Dear Editor,
The Americans can be true models to us Guyanese and especially to a people who seem gripped by partisan politics, and where our politicians become gridlocked in more problems than solutions. In America the Republican Party (founded in 1854) is referred to as the GOP or Grand Old Party although it is younger than the other major party. The Republicans are now associated with embracing all of the conservative and traditional values of the American people: the sanctity of marriage and life; more power to the people and less to the federal government; free markets and individual achievement; and in the case of some of them, scepticism about global warming, etc. The Democratic Party (founded 1792) also has its distinct stance on a variety of issues, for example, favouring a more progressive tax structure; affordable healthcare for all; protecting the environment; financial aid for students in schools and colleges; equal opportunity for all; the right of a woman to choose; federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, etc.
There are dozens of issues which separate these two parties. My point is though, that although these two very popular political parties may have a sort of opposing view on many issues that affect the American people, I am always amazed that they both are driving for what’s best for the people, and not for themselves. Politicians in America, be they Republican, Democrat or Independent, have Americans’ best interests at heart.
Americans regularly switch parties, and it can be a very minute issue or position on an issue which can trigger a change – not a person’s ethnicity or loyalty to a particular party – as happens here in Guyana. Many Americans today are independent voters. Many a time, it is that same cadre of voters which tips the scales in many elections in the USA. We in Guyana can learn a lot from the independents in America. They vote not on partisanship or political party loyalty, but they vote on the issues that matter.
The last national election and even the Massachusetts Senate election a few weeks ago were a testimony to the voting credibility of the American people. It is the knowledge about the issues and a desire for change that has given that country the change it got in November of 2008. While many other nations around the world, like ours, are stuck in a political time-warp, America is moving ahead to bigger and brighter things for its people. The people hold the balance of power there, not the politicians. The people call the shots, not the Republicans or Democrats. The political parties there must listen to the people; their voices are as important to them as are their own.
Many politicans in America have switched parties in times past. It keeps happening even today. It will be a cold day in hell before our politicians here would be ready for anything like that. Golly, they do not even talk to each other, much less switch parties. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a former Democrat, switched to the Republican Party then became an independent as he ran for mayor a few years ago. My mom voted for him again in the last election. Surprised as to why she would vote for a former Republican, although she voted for Obama in 2008, she said that he (Bloomberg) had been doing a lot of good for the city. I supported her decision. Of course, Bloomberg won in the heavily Democratic state of New York in the last election a few months ago.
When can we have a country and a nation when our politicians put the people first? When will the two major parties in Guyana applaud the President when he delivers a major speech as the American presidents have been doing for over 200 years in the State of the Union address? When can our politicians respectfully disagree on issues but at least act civilly about it and towards each other?
America’s politics, unlike ours here, are so unpredictable. You never know which party is going to win in a particular state or the presidency in the national elections. Blue (Democratic) states become Red (Republican) states in a matter of months. Those are the hallmarks of the superpower and most free country on earth. The mind and voting patterns of the people change ever so often with the tides of time and also the issues involved. Now that is the way to go. Not like our political black hole in Guyana. One party holds the balance of power and is almost sure as hell to win in the upcoming national elections in 2011. They know the people will vote them back in and that is one of the reasons why they are abusing the power.
Yours faithfully,
Leon Jameson Suseran
