Dear Editor,
Please permit me the space in your column to highlight a disease that has agonised the Guyanese political cognition for far too long. This disease is that of political biasness which has pervaded the political landscape. It is positioned above state development, that is, the majority of the citizenry would rather argue about which political party is the ‘’lesser of two evils,’’ instead of what are the more progressive policies for social and economic transformation.
The question to be asked is, why are most Guyanese so politically biased to the extent of not seeing further than their biases would allow them to? It has to do with the political psychology which is deeply embedded in the Guyanese psyche from the 1960s to the present day. Ever since Independence, there is a perception which reigns in our politics. This perception is that if a political party comprises of the majority who look like you, and if its leader looks like you, then, naturally they would look out for your needs and be aware of your pleas. But, hasn’t this theory been disproved? I think so!
But, yet, most Guyanese continue to live in political oblivion. Politicians, however, are very cognisant of this psychology and they play on it. They go out in numbers to every depressed community and campaign in every nook and cranny, but when they obtain power, those very communities would be neglected. This has always been the game of politics. This is not a personal attack on any politician or political party. It is simply an illumination of the obvious with intent of inspiring a paradigm shift in the political attitude of Guyanese.
If you continue to justify every outrageous action, or every carefree utterance made by government ministers, justifying it with, “but, they are not as bad as the PPP,” then you are exactly why the country continues to be in disarray. This mentality thickens at every General Election. If Guyanese can’t set aside political biases, party politics and race politics, Guyana and its future will be doomed. When it boils down to what is best for the country, choose that. If the government has done something wrong, it should be accepted and highlighted, not justified. In 20 years from now, it would be disheartening to reflect on a Guyana that could have been but never became, and truly sad if the political conversation is still concentrated on PPP vs PNC or PPP vs APNU.
Yours faithfully,
Althea Hoodith
