Dear Editor,
Philip Moore was and is a national hero. That there was reluctance/resistance to accord him appropriate recognition in this respect at the time of his death was unbecoming for our nation and is, quite frankly, disgraceful. But there is still room for redemption for those who transgressed.
When I read the two excellent features on Philip Moore’s work, vision and philosophy by Alim Hosein and Rupert Roopnaraine (Stabroek News, May 20) I recall an ode of Horace which in my view epitomizes Philip, which was a favourite of many of us as students of Latin. Here is an excerpt translated from the Latin:-
More Lasting than Bronze
I have created a monument more lasting than bronze
and loftier than the royal structure of the pyramids,
That which neither devouring rain nor the unrestrained North Wind,
may be able to destroy nor the immeasurable
succession of years and the flight of time.
I shall not wholly die and a greater part of me will evade Libitina. (Goddess of Death)
According to Hosein, Philip Moore’s greatest desire was to see his works in what he called “Moore’s Methodical Mediation Museum.” Can we not as a people striving for reconciliation and togetherness see to it that Philip Moore’s dream is realized? What would be good would be for an inclusive multi-stake holder initiative spearheaded by the artistic and cultural communities to launch a national project for the establishment of the museum. Naturally, I would expect the government to commit wholeheartedly to the project and I am confident that the parties in parliament can, in the spirit of cooperation, and with a sense of national purpose, agree on appropriate measures including budgetary allocations which will enhance the prospect for the realization of Philip’s dream.
I hope that we can all rise to the challenge and seize the propitiousness of the occasion for national development in its widest and deepest sense.Philip’s concept of “Godmanliness” and his views of humankind were not restricted to the community to which he was born. As he himself is reported to have said, “I am an ancient soul in a modern body… a spirit birthed in an African body in the country of Guyana and the Universe… I often feel as a timeless being…” (Hosein). He was a man for all time and for all of us.
Yours faithfully
Rashleigh E Jackson
