— and corruption, carnage and cricket
Okay, yes this is my annual, seasonal lament. The one that has to do with the commercialism, even the “vulgarisation” of this Christian-inspired period and festival of Peace on Earth and Goodwill towards all men.
Fully aware that nothing I state here can dampen the robust anticipation, planning, splurging and spending, I nevertheless share all my foregoing thoughts with less than one month to the actual special selected day, with the hope that they can influence some folks not to overspend, but to contemplate the original reason for Christmas. (Now for my recycled but relevant thoughts.)
I have, over the last decade and a half, lamented the local “fast-forwarding” of Christmas by the commercial interests in our midst. Okay I concede two points on that issue: all of us, business persons or not, should plan early for an event; forward-planning is vital to successful management and eventual success. Secondly, I appreciate that the nation’s business people are free to target the end-of-year December festival and market to make some money and profits they probably missed out on, throughout the financial, economically challenged year.
My grouse is with the rabid manipulation of the Nativity; the exploitation of believers’ love for their faith, replete with its mysteries and miracles, including the virgin birth by immaculate conception. Grossly, with mercenary zeal and devil-dealing profiteering, the business interests bring forward Christmas’s beginning to October-November these days. Shrewd, clever advertising entice both the rich and needy with countless promotions and “offers” for the “season” of “giveaways” and eternal hope. Hype and hypocrisy subvert the real reason for the season and its religious base. Surely both the Christ-child and the adult Jesus would not have approved the commercialism practised in His Holy Name.
Commerce, Christ and Christmas
This is also how I put it a few years ago, commercialism and rampant consumerism make sure that every segment of society succumbs to spending sprees and extravagance, inimical to their financial health for the rest of the New Year. The reason for the season is sidelined, relegated to second or third place with only the devoted seniors going to church to worship.
Don’t get me too wrong. I too love the season for both the symbolism and the practises of gift-giving. I understand that Christmas holds that “the Word – God – was made flesh” to dwell amongst us. The Baby Jesus was born to a young virgin and her mature carpenter gentleman friend. It has been long agreed that the divine birth could not have really happened in cold December. But it is the spirit of hope and prosperity fulfilled, rather than time or place, which moves believers and others. Who can trivialize the human spirit?
Religion – or social persuasion – drives even the poor to purchase, to clean up, to renovate, to rejuvenate the premises and the mind; wonderful season. Even I like to clear up, spruce up, and usher in the new. It’s the spirit, darn it!
Nevertheless, purely in the “spirit” of caution, I urge you all – parents, relatives, friends – not to go overboard in terms of unnecessary extravagance. Watch the hire purchases and the advertising blitzes. Be prudent. Christmas’ greatest gift did not cost anyone much, did it?
One man’s extreme views
Indeed, years ago too, I was attracted to the harsh denunciation written by one Amar Panday who debunked the extravagance, especially amongst the poorer “believers”.
Wrote the aggrieved gentleman: “Christmas in Guyana has been the grandest instrument of an excessive consumerism, where our people are psychologically cajoled and lured into unfettered spending, spending; that is, in the context of a poor country, a drainage of scarce resources. Spending that breaches the inclination to frugality that is supposed to be the foundation of our economic life. Spending that in no small way contributes towards the perpetuation of that vicious cycle of poverty in our country. To tangibly demonstrate the reality of this is not very difficult. Savings that could have been put to entrepreneurial use with long-lasting economic reward are frittered away with religious fervour. “Parents who deprived their children of text books and additional reading material suddenly plunge into a spending spree. I have often wondered why so much has been historically expended in the strange ritualistic importation of ‘ice’ apples, grapes, Christmas trees and the whole assortment of Santa Claus paraphernalia. What part of Christmas stipulates this?”
Corruption, carnage and cricket
Three more “C” words for you. From my own elementary but fundamental perspective, I state this about Guyana’s now (almost) institutional corruption. Though our cancer of corruption took decades to become virtually incurable, the modern value-system which makes Guyanese youth feel that wrong can be right, also informs out adult behaviours to “respect” top crooks – in and out of government – as the new role-models.
My old-time morality of “honesty-is-the-best-policy” is a recipe for need, obscurity and persistent poverty, where even the seemingly-religious are concerned.
Past regimes came to power though rigged elections when the people’s will was continuously stolen. That was the bedrock of today’s corrupt practices and culture. The descendants of those victims, now in government or in its support, use the mantra of “bygone crooked elections” as justification for their entrenched, endemic malpractices for personal profit. From “corruptocracy” to kleptocracy?
The traffic police can’t be on every deserted highway when the speedsters indulge themselves. Official traffic safety education – from home, to school to driving instruction classes to parliamentary statute is necessary, but my view dictates: friends, relatives, and all passengers must control the operators of public transportation.
I repeat a years long suggestion which an otherwise urbane Traffic Chief once dismissed summarily (even though he himself had to be removed for driving under the influence and causing an accident): that any minibus or taxi found speeding, must attract serious fines for both operators and passengers. Passengers pay. They must determine their own safety. If not, they too must pay- fines!
On Cricket I say: we’ll, at the minimum, draw the series with Australia! Bets anybody?
ponder well…
1) Thanks for your compliments and criticisms with respect to last Fridays’ brief presentation on US visas and the price of airline tickets to Obamaland.
2) Corruption, Employment/Development challenges or not! Give President Jagdeo some kudos for his “Cash-for-Standing-Forests” crusade. And if we find oil also, we won’t be burning it up.
3) The issue will hardly go away completely so I suggest that our entire school system should introduce the basics about: REDD (the Reduced Emissions from De-forestation and Forest Degradation); carbon; emissions, the LCDS, etc.
4) If the government was unhappy with the conditions of the UK-funded Security project, can they accommodate an actual American DEA presence in Georgetown?
5) Poor people, what do you think about our minibus conductors?
6) Reportedly, at the Ovid Isaacs Brooklyn farewell last Saturday an interesting branch of the Guyana Diaspora was present. Over-50s will remember Col. Desmond Roberts, Selwyn Felix, Edwin Pratt, Wendy Wilkinson, Bert’s friend Paul, Herman Hubbard, Clothel Prince, Ashton Parris, (GNS Capt) Parris, “Old-Policemen” Henry, Sobers and Others, Ronald Bailey, Pat Britton, Ovid Henry, Bruce Harewood and Mr. Harry George Chukuma Harding, Cpl Odle (GNS), Etc, Etc, Etc. Just a sampling of those warm-hearted exiles who celebrated a Good Guyanese.
‘Til next week. Comments?
(allanafenty@yahoo.com)
