the mythical Prometheus faced from Zeus for bringing fire to mankind. Evidence of this has already been seen in the disjointed attack upon the embryonic organization and some of its prominent members by the PPP’s most pugnacious political pit-bull. But they knew this was not going to be a cake walk when they got into it. Raphael Trotman said that he had reached a point of no return, and was clearly counting on his faith to see him through. Peter Ramsaroop was a soldier, and has clearly demonstrated that backing down is not one of his favorite options. And Kemraj and Sheila strike me as people who will become tougher as the battle gets longer. Bringing up their flank is an assortment of personalities whose gravitation to Third Force Politics convert them to Heroes and Patriots in my book. Now let’s get this Revolution of Political Practicality going.

Keith R Williams
Atlanta, Georgia
keiwillia2111@bellsouth.net