This Good Friday, traditionally one of the quietest days in the year in Guyana, is perhaps a good time for reflection and thought. Many of us might not like the suggestion, but too often nowadays, there is a sense that decisions are taken at every level – whether they be collective or individual, whether they be political, economic or social, whether they be by executives, middle managers or workers – without their consequences being fully considered.
Unless, in good Guyanese fashion you drop the ‘th’ sound in the phrase ‘thinking things through,’ the alliterative ‘th’ induces a more measured cadence that lends itself to pausing for thought. Perhaps, in our colloquial, Creole manner, the involuntary suppression of the ‘th’ sound in this particular phrase is actually an unwitting reflection of a suppression of the thought processes that should inform any accompanying action.
This may all be rather fanciful for some people, but surely few would dispute the wisdom of the old adage, ‘look before you leap,’ which, as we all know, means that we should think carefully about the possible consequences of an action before doing something.
What about jumping a red light, for example? What about taking ‘one for the road’ when we know we have had enough to drink already? In neglecting to think about our personal safety, do we not also neglect to think about those in our care as well as our fellow road users? What about swearing in front of children? Do we think about the example we are setting to the next generation? What about throwing plastic bottles into the gutter or polystyrene containers out of the car/minibus window? Do we think about the drainage system and maintaining a clean and healthy environment? Or do we rather, by our now ingrained thoughtlessness, betray on a daily basis our own lack of consideration for our young ones, our fellow citizens and our country?
Sad to say, thoughtlessness and inconsiderate behaviour have almost become the norm in Guyana, as we have progressively lost our moral compass, our value system and our basic standards as regards what is right and what is wrong. And perhaps it is all because we do not take enough time to think things through, opting instead for knee-jerk reactions or self-serving sophistry to justify dubious actions.
But we really do need to think more, as individuals and as a nation, if only to consider carefully the consequences of our actions and to see our way clear to a better and brighter future. That is not to say, however, that we should all become overnight a nation of critical thinkers or would-be intellectuals, pursuing theoretical and philosophical constructs, whilst considering all the evidence, before deciding on a valid course of action. After all, the great danger of too much thinking is that one is hobbled by indecision and the end result is inactivity.
Three years ago, the Trinidadian economist, Mary King, in paying tribute to one of the most original Caribbean thinkers ever, Lloyd Best, said in the Trinidadian Senate that “[h]is fundamental instruction to us was learn all we can, to read as much as we can but above all trust our capacity to think originally and to solve our own problems.” It is a simple, basic lesson that we should all heed.
As for our political leaders and captains of industry, effective decision-making must rely to a great extent on proper analysis and careful thought, and all this can only be made possible through the timely and, as far as possible, free access to information. But access to information is only the beginning. One has to be able to sift through the overwhelming amount of information available on any given subject, especially when one considers the almost infinite possibilities of the Internet, and then assimilate, analyse and effectively apply what is relevant.
We therefore need to be sure that our schools and training centres can go beyond rote learning and are geared towards developing our capacity to think originally and developskills necessary to manage information – to know where to look, to do the research, to extract what is necessary and useful, and to apply that information to add value to the final product.
Similarly, we need to equip our public servants and policy-makers alike with the tools necessary to monitor and manage information flows, to allow them to make well-informed decisions, based on thoughtful evaluations of all the pertinent data and facts. We are, after all, participants in a knowledge-based global economy and knowledge is power.
Notwithstanding the brain drain, despite the decline of our education system and the emasculation of the public service, in spite of the stultifying disincentives of our systems of governance, we still believe that there is sufficient ability and thinking power to overcome our political, social and developmental problems. The real question however is whether there exists the will to unleash this capacity to realize our full potential as a nation or whether we are doomed to wallow in underdevelopment born of, what is in essence, pure thoughtlessness. We really do need to think things through.
